Banana fiber

Banana Fiber is extracted from Banana tree bark. The trunk is peeled. Brown-green skin is thrown away retaining the cleaner or white portion that will be processed into knotted fibers. The fibers are extracted through hand extraction machine composed of either serrated or non-serrated knives. The peel is clamped between the wood plank and knife and hand-pulled through, removing the resinous material. The extracted fibers are sun-dried which whitens the fiber. Once dried, the fibers are ready for knotting. A bunch of fibers are mounted or clamped on a stick to facilitate segregation. Each Banana Fiber is separated according to fiber sizes and grouped accordingly. To knot the fiber, each fiber is separated and knotted to the end of another fiber manually. The separation and knotting is repeated until bunches of unknotted fibers are finished to form a long continuous strand. This Banana Fiber can now be used for making various products, like :

• Coasters
• Table Mats
• Bags
• Runners
• Floor Mats
• Home Furnishings