Banana Fiber?

cbcalsing wrote

on Aug 28, 2010 3:49 PM

I searched the forum and only came up with two posts with "banana" in them. I grow bananas and am trying to find ways -- at home -- to create banana fiber twine or rope. So far, all the Internet searching I've done has resulted in ways to do it if you have an entire plantation. I only have a few trees. Has anyone done small-scale, by-hand harvesting and processing of banana fiber? Any directions,suggestions, or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Denise Jackson wrote

on Aug 29, 2010 9:49 AM

I found a few places on Porcess banana fiber

I haven't read through them to find out if the information is good, but it is a start to give you an idea to how to process them.

http://www.teonline.com/knowledge-centre/banana-fiber.html

http://www.ecogreenunit.org/banana.htm this is more on a piece of machinery to get the fiber

http://www.kougei.or.jp/english/crafts/0130/d0130-4.html

try Googling Banana fiber textiles. It's always the words, combination, and orders that will net the best results.

http://www.li-fei.com/banana.htm

cbcalsing wrote

on Aug 29, 2010 11:02 AM

Yes, I'd already found all those! Most deal with larger processing than I'm planning.

Thanks, though.

Gwen Powell wrote

on Aug 29, 2010 5:35 PM

Alpaca Direct sells the yarn, very slinky rayon.  Once again like so many of the other "new" fibers it seems to be made with rayon process.  I have not found it on the market as a fiber source yet either and have had the yarn for a year.

Eva Hall wrote

on Oct 28, 2010 6:29 AM

I have bought some skeins of banana fiber from a netshop in Denmark. It is not rayon, but a rather stiff and irregular yarn with bright colours, that I have not yet found use for. It is imported directly from Nepal to Denmark.

ishu.apparel wrote

on Jan 10, 2013 12:10 AM

hi cbcalsing.... i see that this post is three years old... we're trying to research on banana fibres....did you try to extract fibres from your planktain? where you successful?