Turning Waste To Wealth, Tamil Nadu Woman Converts Banana Stems Into Industrial Products

In banana trees, after harvesting the leaves, the banana stems are cut and taken away. However, now, Suganthi Palanisamy from Namakkal district of Tamil Nadu has gained fame by utilizing banana stems as a raw material, producing various industrial products. Sugaanthi Palanisamy, a woman of Mohanur, used banana trees to make various industrial products, gaining pride in the Namakkal district. After completing the training and part-time work, Sugantnti Palanisamy is currently producing banana stems and showing us how they are doing. Suganthi has been making these banana handicrafts with five women as her part-time job after completing her graduation.

300 grams of banana fibre can be obtained from each tree by extracting the fibre from various parts of the banana plant. After harvesting the banana, the fibre is separated from the stem within 48 hours. The extracted banana fibre needs to be dried either in sunlight or shade to eliminate moisture. A banana fibre extraction machine can efficiently separate the fibre from unwanted parts of the banana plant, including the leaves, petiole, and stem, after harvest. According to Suganthi, the machine can be purchased for a minimum of Rs 40,000. With this banana fibre extraction machine, one can extract between 15 to 20 kg of fibre from 100 banana trees within a span of 8 to 10 hours.

Additionally, Suganthi noted that this machine is capable of extracting 40 per cent more fibre compared to manual extraction methods. Banana fibre is used to produce fabrics such as sacks, rugs, floor mats, home décor items like rugs and bags, as well as paper products including builder paper and decorative paper. Researchers at Gujarat University have found that currency notes made from the banana fibre can endure for over 100 years. Their study demonstrated that banana fibre yields high-quality paper that surpasses ordinary paper in durability and overall quality.

Suganthi Palanisamy, who has been making discoveries from bananas, has won various awards. She proudly said that the income from this business ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh per month.