by Sunish Jacob Mathew, On Manamara
Conventionally, the fibre of plantain stems has for long been considered to be of no use. But a women’s self-help group in Chennai has proved the conventional wisdom wrong.
They have proved that plantain fibre can be used to weave high-quality sarees, and leading them from the front is a Malayali housewife, Laila, who hails from Thiruvananthapuram.
Shekhar, who is a weaver, has brought together these women, in tie up with the Women’s Association to run the venture.
In demand for weddings
The sarees made of plantain fibre is in good demand for events such as marriages and parties. Though the product is available at retail shops, most of the sales directly happens from the production centre. Sarees are made to order to suit the customers’ taste. Apart from sarees that are made from banana plantain fibre alone, a blend of banana fibre-cotton or banana fibre-silk are also available.
Price up to Rs 25,000 (USD 390)
The price of the saree is proportional to the dimension of the plantain fibre used to make it. A 100% plantain fibre saree will cost up to Rs 25,000 (USD 390) while the base price Rs 1,500 (USD 23). Sarees are woven according to order and the customers can get their sarees in their favourite designs. According to Shekhar, it takes two days to weave one saree, on an average.
Though there are demands from customers in foreign countries such as Japan and China, they have not been able to fully meet the demand since their production capacity is still small scale.
Shekhar said that the venture has received a central government award for New Small Scale Industry.
Hand woven
The sarees are woven by hand after separating the fibre by scrapping with a knife over the cleaned banana plantain skin. The fibre is then dried in the sun and made into threads, which are given a white colour first, before processing them into fine fabric of desired shades.
Mahilar Sangham, the Kudambashree of Tamil Nadu
Like Kudumbashree of Kerala, the Mahilar Sangham, a self-help group of women in Tamil Nadu, brings together housewives to weave sarees. They separate the fibre from banana plantain stems and also weave them into threads. Around 150 women, grouped into ten groups of 15 each, are working in this sector and earn an average Rs 150 (USD 2.30)/head per day.
Laila, who has been residing in Chennai for a decade now, oversees the activities of these women. There are a few other Malayali housewives too who are also a part of the initiative.
According to Laila, with these women finding a steady source of income, it has been of great help to their individual families. They can even extract the fibre sitting at home, she says.
Even the fibre pays
Usually, the process of separating fibre from the plantain stems is carried out by a small group of five-six women. They earn up to Rs 5,000 (USD 78.50) per one kilogram of fibre that is separated.
Separating a kilogram of fibre takes up to one month, but the attractive part is that those who are willing to work more have the opportunity to earn more. Even in looms, where the sarees are woven, women are employed. According to them, even if more women want to join them for work, they have enough opportunity for all.
Two plantains make one saree
The plantain stem from which the fibre is separated is procured from the nearby vegetables market or farms. About 200 grams of fibre can be extracted from one plantain. Fibre from two plantains is enough to weave a saree that is fully made of banana plantain fibre. The fibre that is not suitable for weaving is used to make attractive handicrafts and other decorative items.
Source: Manorama Online