Exploration of Banana Fibre as Low Cost Eco-Friendly Waste Management

The production of banana in India is about 27.01 million tons from an area of 0.765 million ha. It provides delicious foods and good quality textile fibre. In most cases, after harvest of the fruits in banana plantations, the stems are wasted and billion tons of stems and leaves are thrown away annually. Such waste provides obtainable sources of fibres, which leads to the reduction of other natural and synthetic fibres' production that requires extra energy, fertilizer and chemical. Considering the pollution aspect of synthetic fibre, there is a need to search for nonconventional renewable resource for textile to give an effective solution. Banana fibres are good absorbent, highly breathable, quickly dry with high tensile strength, biodegradable and have no negative effect on environment. Utilization of banana fibre as cottage industry may explored for income generation by rural women. Trainings were conducted for extraction of banana fibre and preparation of decorative items. Significant difference was found between pre and post test which was carried out among 25 rural women of Romai area of Dibrugarh District. The ultimate goal of this endeavour was to upgrade the knowledge content about extraction of banana fibre, create awareness and full utilization of banana plants.