Monday, Mar 19, 2007
Growing Banana Fibre Becoming Popular in Tamil Nadu
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 A weaver at work weaving banana fibre. Photo Credit: TV Grab
A group of weavers in Anakaputhur, a small town in Tamil Nadu, have successfully taken to weaving banana fibre.
It was a chance discovery on the part of Padma Shekhar, the owner of a weaving unit, which led to the usage of ‘Vazhai Naaru’ or the banana fibre as dress material.
Raw fibre is cleaned by artisans through a simple bleaching method. Its fat content is then removed. Each strand of the fibre is taken out and woven into fabrics after being dyed in various colours.
Banana fibre has an affinity to colours that makes it easier to weave attractive designs from it.
The process maybe cumbersome but the six yard wonders fabricated from this fibre is very comfortable and in much demand.
"These saris are woven in natural fabrics like banana fibre. It is very comfortable to wear and relieves off the scorching heat as they have a cooling effect. It is really nice to wear," said Shekhar.
 Colored banana fibre. Photo Credit: TV Grab
A sari made with an investment of mere 100 rupees is sold at five times the production cost at 500 rupees in the market.
These saris are supplied to both national and international markets.
Although the returns are good, the work is restricted to only one weaving unit. The unit is small scale with hardly ten workers accounting for the entire work force.
"We have benefited a lot from these natural fibre clothes. There is a huge demand for them in both national and international markets. We earn good wages by weaving these clothes. Initially we started off with 30 workers but now only ten workers are employed," said Uma, a weaver.
The looms used for weaving are 1.2 meters and weaving on them is a painstaking process. It takes a month to weave one sari.
 Padma Shekhar, the owner of the weaving unit. Photo Credit: TV Grab
With 750 handloom weavers in the entire Anakaputhur, Shekhar is single handedly attempting to popularise the cause of banana fabric. The State Government is yet to take notice.
Though popular for its fruit, the banana plant has long been a source of fibre for high quality textiles.
Banana fibre was used in Philippines for making shirts and other dresses. In Japan, the cultivation of banana for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. (ANI)
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