Imlimenla Jamir established the microscale business, M/S Amity Banana Fibre and Allied Products, in 2016 in Nagaland’s commercial hub Dimapur. The state has created an initiative to make the region free of plastic waste by the end of 2018.
Jamir tells Eastern Mirror Nagaland the fiber is taken from the sheaths of wild banana plants growing in a nearby forest using an extraction machine. The fiber is then dried for three days before being made into products. Residue from the machine process can be used as compost to cultivate mushrooms.
“It takes about nine days to make big items while smaller ones take lesser time. Half kilogram of fiber can be extracted from one banana plant,” Jamir says.
The machine has an output capacity of 5 to 10 kg per day.