Delegation demonstrates textile production from bananas
09/10/2008
A 10-member delegation from Japan travelled to Rwanda in mid-October to conduct a seminar and workshop on producing textiles from banana fibre.
Professors and students from Tama Art University in Tokyo, and officers from UNIDO-Japan presented the seminar at the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management, before conducting a training workshop with around 40 weavers from different parts of Rwanda.
According to the Director General of the Rwanda Workforce Development Authority, Chong Fook Yen, the move is part of ongoing efforts to broaden the benefits of a crop that is widespread across the African country.
"This is just the first step but we are looking at introducing banana textile as a course unit for vocational schools under our new training approach," he explained.
The banana plant has long been a source of fibre for high-quality textiles. In Japan, the cultivation of banana for clothing and household use dates back to at least the thirteenth century.
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