Manipuri weaver fashions full-length sari from banana plant
The first sari made from banana plant fibre will be gifted to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
Radhavati Devi, a weaver from Moulvibazar, has turned into a local celebrity after making a full-length sari using banana fibre yarn for the first time in the country's history.
The 13.5-cubit long and 2.5-cubit wide sari, however, was made in Bandarban – far from Radhavati's home.
It all started with a call from Bandarban Deputy Commissioner Yasmin Parvin Tibriji.
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DC Yasmin, who took the initiative for the project, said the success comes following the pilot project of various handicrafts made from the yarn made from banana plants.
Radhavati, from the Manipuri-populated Mahergao village of Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar, made the sari out of banana plant fibre in just eight days.
"At first, when I took the challenge, my neighbours and coworkers said it would be a laborious task. Chances were high that I wouldn't succeed but I was confident that I could do it.
"Still, there was some hesitation at first. Now everyone is so appreciative, it feels very good. I am the first to make a sari from banana plant yarn. It took almost a quarter kilogram of yarn. The cost of making such a sari from banana plants is around Tk3,500-4,000. But if technology is used and it can be produced commercially, the cost will be reduced."
The 65-year-old weaver and handloom artist told The Business Standard on Sunday afternoon, "Banana leaves are brought from outside for the purpose of worship in our area. When I came to Bandarban and learned that clothes will be made from the yarn of the banana plants, I was surprised."
Although Radhavati Devi wanted to return home from Bandarban quickly, she now plans to stay there for another year and continue the work.
Turning abundance into innovation
"There are so many banana plants in Bandarban. After harvesting, the plants are cut and thrown away. Yarn is made from those discarded banana plants. If no one else claims it, this will be the first in Bangladesh that a sari is made from banana plant yarn," DC Yasmin Parvin Tibriji told reporters.
"But making saris from banana plant fibre was not so easy. The process of making yarn from banana plants started a year ago. Ever since coming to Bandarban as the deputy commissioner, I have taken various schemes to improve the socio-economic status of the people here. From this desire, I thought of making yarn from the fibre of the banana plant.
"After making curtains, cloth pieces, bags, pen holders and various handicrafts from that yarn, it was decided to make saris using the yarn from banana plants," she said.
DC Yasmin said World Vision along with two other organisations – Grouse and Uddipan – were helping in the project.
Many local women in Bandarban are well-trained in making handicrafts from the yarn of banana plants. Handcrafted products such as bags, shoes, showpieces, table mats, planter boxes, pen holders, and file folders among other things are being sold in the shops and markets of local entrepreneurs including the shops of Neelachal Tourism Centre in Bandarban.
Radhavati Devi was taken to Bandarban from Kamalganj in Moulvibazar in February this year. She trained local women there for 15 days. The looms where the Manipuri weave saris are also installed there. Later in March, Radhavati Devi weaved a sari with the yarn of the banana plant on that loom.
She succeeded when first tasked with making a small piece of cloth using banana plant fibre yarn. That inspired them to make a full-length sari.
It is possible to make a complete sari in ten days – from preparing the yarn to weaving.
More research needed
The yarn from banana plant fibre is not smooth. Attempts have been made locally to make the yarn as smooth and soft as possible. But advanced research is required in this field. Yasmin Parvin Tibriji said she has sent a letter to the Ministry of Textiles and Jute in this regard.
"Now we will install bigger looms and keep it running. Another task is to integrate yarn production and cloth making with the mainstream textile industry. At present, efforts are being made to soften the yarn by local methods. We hope to achieve standardisation," she added.
The first sari made from banana plant fibre will be gifted to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said DC Yasmin at a press conference organised at the district administration office on Sunday.
New horizons opened
Stakeholders think new horizons have been opened in the weaving industry as sari can be made from the yarn of banana plants.
San San Wu, a teacher at Bandarban University's business administration department and president of a local women's welfare association, said, "Bandarban's handloom industry is now dead. But with the sari from banana plant yarn now a new type of industrial revolution has emerged."
