Senator Cynthia Villar expressed hope that the use of bamboo as textile will help the local industry and spur development in the countryside.
Speaking during the “KAWAYARN: A Bamboo Textile PH Launch,” Villar urged the DOST- Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) to be at the forefront of propagating bamboo given its significant role in the textile industry.
Villar said bamboo has at least 35 percent textile fiber recovery compared to other sources, which are only at 2 percent.
The chairperson of the Senate committee on agriculture added that bamboo is abundant and robust across the country.
“The technologies are simple, deployable, and scalable. The machines can also be fabricated locally for more massive and extensive deployment,” Villar said.
“The DOST-PTRI Bamboo fiber extraction technology was developed in 2015. It has moved sustainable and improved fiber extraction techniques for the bamboo species in a bid to promote the increased utilization of natural textile fiber processing from bamboo. The facility will extract bamboo fiber to be used for yarn, which will then be woven into textiles,” she added.
The technology is applied to natural extraction of different bamboo species in the Philippines, such as kawayan tinik, bolo, and yellow bamboo.
The PTRI has three Bamboo Textile Fiber (BTF) Innovation hubs located in Maragondon, Cavite; Naguilian, La Union; and Cauayan, Isabela.
It will build at least three more hubs until 2024 – one each for Abra, Bukidnon, and Pangasinan.
Villar said bamboo fibers can be used for clothing and home textile. For non-wovens, it can be made into shoes and bags, among others.