Pineapple leaves which, along with the pulps are left in the field to rot in the 44,000-hectare pineapple plantations in the Philippines, will soon become the source of huge additional income for farmers.
A Spanish scientist and designer, Dr. Carmen Hijosa, has developed a technology which turns the fibres taken from pineapple leaves into Piñatex, a substitute for animal leather.
Piñatex is a natural leather alternative made from cellulose fibres extracted from pineapple leaves,
It is now used in the manufacturing of Piñatex bags, shoes and accessories, seat coverings and other furnishings.
Piñatex is now being developed for clothing and other products designed by designer Ally Capellino.
Shoe brands Rombaut and NaeVegan and prototypes have been created by Puma and Camper using Piñatex.
Piñatex was first presented at the PhD graduate exhibition at the Royal College of Art, London and is now manufactured and distributed by Dr Hijosa’s company Ananas Anam Ltd.
Dr. Hijosa is currently buying Pineapple fibers from Labo Multipurpose cooperative in Camarines Norte which in turn buys pineapple leaves for as low as 70 centavos to a high of P1 per kilo.
Last Wednesday, Dr. Hijosa visited me in my office and informed me that the farmers in Labo, Camarines Norte need a decorticating machine made in China to process the leaves into fiber which her company would buy for P300 per kilo.
Dr. Hijosa showed me the products made out of Piñatex.
I was deeply impressed by this new technology and right away I understood the impact of this innovation on the lives of people in the countryside.
All over the country, there are about 44,000 hectares planted to pineapple and the leaves are just left in the field to rot and decompose.
In the provinces of North Cotabato, South Cotabato and Bukidnon, huge multinational companies like Sumifru, Dole and Del Monte lease lands from farmers to be used in planting pineapple for export.
Last night, I called up a friend, Paul Cuyegkeng who heads Sumifru Philippines and asked him if it would be possible for Sumifru to allow the landowners of their leased areas to harvest the pineapple leaves.
By giving in to my request, the big multinational companies operating pineapple plantations in the Philippines could help address poverty in the countryside.
During Dr. Hijosa’s visit to the DA office, I committed to support the pineapple farmers by providing them with a modern decorticating machine to be used in harvesting the fibres from the leaves.
I also instructed the Philippine Fiber Development Authority (Philfida) to look into the introduction of modern drying techniques to help abaca fibre producers improve the quality of their products.
This is yet another story of how technology could improve the lives of the poor farmers in the countryside.
(Photos taken by AFID photographers and downloaded from Google.)
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