During the successful inaugural Earthna Summit 2023 organised by Qatar Foundation recently, Thailand showcased its Banana Fabric as part of Earthna Village – an expo showcasing traditional handicrafts and heritage from around the world.
Through co-ordination between the Thai embassy in Doha and Qatar Foundation, Thailand’s Bua Luang Banana Fabric was presented to an international audience for the first time and garnered a lot of attention.
Bua Luang Banana Fabric is the unique combination of innovation and tradition, which makes full use of an agricultural byproduct. Moreover, this product has created an opportunity for the local community to improve the local economy in an environmentally sustainable way.
Bunnapa Bualuang, head of Baan Sangtawan Community Enterprise, demonstrated the weaving process and explained that Bua Luang Banana Fabric is made by extracting fibre from banana tree trunks, a byproduct of the banana harvest in Pathum Thani province in central Thailand.
Upon successful research into creating thread from banana tree fibre, the innovation and knowledge of traditional Thai weaving methods were transferred to the local community.
Bua Luang Banana Fabric is a testament to the environmentally sustainable way that can be achieved with the combination of innovative solutions and traditional
knowledge. This allows the ancestral knowledge to be preserved while making full use of natural resources.
The development of this unique textile contributes to Thailand’s effort of implementing Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) economic model.
Thailand showcased its Banana Fabric as a part of Earthna Village – an expo showcasing traditional handicrafts and heritage from around the world.
