Egyptian entrepreneur Hagar Mohamed Mahmoud, supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is turning a source of expense and pollution into a source of revenue for herself and local farmers.
Mahmoud is the owner of the startup Banana Fabric, which collects the plant waste from local banana farms. In the past, this waste was either dumped into local waterways, clogging them, or burned, polluting the air and contributing to rising global temperatures.
However, plant matter — even inedible plant matter — has many uses, and Mahmoud has found two of them for these banana plants.
First, she and her employees use machinery to squeeze the plants, extracting a nutrient-rich liquid that local farmers can use as fertilizer. This is a greener alternative to chemical fertilizers, which are not only more expensive but also damage the environment when they are washed into local waterways. The banana plant liquid, on the other hand, helps improve soil health and ensures more effective water retention.
Next, the remaining banana plant waste is processed into fiber. This fiber can be woven into textiles. Not only has Mahmoud made some prototype bags of her own, but artisans in India and the Philippines already make similar textiles from banana fibers, per FAO, proving that it is a viable product.
Currently, the project is in its early stages. Three of Mahmoud's employees pick up banana waste for free from local farmers; in the future, they hope to pay for it and provide a new income stream to their suppliers. Meanwhile, Mahmoud is still arranging buyers for her fiber supplies. However, the business is well on its way to success and will soon help improve circularity and decrease the pollution of industries in the area.
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"I'm incredibly excited to share our journey — a journey that's not only tackled a serious environmental challenge but also blossomed into a thriving economic opportunity for our local community. This inspiring transformation wouldn't have been possible without the generous support of the Enhancing Water Productivity project," said Mahmoud, per FAO.
Other enterprising companies are also looking for ways to use banana waste. For example, one is using it to make sustainable paper products.
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