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Work Package-1 Team

Exploration of High Value Indigenous Natural Fibers

The sisal, banana, flax, and jute fibers are cultivated in Pakistan, but their utilization does not exist in producing high-value fabrics. The crop of banana is cultivated on an area of 35000 hectars in Pakistan which produces more than 7 million tone stem waste. The major challenges to growing these natural fibers are lack of awareness among the farmers, problems in harvesting, then after harvesting the collection and extraction of crops into the valuable fibers. After extraction, these fibers can be spun into yarn on jute manufacturing machines that are already installed in various parts of the country. Therefore, there is a need to develop a mechanism for the extraction and processing of sisal, banana flax, and jute fibers for local use as well as for valuable export products. The aims of this WP are:

  1. Cultivation, harvesting, and extraction of already existing natural fibers in Pakistan e.g. banana, sisal, flax, etc. to be used in value-added textiles.
  2. Process development/optimization to produce value-added yarns/fabrics for summer clothing, buildings, roads, and automobiles.
  3. Process optimization for pre-treatment, dyeing, printing, and finishing of fabrics made from banana, sisal, jute, and flax yarns.

Work Package-1 Video

Work Package-1 Industrial Partners

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