DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTIPURPOSE FIBER EXTRACTING MACHINE

A Research Topic Proposalz

Presented to the faculty of

Mechanical Engineering Department

By:
Baquiran, Patrick M.
Darvin, Christian John M.
Dela Cueva, Ma. Angelica C.
Ecube, John Ian I.
Faller, Al Ravin M.

In partial fulfillment of
The requirements for the degree
Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering

July 2018
 Chapter 1

Introduction and its Background

The Philippines has one of the largest textile industry in the world, but certain

developments forced the once strong sector to plummet. There are major concerns

regarding the economy of the industry and is affecting the country and the workforce

behind it. A reason for developments such as utilization of new materials in which a good

part can come from natural plant fibers that are abundantly available in tropical regions,

such as the Philippines.

Considering the variety of choices, the group delved on the utilization of fibers

present in pineapple leaves and banana pseudo stem because of its availability and

simplicity for extraction. Addition to this, one important property of natural fiber is its

biodegradability and noncarcinogenic property. The Proponents now thought of a way to

maximize the potential of an extracting machine that can be used for two different resources

namely Pineapple leaves and Banana pseudo stems.

Background of the Study

Pineapple and Banana plant are abundant fruit in tropical and subtropical regions

of the world. The Philippines are the chief producer of the pineapple leaf fibre followed by

Brazil, Hawaii, Indonesia, West Indies and India. However, the pineapple leaves go mostly

as agriculture waste at present.

The leaves of pineapple plant contain a cellulosic content of approximately 73%

while banana sheaths have a cellulosic content of 44.42 % both with compounds of
hemicellulose and lignin which contributes to its fiber properties for many applications of

plant fiber.

Fibers can be spun into filaments, thread, or rope; be chemically modified to create

a composite material like cellophane; or matted into sheets as with paper. Fibers derived

from plant materials are used to make a wide array of products such as paper, textiles,

baskets, brushes, brooms, mats, rugs, bedding etc.

The Republic of the Philippines’ textile industry was established in the 1950s under

the principle of import substitution industrialization, which promotes producing goods

domestically rather than importing them from other countries. The textile industry

comprises fiber production and the manufacturing of yarn, fabric and textile end-products.

It consists of two sectors: the primary processing sector, comprising spinning, twisting,

weaving, knitting, dyeing and finishing; and the secondary processing sector, comprising

the manufacturing of apparel and textile end products.

The Philippine apparel manufacturing industry began in the late 1950s as a cottage

industry that took over home sewing, dressmaking and tailoring activities. The Philippine

Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI’s) Garments and Textile Industry Development

Office (GTIDO) reports that Philippine textile and apparel exports increased annually from

2009 to 2011. (Leao, Souza, Cherian, Frollini, Pothan, & Kottaisamy, 2010)

According to GTIDO, exports in 2011 totaled US$2.14 billion — of which apparel

exports accounted for $1.92 billion; textiles, US$162 million; and used apparel, US$53

million and accounted for 4.4 percent of total Philippine exports. During the January

through October 2012 period, the United States ranked first among export markets for
Philippine textiles and apparel, accounting for a 59-percent share, followed by the

European Union, 13 percent; and Japan, 9 percent. (Today,2016)

Apparel exports increased annually from 2008 to 2011, and on average, accounted

for approximately 91.1 percent of total textile and apparel exports, GTIDO notes. The DTI

recently announced that apparel exports alone reached US$2 billion in 2012. The

Philippine textile and apparel industry employed 13.05 percent of the nation’s workforce

in 2009, according to data from the Philippine Statistical Yearbook 2012, with 97,475

people employed by the apparel sector and 25,767 employed by the textile sector. (Reddy,

&Yang, 2014) This findings about plant fibers prompted the researchers to think of a

process where pineapple leaves and banana sheaths are turned into useful fibers.

To attain this aim, the researchers came up with the consensus to design and

develop a Fiber Extracting Machine. This machine will process pineapple leaves and

banana sheaths into a higher value material that would benefit our chosen community.

Conceptual Framework

Figure 1.1 shows the model for the development of a Fiber Extracting Machine. It

presents the chronological order of the development of activities from conceptualization to

the final evaluation of the project. It is divided into three main components namely the

input, process and output.

The input part shows the design conceptualization, selection of materials and

preparation of equipment for the fabrication which also includes software like Solid Works

used to illustrate the design which can be used for fabrication. Process part includes the
design, fabrication and the operation for testing and usage. The output is a Fiber Extracting

Machine.

Input Process Output

1. Design Concepts 1 Design

2. Hardware 2 Fabrication
Requirements Pineapple leaves
3 Operation and
a. Materials and Banana Pseudo
Testing
b. Equipment stem fiber extracting
3. Software Machine
Requirements

Figure 1.1 Research Paradigm

Objectives

1. To design a fiber extracting machine that can process both Banana Pseudo stem and

Pineapple leaves.

2. To extract fiber from Banana Pseudo stem and Pineapple leaves at a rate of 60

leaves per minute.

3. To develop a fiber extracting machine that will eliminate manual work by

implementing new parts.

4. To evaluate the fiber extracting machine based on its design parameters.

Significance of the Study

The machine is designed to extract fiber from Pineapple leaves and from Banana

Pseudo stems. The design is expected to be cost effective in terms of manual work and rate

of extraction of the Pineapple leaves and Banana Pseudo stems.

Small Communities that have crops such as pineapple and banana in their land will

benefit most because of the adaptability of the machine to be effective in both fiber sources.

The local farmers and businessmen will also benefit because of the improvement in

efficiency and in the rate of extraction of the machine.

The following are the advantages of using the proposed machine:

1. The Fiber extracting machine’s speed is adjustable to sustain different kinds of

materials.

2. An Automated input feeding system is present for improving the efficiency and

decreasing the manual work present from past designs.

3. The machine comes with an adjustable feed storage so that it can adapt to the

size of Banana Pseudo stems and the size of pineapple leaves.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

The study involves the design and fabrication of a machine that would extract fiber

from pineapple leaves or banana pseudostems as well as the testing of the machines

performance.

The machine is intended to store, flatten, squeeze, and shred the pineapple leaves or

banana pseudostems excluding the picking of leaves or sheaths. The machine can only

process one type of specimen at a time. The prime movers in this machine can only be

powered through electricity.

 The leaves or sheaths should be well placed in the feed storage in a horizontal manner

withstanding stacking. The size of the specimen should not have a difference of more than

one inch in width and must fit the horizontal dimensions of the feed storage. The specimen

should be initially unprocessed to utilize the machine at its full capability.

Definition of Terms

Banana - is an edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large

herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In some countries, bananas used for

cooking may be called plantains, distinguishing them from dessert bananas. The fruit is

variable in size, color, and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh

rich in starch covered with a rind, which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when

ripe.

Banana Pseudo stem - The pseudostem is the part of the banana plant that looks like a

trunk. It is formed by the tightly packed overlapping leaf sheaths. Even though the

pseudostem is very fleshy and consists mostly of water, it is quite sturdy and can support

a bunch that weighs 50 kg or more. The pseudostem continues to grow in height as the

leaves emerge one after the other and reaches its maximum height when the inflorescence

emerges at the top of the plant.

Converter – It is an electric device that converts alternating current to direct current

Electric Speed Control - An electronic speed control or ESC is an electronic circuit that

controls and regulates the speed of an electric motor. It may also provide reversing of the

motor and dynamic braking. Miniature electronic speed controls are used in electrically

powered radio controlled models

Extraction - the process of obtaining something from a mixture or compound by chemical

or physical or mechanical means.

Fiber - is a natural or synthetic substance that is significantly longer than it is wide.[2] Fibers

are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials

often incorporate fibers, for example carbon fiber and ultra-high-molecular-weight

polyethylene.

Fiber Extracting Machine – A Machine that extracts fiber from crops by certain methods

Lignocellulose - refers to plant dry matter (biomass), so called lignocellulosic biomass. It

is the most abundantly available raw material on the Earth for the production of biofuels,

mainly bio-ethanol. It is composed of carbohydrate polymers (cellulose, hemicellulose),

and an aromatic polymer (lignin).

Pineapple - The pineapple is a stoloniferous herbaceous, short-lived perennial plant that

can reach 0.75-1.25 m in height, with a short and thick stem and a very shallow root.

Pineapple leaves - The leaves are waxy, succulent, 50-180 cm long and sword-like, and

bear sharp upcurved spines on the edges. The leaves are arranged in a rosette around the

stem. Leaf colour is very variable: from uniform green to variously striped with red, yellow

or ivory down the middle or near the margins. Offshoots emerge from the stem at leaf axils.
 Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

Having to conform upon the project of developing the design of a Fiber Extracting

Machine, The Proponents used internet resources as well as interviews from valuable

sources to gather and note information regarding the said topic.

Pineapple Leaves

Pineapple leaf fiber is a high textile grade commercial fiber. It is generally extracted

by manual extraction and mechanical extraction by decorticator machine. The process of

extracting long vegetable fibers is of great importance since the quality as well as the

quantity of extracted fibers is strongly influenced by the method of extraction employed.

(Today, 2014)

The leaves are waxy, succulent, 50-180 cm long and sword-like, and bear sharp

upcurved spines on the edges. The leaves are arranged in a rosette around the stem. Leaf

colour is very variable: from uniform green to variously striped with red, yellow or ivory

down the middle or near the margins. Offshoots emerge from the stem at leaf axils. They

are divided into aerial suckers and basal suckers. (Heuzé, 2015)

Fibres can be extracted from the leaves either by Retting or mechanical means, Leaf

fibres are obtained from the leaves of mono cotyleadnous plant. The fibre occurs in bundles

in aggregates of individual cells, with the ends over lapping so as to produce continues

filament throughout the length of the leaf. The fibres are concentrated in large quantity

nearer to the lower surface of the leaf. The leaves are generally thicker and fleshy often
with hard surface. The fibres are held in position by the cellular tissues of the leaf by

gummy and waxy substance.

Banana Pseudostem

The pseudostem is the part of the banana plant that looks like a trunk. It is formed

by the tightly packed overlapping leaf sheaths. Even though the pseudostem is very fleshy

and consists mostly of water, it is quite sturdy and can support a bunch that weighs 50 kg

or more. The pseudostem continues to grow in height as the leaves emerge one after the

other and reaches its maximum height when the inflorescence emerges at the top of the

plant.

One of the most ubiquitous fruits, banana is widely grown across the world. About

120–150 million tons of bananas are grown annually in the world, and it is the fourth most

important food product in the world. However, the banana fruit only represents about 12

% of the weight of the plant and the stem; leaves and other parts are not generally edible.

Therefore, efforts have been made to use banana leaves and stems for various non-food

applications including fiber production. Fibers are obtained from the pseudo-stem of the

plant mostly by mechanical means. Full-fledged banana fiber production has been reported

to be operational in several countries. Some of the products developed from banana fibers

include textiles, paper, floor mats, and composites. In terms of properties, banana fibers

have the typical composition of fibers obtained from lignocellulosic by-products and

contain about 50 % cellulose, 17 % lignin, and 4 % ash [09Gui]. However, the composition

of the banana fibers reported varies widely, and fibers with lignin content as high as 17 %

have been reported [08Hab]. In addition to the stem, fibers have also been obtained from
the leaf and rachis of the banana plant. Considerable variations in the tensile properties

were observed for the fiber bundles obtained from the different parts and also depending

on the method of extraction as seen in Table 7.1 [08Gan]. Tensile properties of the fibers

obtained from the banana stems are similar to those of common lignocellulosic fibers such

as jute, but the elongation is considerably lower than that of the coconut and palm (Borassus

flabellifer) fibers. Low elongation of the banana fibers should mainly be due to the lower

microfibrillar angle (11°) and relatively high % crystallinity [08Muk]. Banana fibers also

appear to have a hollow center similar to that found in a few other natural cellulose fibers.

Considerable variation in the tensile properties, especially elongation, was observed for

fibers with various diameters (50–250 μm) as seen in Tables 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3 [10Ven]. In

addition to the stems, fibers have also been obtained from the leaves of the banana plant.

Typically, banana plants produce about 30 leaves as long as 2 m and 30–60 cm wide

[07Bil]. Fibers obtained from banana leaves had about 26 % cellulose, 17 % hemicellulose,

and 25 % lignin, but the fiber properties are not reported [07Bil]. A Switzerland-based

company (Swicofil) advertises that it had developed fabrics from ring- and rotor-spun

banana fibers. Ring-spun yarns in counts ranging from Ne 8/1 to 40/1 and rotor-spun yarns

with counts (Ne) ranging from 8/1 to 30/1 were reported to be available in 100 % form and

also as blends with cotton, modal, Tencel, and soy protein fibers. Banana fibers are reported

to be available on the market for about US$0.43–0.81/kg compared to $0.15–0.60 for hemp

and $0.15–$0.21/kg for flax. (Reddy, & Yang, 2014)

Banana Fiber Extraction Industry in the Philippines

Banana fibre processing is a potentially lucrative business, as the demand for

handcrafted items made from natural raw materials rises on the global market. In a bid to

revive the banana fibre industry in the municipality of Sto. Tomas, Davao del Norte, the

Department of Trade and Industry – Davao del Norte Provincial Office pushed for a market

cooperation between Marsman Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Cooperative (MARBCO)

and TADECO Homes - a leading exporter of handcrafted items in the region.

MARBCO, a fresh banana exporter, is a beneficiary of DTI’s Shared Service

Facility for banana fibre processing. Under this, the cooperative has received various pieces

of equipment for banana fibre extraction. With it, they were able to export raw banana fibre

to Japan in 2013. However, demand for the fibre gradually lessened and eventually

production stopped. Seeing the potential of banana fibre in exportable handicraft items,

DTI tapped experts from TADECO to train MARBCO members on creating value added

products from raw banana fibre particularly threads for fabric production and banana fibre

scrunch for handicraft making purposes. A total of 20 agrarian reform beneficiaries were

trained.

At the conclusion of the training, the group was able to produce “Sinugpon”

(banana fibre thread) and 5 designs of banana fibre scrunch. TADECO Homes also

expressed its intent to tie up with MARBCO to develop more handicraft products from

banana fibre and market it through their stores.

 With the revival of this particular industry, DTI aims to conduct more trainings on

banana fibre craft making thereby establishing a new livelihood project for the community

of agrarian reform beneficiaries in Sto. Tomas.

Pineapple Leaves Fiber Extraction Industry in the Philippines

Piña: The Fabric

Pineapple or piña (Spanish for Pineapple) is being used to make a plethora of

textile-based products, from clothing and bags, to scarves and furniture upholstery. Areas

such as Hawaii, Indonesia, India, and the West Indies are known to harvest piña, but it is

the island nation of The Philippines, that has most refined the luxury tradition. Hispanic

cultures, between 1521 and 1898, are said to the original piña masters. Now, The

Philippines’ tropical climate, with humidity and heavy rains, cultivates an ideal home for

the pineapple plant to grow - and be turned into garments.

For textiles, piña’s long, fine and luxurious thread comes from the leaves of the

pineapple. They are resilient strands and are strong and have a slight sheen similar to silk.

This gloss protects the fibers, which means piña does not require any treatment with toxic

chemicals to be refined. And unlike many other luxury fabrics, it is easy to wash and care

for - no dry cleaning required. In pure form, the weight is light, like hemp or linen, but far

finer, and far more luxurious to touch.

As a blend, the fiber goes well with cotton, abaca (banana leaf fiber), and silk to

make light and breezy fabrics. When woven with silk, it is known as piña seda (silk), and

piña jusi is a blend of abaca or silk. Blending adds more strength without altering the sheer
aesthetic too much. More importantly, blending decreases the time and cost to produce piña

and is a less expensive alternative to that of pure piña cloth.

Piña: The Process

When done traditionally, the scraping and weaving process for piña is laborious

and intensive, with each step done mostly by hand. Pineapple leaves are first soaked and

then scraped for fibers. The fibers are next dried, waxed, and spun into yarn, which is then

woven into cloth. The yarn is delicate and requires care to build and weave, so the art of

even learning to make the silky textile takes a long time. Piña is produced primarily in the

Aklan region, with women from the area supporting their families through their craft of

weaving – something that cannot be learned by all.

The group thoroughly searched for an extracting machine that can be used in both

Banana pseudo stems and pineapple leaves, however, the group did not find any patented

Fiber extracting machine with this said features.

The dearth of related literature for the project is one of the major obstacles the

proponents have faced, but with all the challenges that are present in the journey, these

challenges were taken positively because this is an opportunity for the group to pioneer in

this endeavor.
Existing Fiber Extraction Machines

Banana Pseudostem Fiber Extracting Machine

Figure 2.1 Banana Pseudostem Fiber extracting Machine

The group is committed on bringing this idea to life, so with determination

and perseverance a Banana Pseudostem Fiber extracting machine was considered:

However, it is merely for banana pseudostems only. The Proponents want to have

flexibility in materials that will be used. The proponents have searched the latest

power raspador machine BANANA STAR which is far than superior the machines

that are available presently in the market. It is manufactured using high quality

materials such as ISO Certified Steel Frames, Rust free 304 Stainless steel shaft

and shields for long life and low maintenance. (Bananafire.com)

 The Proponents considered the idea of having a Fiber extracting Machine

that can be used for both Banana Pseudo stem and Pineapple leaves. With this

design, it will greatly enhance the capabilities and capacity of the machine to be

more flexible and adaptable.

Pineapple Leaves Fiber Extracting Machine

Figure 2.2Pineapple Leaves Fiber Extracting Machine

The conventional decorticator machine is shown in figure 2.2 such as the

machine has three rollers.

 Feed roller

 Leaf scratching roller and

 Serrated roller
 The leaves were fed through the feed roller and then passed through the

scratching roller. The upper surface of the leaves is first scratched by scratching

roller blades to remove the waxy layer and then passed through the serrated roller

where the closely fitted blades of the roller macerates the leaf and produces several

breaks on the leaf surface for easy entry of the retting microbes.

Figure 2.3 Design of simple pineapple leaf fiber extracting machine

Rotating gear is connected with the base. The diameter of rotating gear is 8

inches. A handle and a connecting rod are attached with the rotating gear. When

the handle is rotated, it also rotates the rotating gear and with the rotation of the

rotating roller the connecting move forward and backward. A Ceramic plate

scraper with 2kg load is attached with the connecting rod. With the forward and

backward movement of the connecting rod ceramic plate scraper scrape the upper

waxy layer of the pineapple fiber.

 Chapter 3

Methodology

This chapter presents the project design, development, operation, and test procedure as

well as prototype evaluation system.

Prototype Design

Fiber extracting machine is designed to extract fiber from pineapple leaves or

banana pseudo stems. The assembly is equipped with different machine elements such as,

the feed storage, conveyor, flattening and serrating roller, collecting mechanism and other

necessary mechanisms that are used to produce the desired output.

Figure 3.1. Isometric view of the Assembly

 The image shown in figure 3.1 shows the design of the assembly with dimensions

in inches. Some of the components are cased into a frame to ensure safety of the operator

while the safe components are exposed to reduce unnecessary weight and maintain

portability of the machine.

The feed storage is elevated from the entire machine to utilize gravity and allow

natural delivery of the specimen into the conveyor. A speed control setting with display

can be seen in front of the machine to switch the necessary rpm depending on the specimen

being processed. Visibility of the input and output will help the operator in running the

machine smoothly.

Part Fabrication and Selection

To obtain the desired specifications of the machine proposed, some parts must be

fabricated since the availability of such requirements are not readily available in the

market. The following steps are essential in fabrication and selection of materials:

1. Selection of the machine shop that would meet the specifications of the

proposed machine.

2. Purchasing of the required materials necessary for fabrication of the parts of

the prototype.

3. Fabrication of the following parts:

 Feed Storage

The Storage Tank is needed to be fabricated to fit the specifications that are set by

the proponents of this research. The dimensions of the Storage tank will be 18 inches in

length adjustable to 32 inches, 24 inches in width and 24 inches in height. Moreover, an

opening in the front bottom of the storage tank with a stopper will also be fabricated as the

specimen pathway to the conveyor. The material that the researchers will use in the storage

tank is based on the specifications gathered. Aluminum will be used in fabricating the

storage tank because of its strength and cheapness.

Figure 3.2. Feed Storage

 Conveyor

The researchers will also use aluminum in fabricating the rollers for the conveyor

because of its strength withstanding its cheap price. A rubber belt will be used to cover the

aluminum rollers because of its high coefficient of friction that will help move the

specimen faster.
 Figure 3.3. Conveyor

 Flattening and Serrating Roller

The researchers will fabricate both the flattening and serrating roller both 6

inches in length and 2 inches in diameter. Aluminum material will be used because of

its high durability and strength.

Figure 3.4. Flattening roller

 Figure 3.5. Serrating roller

 Collecting Mechanism

The researchers will fabricate the parts and assemble the Collecting Mechanism

as shown in figure 3.5. The sprocket (12 inches dia.) and chain will be made of

aluminum because it will be subjected to moisture thus the increased risk of rust.

Figure 3.6 Collecting Mechanism

Prototype Assembly

The assembly of the prototype involves the following:

1. First, the frame of the whole machine is initially made based on the dimensions of

every machine element comprising the machine. hence the parts will be a direct fit to
 the dimensions of the frame. First, the storage tank will be placed above the conveyor

to allow natural drop motion due to gravity in delivering the specimen to the main

machine.

2. First, the storage tank will be placed above the conveyor part to allow natural drop

motion due to gravity in delivering the specimen to the main machine.

3. The conveyor is installed on the frame of the machine specifically designed for the

rotating and linear motion of its components.

4. The flattening rollers will be placed at the middle of the conveyor to effectively eat

the specimen. The rollers rotate at opposite directions and are 0.20 centimeters apart

5. The serrating roller is placed at the end or opposite side of the conveyor where it will

squeeze and serrate the specimen for fiber extraction.

6. The specimen will then be hanged in the collecting mechanism and delivered into the

collecting bin as a final output.

Performance Test

The following steps were carried out in order to assess the prototype:

1. Banana Pseudostems and Pineapple leaves are gathered in preparation for the assembly

line.

2. The Banana Pseudostems or Pineapple leaves will then be transferred into the feed

storage for an organized start up.

3. One by one The Banana Pseudostems or Pineapple leaves will be released to the

conveyor and it will pass through the flattening roller

4. The Banana Pseudostems or Pineapple leaves will then be subjected to the serrating

roller, the purpose of this is to finally extract the fiber from the stems or leaves.

5. Output specimen will then be hanged in the collecting mechanism to reduce its wetness

and delivered straight to the collecting bin.

6. The whole process will be timed to evaluate the capacity of the machine and to know

the rate of fiber extracted per minute.

7. The finished product will then be relocated to the collecting bin

8. The finished product will now undergo performance test to compare the quality of the

fiber extracted to that of the traditional fiber extracting machine.

The operation of the system is tested to see the efficiency of the machine. Before

testing, the machine is to be checked to ensure the ideal operation needed. This includes

the calibration of each parts. The final procedure is to physically check the product to

satisfy the aesthetics standards set by the researchers.

Reference

Journal

 Leao, A. L., Souza, S. F., Cherian, B. M., Frollini, E., Thomas, S., Pothan, L. A.,

& Kottaisamy, M. (2010). Pineapple Leaf Fibers for Composites and Cellulose.

Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, 522(1). doi:10.1080/15421401003722930

 Reddy, N., & Yang, Y. (2014). Fibers from Hop Stems. Innovative Biofibers from

Renewable Resources, 43-44. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45136-6_12

  Reddy, N., & Yang, Y. (2014). Fibers from Banana Pseudo-Stems. Innovative

Biofibers from Renewable Resources, 25-27. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-45136-6_7

Website

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philippines-textile-and-apparel-industry-on-the-mend/

 Today, T. (2016, October 19). Design and development of simple machine for

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https://www.textiletoday.com.bd/design-and-development-of-simple-machine-

for-pineapple-leaf-fiber-extraction/

 V., H. (2015, October 2). Pineapple leaves. Retrieved from

https://www.feedipedia.org/node/675

 Banana pseudostem | ProMusa - the banana knowledge platform. (2016, July 28).

Retrieved from http://www.promusa.org/Banana pseudostem

 Philippines: Reviving the banana fibre industry. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.freshplaza.com/article/161677/Philippines-Reviving-the-banana-fibre-

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 Piña Couture: Pineapple Fiber Makes Fabric In The Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved

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fiber-makes-fabric-in-the-philippines

 (2012). Retrieved from http://bananafibre.com/bananafibre.html