Bamboo as textile fiber

(Part III)

- YVETTE TAN

Here is the last installment of my three-part series on PTRI's (Philippine Textile Research Institute) Bamboo Fiber Textile Innovation Hubs, continuing from Jan. 9, 2026.

In the previous column, PTRI director Dr. Julius L. Leaño, Jr. discussed the current applications of bamboo fiber. Now we talk about PTRI's Bamboo Fiber Textile Innovation Hubs around the country. There were six bamboo hubs at the time of the interview, the last two having just opened, all of them running on different models.

"It's either they differ in species, they differ in the host, they differ in the model, but as much as possible, there aren't any duplications so we could evaluate the appropriate technology transfer method or modality for bamboo fiber," Leaño explained. "We're trying to locate it strategically, not necessarily equally across the Philippines."

They are in:

1) Naguilian, La Union. "This was given directly to the community and they are the ones operating it," Leaño said in Taglish. The center uses local kawayan tinik and bayog, an endemic species that grows plentifully in the Ilocos region. "They've reached a point where they've been able to use their profits to buy new computers in their school and medicine for their community."

2) Kawayan, Isabela. Located in Isabela State University, all the hub's output is to be made into spinnable fibers.