Bamboo as textile fiber

(Part 1)

- YVETTE TAN

Filipino students are taught that the country is rich in natural resources, many of which are either exploited or taken for granted.

Bamboo, which grows plentifully all over the country, and which plays a significant part in Philippine culture, from being the plant from which the first man and woman sprang forth to being used as construction material and textile.

I spoke to Dr. Julius L. Leaño, Jr., director of the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI) about the agency's Bamboo Fiber Textile Innovation Hubs for this series of stories. First, we talked about bamboo as a fiber in the Philippines. "Bamboo is not a fiber crop to begin with," he said. "It's actually incidental that you can generate fibers."

There are two ways fiber can be generated from bamboo. The older, more popular one is where the bamboo is dissolved in a solvent, resulting in a silky filament, most commonly used in bed linen.