By Manoj Pathak

Hajipur, Apr 24 (IANS): From waste to work of art...Fabrics, accessories made from banana trunk fibre are going global, thanks to hard work of 34-year-old Vaishali Priya.

Vaishali Priya, hailing from Bihar's Vaishali district, is also teaching women the skills needed for the business, thus making them aatmanirbhar.

Generally, after harvesting bananas, the trunk is cut, but Priya is not only extracting fibre from the waste trunk to make clothes but also making Yoga and table mats, baskets, among others.

The products made are being exported to the US too.

Vaishali, who has done fashion designing and used to work in an export factory where she learnt about making things of use from the banana fabric.

After that, she left the job, came back to her village and started working on making fabrics from the banana fibre.

Talking to IANS, Vaishali said she grew up watching people cultivating bananas. Earlier, the banana trunk used to be cut and thrown away, but now it is being used to make fabric, she said.

Vaishali said that initially she told the women about how to make organic and natural fibre products.

She said that she is being helped by the local Krishi Vigyan Kendra in the project.

Initially, Vaishali started her business with 30 women of Hariharpur village.

"When I began this business, I faced difficulties and criticism from many quarters, but today, seeing the dividends earned by me, more people are now associating with me," Vaishali told IANS.

Here, the women are told about the specifics of soaking, weaving and processing clothes.

Vaishali said that women from the comfort of their homes make ropes from the fibre and earn Rs 300-500 per day.

She said that she gets orders from various places and the people are appreciating her products.

Though right now products are yet to gain huge popularity, those who use them appreciate the effort and use, she claimed.

She said that for making better quality clothes, better techniques are now being used. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Hariharpur has provided the women working on the project with machines.