Waste to wealth: How three friends clock Rs5 lakh monthly turnover from banana fibre

After completing his engineering and MBA, Jagat Kalyan had three job offers. He could move to Tanzania, or Dubai, or take up the third offer from a homegrown MNC. Jagat did not take up any of them and chose self-employment at his home in Hajipur in Bihar’s Vaishali district.

“I completed my MBA in marketing from Taxila Business School, Jaipur, in 2020. COVID was spreading rapidly at that time and I did not want to leave my family for a corporate career. I also realised that I could create local employment opportunities while being at Hajipur,” says the 27-year-old.

He spoke to his friends Satyam Kumar and Nitish Kumar Verma, who also got job offers at the time. “We all decided that instead of working hard for others, we could work hard for ourselves. We decided to utilize locally available resources for our startup,” he says.

Zeroing in on bananas for business

Since Bihar’s fox nut (makhana) and sattu (roasted and powdered barley or Bengal gram) are already well-known superfoods, the trio zeroed in on bananas.  The Vaishali district is well known for its banana production, especially around the Ganga basin. In 2017-18, the district produced 142,083.53 metric tonnes of bananas.

The banana plant bears fruits only once after which farmers struggle with disposing of the plant with its pseudostem (that looks like a trunk).  

In India, banana cultivation produces around 80 million tonnes of pseudostem waste, leading to environmental pollution.

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“For about six months, we researched the possibilities around bananas and visited the Krishi Vigyan Kendra in Vaishali. There, senior scientist and head Dr Sunita Kushwaha guided us about extracting fibre from banana stems and its other uses,” says Jagat.

Banana fibre is a biodegradable product obtained from the plant’s stem. The fibres are one-and-a-half times stronger than jute and are used to make fabrics, ropes, fishing nets, mats, paper sheets, packaging materials and utilitarian items.

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“The three of us pooled in Rs15 lakh and took about 10,000 sq ft of space on lease in Hajipur to start Taruwar Agro Industries Pvt Ltd. We bought two extractor machines (to extract fibres from the stem) and received the third one from KVK, Vaishali, under the ARYA (Attracting and Retaining Youth in Agriculture) project,” says Jagat.

They also purchased other machines for combing and cutting stems. The unit started in August 2021. 

“Initially, we would go to farmers to collect the stems but now, about 50 farmers bring their banana agri waste to our unit. We deploy our labour on their farms for removing the stems and the farmers get Rs5 to Rs20 per kg depending on the stem quality,” he says. 

Farmers have dual benefits – they earn additional income and their field is cleaned for the next crop without incurring any expenses.

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Zero-waste extraction of banana fibre

Once the stems reach the unit, they are cut into four using the stem cutter. Then every layer from the stem is removed till reaching the core. Every piece is then put into the extractor machine to separate fibre and pulp. 

Any gum or non-fibrous residual components in the fibres are manually removed. They are then thoroughly washed and dried. 

The fibre obtained looks similar to silk and has become popular as the banana silk fibre. 

It is then refined, processed, and skeined. “Depending on the requirements, we sell the fibre in uncombed, light combed or heavy combed forms,” Jagat explains. They are packed in laminated sacks and delivered to customers.

Their unit is a zero-waste facility where the pulp removed from the fibre is used to make vermicompost while the liquid expelled during the process is sold as an organic fertilizer.

“We add cow dung to the pulp, which is about 85 percent of the base for vermicompost. Red earthworms decompose it and the manure is ready in 35 to 40 days. This vermicompost is three times more effective due to the presence of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, and calcium,” the agripreneur says.

The monthly vermicompost output is around five to seven tonnes. A 30kg bag is sold for Rs250 to Rs300 while a one kg pouch retails for Rs30. 

Liquid fertiliser is currently given to farmers for free. The three friends have increased the number of extraction machines to five and extract around three to four tonnes of fibre monthly. The uncombed fibre is sold at Rs120 to 150 per kg and combed fibre sells at between Rs500 and Rs800 per kg.

“The current monthly income from fibres and vermicompost is around Rs 5 lakh and we are targeting Rs one crore next fiscal,” Jagat says.

While about 60 percent of the employees at the factory are women, Taruwar's target is to generate as much local employment as possible. “Apart from increasing farmer incomes, we encourage local artisans to make handicrafts from banana fibres. They make file folders, wall art, purses and other eco-friendly utilitarian items bought by government agencies,” he says.

“We aim to grow the liquid fertilisers business and create other value-added products from banana waste. Banana waste is an eco-friendly way of creating wealth for all stakeholders,” Jagat says.

(Rashmi Pratap is a Mumbai-based journalist specialising in business, financial, and socio-economic reporting)

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