Abaca fiber is basically the material that is used in textile, furniture
and furnishings industry. The fiber is more widely considered as the
world's best cordage material due to its durability and resistance to salt
decomposition.

 It is claimed to be stronger than the real hemp and is three times
stronger than cotton. The fiber is used mainly for the manufacture of
ropes, binder twines, tissue paper, tape backings, abrasive backings, wire
and cable insulation, filter papers, specialty non-woven papers, document
paper, paper for surgical and hygienic applications, coffee and tea bags,
textile dye filter, base for meat casings, printer paper, exchange bills,
or as paper lining for gold and silver foils.

 Furthermore, the fiber is used in the manufacture of footwear, fabrics,
doormats, curtains, floor rugs, wall overlays, cushions (when softened into
pinulpog), clothing (when woven to sinamay), tinalak textile, for roofing,
food containers, basketware, and most importantly home furniture and
accessories.

 Abaca rope in different diameters  is woven expertly into various design
of chairs, armchairs and loveseats. Thin ropes are also laminated on wooden
carcasses or other surfaces to enhance the look of tables, cabinets and
dressers. 

 Musa textiles is a tree-like herb resembling the banana in appearance,
except for the distinguishing marks in its leaves, trunk, color, formation,
and the shape of its fruit is heart. The leaves of abaca are upright,
pointed, tapering and narrower. Its trunk is noted to be smaller than the
banana's.

 It grows to a height of about 4.6-7.7 m. The true stem of the plant is
that part which has a diameter of about 5 cm and bears the fruit. The trunk
is formed by this true stem and thickened leafstalks of the leaves. It
bears open leaves composed of fleshy, fiberless core surrounded by
overlapping leaf sheaths starting from the base and extending nearly to the
top.

 Each sheath is composed of three layers: an outer layer from which most of
the fiber is obtained; the middle layer which contains some fine white
fiber of flower tensile strength than that obtained from the outer layer;
and the inner layer which contains no fiber. The fruit of the abaca is a
banana, small, inedible and full of seeds. The stalks turn reddish brown at
maturity.  

   The abaca fiber is extracted from the stalk of the plant.  There are two
(2) most commonly used methods of abaca fiber extraction, namely hand
stripping and spindle stripping.  

 Hand stripping is a process of extracting fiber in which the tuxy, the
outer covering of the leafsheath, is placed under a serrated knife.  With
pressure applied on the knife, fiber is then extracted by puling the tuxy
manually.  The extracted fibers are then hung up and dried.

 Spindle stripping is a semi-mechanized process wherein the tuxy, placed
between a stripping knife and a block is pulled through a rotating wooden
spindle driven by an engine or motor of sufficient power. 

 Another alternative process is decortication where the split leafsheath is
fed manually into a machine with a roller and a rotating drum with several
blades.

 For more information on abaca, please visit the National Abaca Research
Center website - http://lsu-visca.edu.ph/narc/.