Tali Pisang
These days, it is so easy to buy pisang goreng that we don't have to see where they come from. No need to peel the bananas, detaching them from the stalk, cutting the stalk off off the tree. When was the last time you saw and touch a fallen banana tree?
When I was younger, the fruits weren't the only thing I took from the tree. Quite an amazing plant it is. The leaves can be used for many dishes like kuih lopes, lepat, pulut panggang and nasi lemak. The dried up leaves can be used as burning fuel. The caterpillars that live inside rolled up leaves was a source of fascination and fun. The tree trunk, while not as valuable as balak, could generate money as well.
I remember helping in the process of transforming the trunk into strings. The trunk is made of layers of water-rich skins. Much like onions. You peel off the skin one by on until you hit the core. Do it carefully as you don't want to break the skin.
Then, the skins are set on a bar, much like setting the cloth to dry. Using a special 5-bladed knife (designed to tear down mengkuang leaves), the skin is cut into long thin stripes. The cutting movement must be steady and swift; otherwise, the resulting stripes would be uneven. The stripes are then left to dry under the sun. When they dry, the stripes turns into strings which can be sold to the local stores. They used banana strings as rafia strings were not widely available then.
Looking back at it now, the banana strings can make a comeback. Perhaps not as a replacement for the cheap and more sturdy raffia. To make it sellable, the banana strings need to be repackaged and targeted at a new market. How about 'organic strings' for the 'green-conscious' businessess?
When I was younger, the fruits weren't the only thing I took from the tree. Quite an amazing plant it is. The leaves can be used for many dishes like kuih lopes, lepat, pulut panggang and nasi lemak. The dried up leaves can be used as burning fuel. The caterpillars that live inside rolled up leaves was a source of fascination and fun. The tree trunk, while not as valuable as balak, could generate money as well.
I remember helping in the process of transforming the trunk into strings. The trunk is made of layers of water-rich skins. Much like onions. You peel off the skin one by on until you hit the core. Do it carefully as you don't want to break the skin.
Then, the skins are set on a bar, much like setting the cloth to dry. Using a special 5-bladed knife (designed to tear down mengkuang leaves), the skin is cut into long thin stripes. The cutting movement must be steady and swift; otherwise, the resulting stripes would be uneven. The stripes are then left to dry under the sun. When they dry, the stripes turns into strings which can be sold to the local stores. They used banana strings as rafia strings were not widely available then.
Looking back at it now, the banana strings can make a comeback. Perhaps not as a replacement for the cheap and more sturdy raffia. To make it sellable, the banana strings need to be repackaged and targeted at a new market. How about 'organic strings' for the 'green-conscious' businessess?
Comments
Why? Because it emanates foul rotting stench after being left for days. Hehehe.