Matilde Frank

Color: natural white or a strong yellow depending on the water conditions
Soft / hard: the fidre is strong but an flexible
Shiny / matt: the suface is really smooth but it is a natural fibre
Smells: neutral a little like straw
Texture: in the process the fibre changes from very is´chy to really soft passing a moment of stiffness
Others: in woven conditions it is really strong and flexible

I was working with dry material because of transportation issues. For the start i needed to water the material. with fresh fibres may the watering over night at the beginning would not be relevant.

Overnight watering the raw fibres.
If you wish the fibres more yellow ad bicarbonate and boil it for a minute before leaving them overnight.

Fix them in a strait position and start to brush them in one direction. When the fibres start to fall apart water them again and pass them through a sponge.
After watering them for 5 minutes start brushing them again. Bend the clyand fibres in a wet stadium over the table edge to get them flexible and repose them in water for repose for the time you work the other fibres. The water will help to sepate the fibre futher.

Once cleaned en separated it can be uses like a normal textile yarn. It is easy to twist and to weave in any fineness without adding more components than water.

- growpots
- protecting cloth for the workers
- packaging and signs of the product
- heads
- furniture

Palmito is a tradional plant from the amazonia but since 1990 they replaced after the big banana plant diying in ecuador big parts of the agricultural economy of the country. As this industry is quite new there is no cultural nor economical use of the fibres. It opens the possibility of creating both. As the fibre once cleaned is smooth and strong and durable it opens new possibilies for the reagion. It could build any kind of textile based product and especially good for the hard climate condition of the area (hot and humid always).