Export quality handicraft

By Rizalina K. Araral
MediaCore, FPRDI

Export-quality handicrafts are easier to produce with the chemical removal of cutin from bamboo twigs.  This new more efficient bamboo processing method deserves a second look considering the US$8 billion annual global trade in bamboo craft.

Craftsmen can use it as a cheaper, easier way to remove cutin, the hard covering of bamboo twigs' surface that keeps finishes from adhering well to the materials.

 “Workers can now do away with the laborious procedure of manually scraping cutin.  Cutin can now be removed conveniently by applying disodium octaborate tetrahydrate or DOT,” said Josefina G. Palisoc, a researcher at the Forest Products Research and Development Institute based in Los Baños. 

“Laboratory production showed that soaking two batches of bamboo twigs a day at 600 pieces per batch costs PhP1.06 less per twig than the manual removal of cutin. Per month, a handicraft producer can save as much as Php 23,440 using the method”, she added.

DOT also whitens the surface of twigs and protects it from insects and fungi.  It is also safe to use that after soaking, the solution can be left to evaporate without endangering workers' health.