STORY: Myanmar entrepreneur protects environment by turning plant waste into valuable products
SHOOTING TIME: Dec. 20, 2024
DATELINE: Dec. 24, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:21
LOCATION: YANGON, Myanmar
CATEGORY: ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT

SHOTLIST:
1. various of waste bananas turning into value-added products

STORYLINE:

Entrepreneur U Myint Thein skillfully peels a banana stem at a farm in Yangon, Myanmar, to show how to extract plant fibers for use in value-added products.

Since 2019, U Myint Thein has been leading an eco-friendly initiative to turn discarded banana stems into items such as shoes, pillows, towels, and clothes.

For his efforts to transform plant waste into wealth, U Myint Thein won the Creativity Star Prize at the 2022 China-ASEAN Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition.

U Myint Thein said that he has conducted over 30 training sessions across Myanmar. At each session, people learn how to create value from plant waste.

Looking to the future, U Myint Thein is optimistic and hopes to have his products on supermarket shelves by 2025. 

"The potential for banana-based products is promising, as our country has plenty of banana trees," said U Myint Thein. "If we use them wisely, we can even boost the economy."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Yangon, Myanmar.
(XHTV)