Be Serious, Go Bananas! –Challenges and Potentials of the Banana Paper
On January 13 2016, we organized the third “Connect to the world! DFP TALK”. The guest speaker was Ms. Satoko Ekberg, CEO of One Planet Café Ltd.
When she visited Zambia on her vacation, she saw the real situation of poverty with her own eyes; she thought that she wanted to do something to improve the situation. Firstly, she established a computer school for women to support their self-reliance, and then began the banana paper project. Satoko talked about the development of the banana paper in which the technology of Echizen Washi* is applied, the business partnerships in Japan, the product development and the business plan in Africa, Japan and Europe. She told participants that the balance of “Planet, People, and Profit” was very important for sustainable development.
Thank you very much, Satoko!
*1500-years old paper making technology – the”Washi” technology – Japanese traditional paper making
[Comment from a participant]
The guest speaker was Satoko, who was very charming. I learned about the fair trade banana paper in Zambia which is made up with fibers of bananas, made from stalks of bananas. The stalks of bananas used to be dumped, however they change into the fair trade paper, and are developed together with Japan and Zambia, using skills of Echizen Washi. Now, the banana paper is used as the packages of the products of LUSH and one of the specs for RICOH photocopy machines, she said.
Although there are many issues in the world I never knew, I had good time learning about them: the income of one person supports ten people in developing countries; we need additional three earths if developing countries keep the same life style as that in developed countries; we are destroying natural resources 1.5 times faster than the earth’s natural recovery speed; three P’s (Planet/People/Profit) are necessary for sustainable development.
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Don’t miss next DFP TALK!
