A new Regional Yarn Production and Innovation Center (RYPIC) will be set up in the Cagayan Valley in Philippines at an investment of PHP 40 million ($832,117).
It is a microscale yarn spinning facility for producing yarns from blends of natural fibres like banana, pineapple leaf and abaca with cotton. It will also offer technical support to textile MSMEs.
The project approved by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is part of the Inclusive Innovation Textiles Empowering Lives Anew (i2TELA) programme, led by the DOST-Philippine Textile Research Institute (DOST-PTRI).
The facility aims to serve as a pipeline to spur development of the local textile industry in the Northern Luzon corridor, said the country’s media reports. It will be established in the Isabela State University (ISU) Ilagan.
The innovation facility has environmental, cultural and economic significance for the country, said DOST-PTRI director Celia B. Elumba.
The Cagayan State University Gonzaga campus will provide bamboo raw materials to the RYPIC. Along with promoting yarn production in Cagayan Valley, the centre will benefit the region’s disaster risk reduction management as the bamboo plantation will control erosion and flooding in the area, according to DOST.
