Harvesting
Operational systems for collecting and transporting pineapple leaves from active plantation areas.
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NATURAL FIBRE · RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
Engineering agricultural waste into export-grade natural fibre
For more than a decade, The Chequered Flag has combined practical engineering, fabrication, and industrial problem-solving to develop technologies that transform agricultural waste into commercially valuable natural fibres — culminating in one of East Africa's most advanced pineapple fibre extraction operations.
90+
Jobs created at peak operation
2,700+
Tonnes of pineapple leaves processed
40+
Tonnes of export-grade fibre produced
4+
International export markets
$1M+
Grant-backed development aid raised
Beyond automotive engineering
While The Chequered Flag is widely known in Kenya for automotive engineering and fabrication, the company has also developed significant expertise in agricultural processing machinery and industrial systems development.
The journey began through research and development within the sisal industry, focusing on the challenges of extracting high-quality natural fibres efficiently and safely at industrial scale. Existing technologies across many natural fibre sectors were characterised by low throughput, dangerous operation, inconsistent quality, and extreme labour intensity.
As global interest in sustainable fibres and circular bioeconomy solutions grew, The Chequered Flag recognised the untapped potential in agricultural waste streams — particularly pineapple leaves, which are normally left to rot or burned after harvest.
Engineering automatic fibre extraction
Through extensive prototyping and iterative development, The Chequered Flag designed and built an automatic conveyor-fed decortication system — transforming pineapple fibre extraction from a cottage-industry process into industrial-scale manufacturing.
Key innovations
- Automatic conveyor-fed leaf handling
- Improved operator safety and reduced fatigue
- Consistent feed rates and fibre cleanliness
- Higher throughput than traditional hand-fed machines
- Suitability for industrial-scale continuous operation
Fibre extraction in action
Field and facility footage from pineapple leaf decortication and fibre processing operations in Kenya.
Mananasi Fibre Ltd
The success of early machinery development led directly to the formation of Mananasi Fibre Ltd — established to address the enormous post-harvest waste challenge of commercial pineapple production.
Working in partnership with Del Monte Kenya, Mananasi Fibre established a pilot industrial fibre extraction operation on Del Monte's approximately 4,000-hectare pineapple plantation in Thika, Kenya. At estates of this scale, burning leaf biomass can represent tens of thousands of tonnes annually — a disposal problem that became the basis for export-oriented manufacturing.
- Agricultural waste valorisation
- Circular economy and rural industrialisation
- Export-oriented natural fibre manufacturing
- Climate-resilient processing systems
A complete processing facility
Through the SMEP programme, The Chequered Flag and Mananasi Fibre developed a fully operational facility — the complete chain required to transform agricultural waste into export-grade natural fibre using locally developed engineering capability.
PROCESS OVERVIEW
From plantation waste to fibre and silage
After fruit harvest, pineapple leaves are collected and decorticated. The extracted fibre is refined for textile markets; the pulp is ensiled as a stable livestock feed — replacing leaf burning with circular, export-oriented manufacturing.
Decortication
Industrial-scale automatic machinery developed by The Chequered Flag for fibre extraction from leaf biomass.
Drying
Large-scale natural drying infrastructure for moisture reduction and fibre stabilisation before refinement.
Brushing & refinement
Mechanical brushing to improve fibre cleanliness, consistency, and appearance for textile markets.
Baling & export
Compression and packaging systems for international logistics and export-grade natural fibre markets.
Commercial validation
The successful demonstration of technology and business model ultimately led to the acquisition of Mananasi Fibre by Del Monte Kenya — validating both the technical capability of the extraction technology and the commercial viability of industrial natural fibre production from agricultural waste.
Agricultural waste previously treated as a disposal problem became the foundation for a scalable manufacturing and export industry — with fibre consignments shipped internationally and supplementary product streams including compost, silage, and rope developed through the pilot.
Read about Del Monte's acquisition of Mananasi FibreCapital FM · May 2025EXPORT MARKETS REACHED
- Vietnam (Nextevo & EcoFa)
- Taiwan (EcoPalf & UKL)
- Spain (Ananas Anam)
- China
Impact achieved
The project demonstrated that agricultural waste could become the basis for scalable manufacturing and export — while creating rural employment, developing local engineering expertise, and raising awareness of natural fibre opportunities across East Africa.
Employment & skills
More than 90 stable jobs created, with machinery designed and fabricated by young local artisans employed by the project.
Environmental benefit
Intercepting leaf biomass before burning reduces pollutants, carbon emissions, and soil damage — replacing disposal with valorisation.
Export manufacturing
Operational industrial fibre extraction capability established in Kenya, with export-grade fibre production demonstrated at scale.
Circular products
Beyond textile fibre: compost, silage, rope, and biochar trials extended the circular value of pineapple processing waste.
Facility & operations gallery
Selected imagery from engineering development, plantation operations, and export preparation at the Mananasi Fibre facility in Thika.
Looking forward
The technology developed through the Mananasi Fibre project has applications far beyond pineapple leaves. Many agricultural and invasive biomass streams contain valuable fibres but remain underutilised across Africa — not for lack of raw material, but because scalable extraction and processing equipment has rarely been available locally.
PRIORITY FEEDSTOCK
Banana pseudostem fibre in Kenya and East Africa
Kenya and the wider East African region are among the world's most important banana-producing areas. Every harvest generates enormous volumes of pseudostem — the thick, fibrous stalk left in the field after fruit is cut. Today, most of this material is left to rot or cleared with little economic return, despite containing strong, versatile natural fibre suitable for textiles, rope, composites, and industrial applications.
The opportunity is significant at both national and continental scale. Across Africa, banana cultivation supports millions of smallholders and commercial estates alike, yet fibre valorisation remains largely untapped. Where processing does exist, it is often manual, low-capacity, and difficult to scale — the same constraints The Chequered Flag addressed in pineapple through automatic, conveyor-fed decortication and integrated downstream handling.
During the Mananasi Fibre pilot, pineapple plant stem and banana stem decortication were successfully tested using the same core technology — and industrial banana stem decortication machines are now being developed on the back of that work. The Chequered Flag intends to build on this foundation by designing and fabricating dedicated fibre extraction and processing equipment for banana pseudostem: from field collection and feed systems through decortication, drying, brushing, and preparation for textile or industrial markets.
Our goal is to leverage more than a decade of engineering, fabrication, and pilot-scale operations experience to help realise the full potential of banana fibre in Kenya and across Africa — creating rural employment, reducing waste, and establishing locally built processing capability that can compete in regional and export markets. We are actively seeking partners and investment to accelerate this next phase of development.
OUR SOLUTION
Banana pseudostem follows the same valorisation model proven with pineapple leaves: after fruit goes to market, stems are harvested, decorticated, and split into export-grade fibre for textiles and ensiled pulp for livestock feed — generating farmer income, local employment, food security, and foreign exchange from fibre exports.
Additional feedstocks under exploration
Beyond banana, the same technology platform is being evaluated for other underutilised biomass streams — with a long-term vision of decentralised fibre processing systems converting waste into textile fibres, industrial materials, livestock feed, and circular economy manufacturing opportunities.
Water hyacinthSansevieriaStinging nettleOther agricultural and invasive biomass streams
Agricultural waste valorisationClimate-resilient manufacturingCircular economy systemsNatural fibre innovationRural industrialisationExport-oriented manufacturingEngineering-led sustainabilityScalable biomass processingNature-positive industrial developmentAfrican industrial innovation
FOR INVESTORS & PARTNERS
Discuss natural fibre development
This page summarises engineering-led natural fibre work separate from our automotive workshop and vehicle hire operations. For background materials, partnership discussions, or investment enquiries, please get in touch.