Rice Straw Shade Textile

I arrived at the rice straw shade textile concept after my decision to combine both the direct needs of community we visited in Guanacaste and the inherent properties of the rice straw, which lend itself to be a good shade material.

Below are images of the concept/presentation: [click for full image]

Appropriate Technology

We visited Slater's Mill last Thursday and were able to see some old, but still working machines. I particularly enjoyed the demonstration of the carding machine at the Mill.

The carding machine uses mechanical power to replace the manual removal of seeds by cotton workers. It loosens up the cotton fibers and straightens them on drum carders so that they can be more easily spun into yarn. The drum carder we looked at in Slater’s Mill was hand cranked by factory workers. The cotton was placed against the machine on one side and fed into it bit by bit, then cranked through the carder until it became straight. The carding machine is a great example of how to optimize efficiency in a system. The rice straw I hope to use as a woven textile might be able to be separated with a machine that straightens it so that it becomes easier twist into rope.

BBC -"large potential for new materials being developed... using what were once considered to be agricultural waste products."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13299292

The straw landscape and more

Basket displayed at the Smithsonian

Boruca people of Costa Rica

Japanese straw crafts and applications

Lots of weaving/basket-making examples

Road-side store in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Making clothing out of chicken feathers and rice straw

"Agro-textiles - a rising wave"

Pack Baskets

Rising above poverty with bamboo

How to make a net

Ock Pop Tok

"Sanwan turns rice straw into handicrafts"

"The braiding machine"

And finally...something that would have certainly been helpful in Costa Rica ;)

Twisting straw into rope

I had thought that rice straw couldn't be twisted, but I was using the wrong technique. In order to properly spin/twist the straw, you have to spin two separate bundles of rice straw so that the bundles themselves spin and they spin into each other.

This is much faster than braiding straw and allows it to then be twisted into even stronger ropes. I'm lucky to have family who have worked with straw in the past. I'm told that skilled farmers in rural Ningbo (China) can make 100ft-long ropes in an hour.

More Weaving Updates

We just had our mid-term review and got some insightful comments from guest critics. This is where things are now - click for full image of samples, explanations and charts.

Rice straw...

...can be braided into ridiculously long strands of rope by overlapping threads during the braiding process. I created the warp first, wrapping it on a cardboard loom. Next, I'll be making the weft and creating multiple samples with a continuous rope of rice straw. Below is a video of rice straw being woven on a loom in Korea. Below that are photos of my process.

I'm currently testing the properties of different types of weaving and the applications that come out of various textile patterns.

To be continued.

Costa Rica's Biological Community

Hardware Store + Rice Processing Factory

This is a photo of an MDF panel we found at a local hardware store in Liberia. Went went there to explore the local textures and construction materials and to gain a better sense of the how in Costa Rica. Most of the materials were similar to what we can find in the states. However, more houses in Liberia uses corrugated metal sheets for roofs and build with cement and similar types of materials. I also found fans, chairs and packaging made from straw materials.

We visited a rice processing plant on our last day and took a lot at how quality control is done with different types of rice, as well as the machines that process the rice. We saw a large truck pass by at one point carrying an enormous quantity of rice. 20 of those trucks pass by the plant every day. I unfortunately didn't get a photograph, but it was impressive. There was also a lot of rice hull and straw on the group - a very familiar sight.

Presentation to EARTH students and Tour of EARTH farm

Towards the end of our trip to Costa Rica, we presented our material studies to EARTH students in two groups to get their feedback on possible paths to explore. Our group quickly realized that they could tell us, not necessarily how rice straw can be used as a material, but how it could potentially fit in with their local environment and community. The best responses came out of questions we asked about lifestyle, everyday activities and people. Xavi translated our conversations, which was immensely helpful. Though this did not provide the type of feedback we expected, we came back from the presentation of a better sense of the local way of life.

Later, we took a tour of EARTH's agricultural space. We saw where they grew mangoes, rice and other crops. The manager of La Flor, who gave us this tour, told us about EARTH's efforts to use precision agriculture, which involves the early detection of problems occurring to the crops. The allows them to reduce the amount of herbicides and pesticides used, which, in the end, is much better for the plants and for us. They are also careful to only use as much water and fertilizer as they need. Too much of water can lead to eutrophication, which occurs when excess water carrying high amounts of nitrogen and other nutrients drains into local streams and ponds, creating algae blooms that divert oxygen from fish and other marine life, ultimately killing them.

After seeing the farms at EARTH, our tour guide/manager gave us some feedback on our materials. Like Carlos, he quickly identified needs these materials could fill. He was very excited about our work and made us excited in return. It's becoming more evident that there are numerous local problems that we can investigate through our material experimentation.

Local Community in Guanacaste

One of our days in Guanacaste was spent going to a local community that lived in a particularly poor region of the district. They don't have rights to the land they live on, and many live by collecting waste items close to their homes.

We went to help set up a community garden using affordable or recycled materials. Some of us helped plant lettuce while others embedded seeds into the soil. Others carried water or created tomato planters.

It's hard to imagine the lifestyle of the people who live here. It's difficult, but they survive. I'm appreciative of EARTH's dedication to doing community service and involving their students and us to be a part of this community.

Escuela Unidocente de Los Lagos, Guanacaste

While at EARTH, we were lucky enough to experience their celebration of the university "Earth siembra el futuro" - Earth plants the future. We watched a tree planting and participated in community service activities.

I was in a group that traveled to a local primary school called Los Lagos. This school has 47 students and spans six grades. Students there range from 4 to 12 years old, many of playing soccer while we were there.

The objective of our trip was to help paint the walls of their bathroom (some other students participated in created a trail near the school). We sanded the original paint from the walls and worked to cover the interior walls with white paint.

We were able to see the poor conditions this school existed in, as well as how much it contrasts with nearby schools that are well funded by the government. This school lacks basic supplies such as pencils, paper, scissors and glue. They need a security system to prevent thefts. The outside of the school is falling into dilapidation.

The good news is that Earth University is responding to their needs and is able to help with some of their problems. This was an eye-opening experience and one I'm sure not to forget soon.

Presentation from/to Carlos, Earth University - Guanacaste, Costa Rica

On the morning of our first full day in Costa Rica, we were given a presentation of Earth University by Carlos, the Director of the La Flor campus at Earth. Carlos spoke to us about the history of La Flor, its components and his exploration of sustainability within the campus.

He talked about the need for clean energy, more information technology and strategic alliances between Earth and other organizations and universities. The things that really stuck out for me, however, were related to the visible impacts of climate change in Costa Rica.

The 50% of people in Central America who now live in the dry tropics will soon be 80%. Not only that, but the dry season period has now lengthened, and the amount of the rain received in the wet season has almost doubled from 1.4-1.5m each year to 3.2m. This places enormous stress on the irrigation systems in place on the farm and elsewhere.

He mentioned that materials need to be managed properly in a way that eliminates or reduces waste. In order to assure that people will want to "go green," we have to make the more sustainable option cheaper and easily replicable. This is something more product and system developers in the US should pick up on. Green technology here is still the expensive option, which pushes people away from it. For Costa Ricans, it is just as important, as they don't have the kind of waste infrastructure we do. In fact, there are no certified landfills in Guanacaste nor a regional recycling program (though materials are being separated when disposed).

We, the students, then presented to Carlos our material explorations. We received feedback on possible routes our materials could take as well as more information on how rice straw and sugarcane are collected to further our knowledge on the life cycle of the materials.

I really appreciated Carlos' comments as well as his vision of the future. If we are successful, we will create new materials that nature can eat up with time and materials that are useful within existing industries.

Weaving

I decided to explore weaving as a potential process for rice straw. Rice straw has been woven into textiles in the past and has permeated slightly into consumer culture in the past through straw hats, fans, bags, etc. Straw mats and larger textile products may provide a larger market for this specific material.

I tried plaiting rice straw. It turned out to be a long, but satisfying process. Rice straw is weavable when wet, but it can turn brittle after it dries. Braiding the straw helps in making sure the individual strands don't break.

I also tried creating a smaller sample of woven rice straw that involves plaiting multiple strands at a time.

I think the biggest challenge right now is continuing the strands and making sure that there's a way to make larger woven pieces. Right now, the samples are limited by the length of the rice straw. There is the possibility of overlapping strands when weaving or knotting, sowing or adhering them together. That might be the next step. Hopefully I can also create a better loom so that I can reduce the amount of time it takes to make a sample.

Rice Straw Art

The people in this video are making gorgeous art out of rice straw. The pieces are slightly shiny, because of the rice straw's texture. Check it out:

Fiberboard

For our trip to Costa Rica next week, we're preparing presentations for EARTH University that will explain the potential of the agricultural materials we're working with. This an 11x17 explaining the processes and uses of different types of fiberboard.

Under the Microscope

On Thursday, we went to the nature lab to look at rice straw, bagasse, etc under the microscope. We were introduced to the lab's compound and stereo microscopes, include the protoscope, which is a hand-held microscope that takes photos of the examined object.

The rice hull had a glossy outer surface, and a square-like structure. The rice straw, on the other hand, was entirely linear in structure. The straw itself isn't a perfect cylinder. It has multiple ridges that probably aid in delivering waste and nutrients to the tips of the place. The bagasse is linear as well, but individual strands are broken (think Pantene Pro-V commercials where they show how it repairs damaged hair).

The sugarcane waste was really interesting. Our professor showed us that the internal substance was made of a purple, hexagonal, foamy material. It was very different from the outer surface of the sugarcane, which is hard and wood-like. It looked like sugar crystals, although it may serve a different purpose than the part of the plant traditionally extracted as "sugarcane."

Experimentation

The past two weeks have been spent experimenting with mostly rice straw and sugarcane waste. The results have been pretty interesting.

Initially, I soaked the materials in water. It didn't change the structure of the rice straw, bagasse or rice hull as much as I thought it would. The rice straw, however, was more bendable, as was the sugarcane waste.

Next, I tried creating wheat paste. Wheat paste is a natural adhesive that is commonly used in crafts such as paper mache-making. To do this, I mixed cold water and flour. Separately, I boiled a couple cups of water. Once the water boil, I quickly poured the mixture in, stirring for about an hour. I let the whole batch cool for another 3 hours, stirring consistently every ten minutes. Once it completely cooled, I added sugar and stirred more to mix it in. I then refrigerated this, which turned it into a jello-like substance. This was then applied to ricestraw and sugarcane waste.

Once the wheat paste completely dried, which took a couple of days, the rice straw stuck together pretty well. It's hardened quite nicely. I'm trying to see if sugarcane waste will accept it the same way.

I took a lot of rice straw back to my room and separated the core of the stem from the sheath, which is the outer protective covering that expresses a leaf-like quality.

I asked myself, if I didn't apply any adhesive to the material-making process, what would I do with it. The first instinct was to tie it and use the fiber's vertical strength as a textile or rope. I eventually found that it would have a lot easier to tie them if I had done the entire process while the rice straw was completely soaked. Maybe weaving is easier this way too.

I also worked on specifically compressing the rice straw sheath with wood glue as an adhesive. This is rice straw compressed:

This is sugarcane waste compressed:

Compressed bagasse:

Compressed rice hull - which failed, because it's surface rejects bonding. The fibers are nonlinear and have a glossy coating.

I'm currently layering compressed pieces in hopes that I can create a stiff fiberboard from them. The sugarcane waste has a lot of promise in this direction. It has a relatively high sugar content which allows it to adhere well, and its fibers want to bond to each other, unlike rice hulls.