Common Facility Centre (CFC) inauguration ceremony

On June 11, 2025, the North East Centre for Technology Application and Reach (NECTAR), an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, inaugurated the Common Facility Centre (CFC) for Banana Fibre extraction. The CFC is located at Kukidolong, New Chümoukedima. The event was attended by Chanchal Kumar, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of DoNER, as the Chief Guest; and Dr M Chuba Ao, Chairman, MARCOFED, Government of Nagaland. 

The CFC has been established under the Ministry of DoNER’s PM-DevINE scheme as part of the “NECTAR Livelihood Improvement Project – A Value Chain on Utilization of Banana Pseudostem for Value-Added Products,” which aims to promote sustainable livelihoods, skill development, and value addition through the efficient utilization of agricultural waste in the entire North East India. Under this initiative, the Entrepreneurs Associates (tEA) will act as the implementing agency.

The launch of the CFC is crucial for tEA as it is aimed at the promotion of sustainable livelihood and entrepreneurship. As an organization that values entrepreneurship and works to empower people through entrepreneurship, it is hoped that the centre will provide a platform for the people to generate income. tEA will work towards creating awareness and mobilizing people to make use of the CFC that is designed to transform waste banana pseudo-stems into valuable products, such as fibre, liquid fertiliser, vermicompost, and other economically valuable products, including biodegradable papers. The CFC will greatly benefit the rural community and will open new avenues of livelihood opportunities for last-mile citizens.

tEA is already in touch with villages around the CFC for sourcing raw materials and establishing linkages vital for the success of the production centre.