The fibre is light, very
buoyant, resilient, highly
flammable and resistant to
water. The process of harvesting and separating the fibre is labour-intensive and manual. It cannot be
spun but is used as an alternative to
down as filling in
mattresses,
pillows,
upholstery,
teddy bears,
zafus and for
insulation. It was previously much used in
life jackets and similar devices. The fibre has been largely replaced by man-made materials. The seeds produce an
oil used locally in
soap and that can be used as
fertilizer.
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