Partnership between the Centre for Mountain Futures and 17th State Cotton Factory connects rural farmers with developed markets for a new product.

The unveiling ceremony of the new Gold Kapok Industrial Base for Shanghai–Yunnan Collaboration took place at the Honghe Innovation Centre for Mountain Futures on 25 February 2022.

Pioneers of industry from Shanghai, leaders of the Honghe County Government and Director Jianchu Xu of Mountain Futures spoke at the ceremony before unveiling a new cotton-processing facility, which will provide jobs for local women entrepreneurs.

Gold kapok is the name given to cotton fibres harvested from the tropical kapok tree, also known as the silk-cotton tree (Ceiba pentandra). It is distributed across the arid valleys of Southwest China, making it a staple tree for ecological restoration in the degraded and underdeveloped region.

Xu, who is also director of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) in China, reported on the multifunctional nature of gold kapok: its flowers, roots and bark are edible, with medical applications; fibres can be used in pillows, mattresses, clothing and more, offering an alternative for cotton-sensitive skin; oil can be pressed for use in lubricants and soap; and its wood can be used for making paper.

'It offers a sustainable alternative to cotton as the main global crop for textile production,' he remarked. 'Mountain Futures will play a leading role in building a single, integrated, production, industrial and market chain. Our researchers will supply farmers with high-quality seed germplasm. The Honghe farmers will then cultivate and prepare fibres and textiles for sale to markets in Shanghai and elsewhere. This approach for rural revitalisation has numerous economic and ecological benefits.'

The unveiling ceremony marked the initialisation of phase one of collaboration: the planting of 10,000 mu (about 668 hectares) of kapok trees to serve as a carbon-sink forest. This sink will help to regenerate and safeguard native valley ecosystems.

Precision breeding will select for only the highest-quality kapok seedlings, allowing for productive artificial cultivation and efficient fibre preparation.

Next, textile weaving techniques of the indigenous Hani people will be explored for integration in the proven methods developed by the 17th State Cotton Factory, based in Shanghai, to fuse traditional cultural practices with modern technology.

Marketing will initially focus on domestic Chinese markets in 2022 but there are ambitious plans to launch international apparel with the Gold Kapok standard in the first three months of 2023. Targeted consumers are those who lead low-carbon lifestyles and are conscious of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.

The project leverages cutting-edge science, traditional agriculture and modern industry to establish a new model for poverty eradication, restoring the environment and delivering high-quality products to conscious consumers.