From Aqua Life to Crafts
Several water bodies in Assam have a profusion of water hyacinth, also known as Pani Meteka. It is an aquatic weed, till recently considered a nuisance and a waste. A project started by the Assam State Rural Livelihood Mission (ASRLM) turned the weed to good use. The project started with the training of 600 people from six clusters across Assam to turn the water hyacinth into handicrafts. Later, six common facility centres were set up, and production began in 2018.
The Making
Water hyacinth produces more than 200 tons of dry matter per hectare each year, so it is an abundant resource to make useful and decorative items like baskets, mats, laptop bags, and tiffin bags. First, the water hyacinth stems are dried. Its fibres are flattened with a machine after which they are used to weave eco-friendly products. The fibre can be woven by hand or on machine looms. The naturally colourless products are then coloured with natural dyes.
The Legacy
Water hyacinth crafts developed quite recently. In 2008, the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) started promoting the use of water hyacinth to make crafts and encourage sustainable livelihoods in the region.
Memory Vault
In 2019, water hyacinth crafts were displayed at the ‘India Garment Fair & India Home Furnishing Fair’, a trade fair in Osaka, Japan. Today, over 85% of the artisans who make water hyacinth crafts in North-East India are women. The states of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Tripura also make water hyacinth crafts, but on a smaller scale.
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