Women Turning Water Hyacinth Into Sustainable Products Confront A Changing Climate

Staying Afloat

The going was never smooth. At the least, it has been viable, with the varieties of water hyacinth products, including tote and handbags, making a mark at the annual trade fair in New Delhi and other parts of the country. These products were sold under the Kottapuram Integrated Development Society (KIDS), the local NGO for which Valsala and other artisans worked. 

When production was hit during the pandemic and the 2018 floods, the artisans maintained the sales momentum with product stocks, the inventory of which was promoted online. Their unique, grassroots efforts to turn an invasive aquatic species like water hyacinth, which harms the ecosystem, into a viable raw material for eco-friendly products have gained appreciation from various corners. 

But now they confront a crisis they would have never anticipated back in the 2000s: unpredictable rain patterns and weather conditions.

"In the initial days, we used to experiment by collecting kulavaazha available in the vicinity of Kottapuram. Most of the time, I used to pluck these aquatic plants from canals or lakes and make bundles. But when we scaled up production, it did not suffice. So, we started procuring from other regions," says Valsala. "Ours is an upstream area, and it is often prone to flooding. Maybe that is why we mostly find weak and stunted beds of kulavaazha here," she notes. 

As the water hyacinth available in their area does not meet the production needs, the artisans source it from neighbouring regions. 

Sourcing Raw Materials

At Edathirinji, which is in the neighbouring district, the water hyacinth that grows freely on waterbodies is strikingly thicker and healthier — a stark contrast to what is found in Kottapuram. "Edathirinji is a low-lying area. Here we see good quality water hyacinth," says Usha, a member of a self-help group. 

Along with other women, she collects water hyacinth from canals and rivers to distribute it to other regions — even to the artisans in Kottapuram. "Obviously, the aquatic plant grows in swampy areas. Sometimes, we even paddle rowboats to reach the riparian area of the river in Madhilakam, or Shanmugham canal, where we find healthy water hyacinth plants," says Usha. 

Until a few years ago, these women had been directly collecting water hyacinth from waterbodies — by trudging along dense swamps or walking knee-deep in lakes. But they are now very reluctant to even set foot on wet grounds, as they fear the spread of water-borne diseases, which was not something so threatening in the past. "Even worse is the risk of rivers breaching their banks in the case of a flash flood," says Usha. 

Therefore, these women now do not collect water hyacinth as often as they used to in the past. This affects the supply chain in the region. "This is not so much of a profitable work now. We will keep doing it regularly if it is incentivised," says Usha. 

Stunted Stem Growth

According to Deepa J., who has been working with the artisans for several years, water hyacinth requires abundant sunlight to spread across waterbodies and for its stems, which contain air-filled tissues, to grow so that they can keep the plant floating. "We have come across instances of stunted growth of water hyacinth. Its growth slows down when there is a lack of sunlight or too much water — and even when it is densely populated," she says. 

The rise in temperature (on average, it has been rising by about 0.06°C [0.11°F] per decade) should ideally aid the growth of water hyacinth as abundant sunlight is required for its stems to lengthen. However, Kottapuram sees a different narrative unfold, a contradiction. Indeed, water hyacinth overruns the waterbodies in this rural region, spreading as fast as ever like a dense mat, but the stems themselves have become shorter, fragile, and weaker — leaving the artisans with raw materials in abundance but sparse in quality. "Often, the artisans do not get the desired stems even though water hyacinth is found aplenty on waterbodies. Moreover, it has become difficult now to collect water hyacinth from canals or lakes. The choked waterways hinder harvest. And during the monsoon, it is almost impossible to even reach the swampy wetlands that lead to the canals," says Deepa. 

Incessant Rain

Abundant sunlight, indeed, aids the growth of the invasive species. But in Kerala, sultry weather is immediately followed by episodes of incessant rain, and this results in the weeds choking the waterbodies to an extent that they obstruct the flow of water. As a result, the aquatic plants do not grow beyond a certain threshold. Moreover, it becomes extremely difficult to collect the weeds. "The government should set in place a mechanism wherein the local authorities themselves clean the waterbodies and procure the weeds," Valsala stresses. 

Due to the growing constraints, they have now turned their focus to alternative raw materials such as the screw pine plant. 

Policy Framework

A study published in IJSEM proposes various measures the authorities could undertake to prudently make use of water hyacinth and transform it into eco-friendly products.

Such measures, coupled with a strong policy framework for recycling ecowaste, could improve the livelihood of the artisans and boost the local economy — and even act as a catalyst for enhancing exports by promoting sustainable indigenous products.