Kerala - Kochi   

From weed to wealth

Water hyacinth, a menace that has drifted into the life of the thousands of people around the globe, would soon generate wealth if one of the research projects for converting the weeds into value-added product succeeds.

The Kula Vazha, as it is popularly known, has been causing problems to inland navigation, irrigation, fishing activities and contaminating water used for domestic purposes.

Extensive damage

The damage caused by the water hyacinth to the ecosystem and livelihood of people has been so extensive that it forced authorities worldwide to spend much time and money for removing this floating menace.

Tropical and subtropical countries round the world have been working hard to contain the menace. Kuttanad is one of the areas in the State that have been hit hard by this floating weed.

Each year, several civic bodies in the State spent huge amounts to control this menace and the various methods employed in the past failed to yield any effective results.

The water in which the hyacinth grows emanates a foul smell and contains a suspended particulate organic matter, making it unfit for consumption.

The thick floating carpet of hyacinth prevents sunlight from entering the water and thus reducing the dissolved oxygen presence in water.

This adversely affects the ecosystem of water bodies and upsets the aquatic ecosystems, biodiversity, fisheries and agriculture.

Kottappuram Integrated Development Society (KIDS) and India-Canada Environment Facility (ICEF), a joint initiative of the Indian and Canadian Governments for undertaking environmental projects in the water and energy sectors, have identified this grim situation as an opportunity to turn weed into wealth.

The KIDS has initiated a project for using water hyacinth to create a natural fibre, which has a multitude of applications. From wall hangings to panelling of walls and for making cushions, tea coasters table mats, mats, window blinds, files and boxes, the golden-coloured fibre of the water hyacinth will be put to extensive use under the project, says Sunny George, project director.

The features of the fibre made of the petiole of water hyacinth like its soft texture, golden hue and the capacity to absorb any dye without catalysts have made it an ideal fibre for a large number of applications.

While most of the fibres available in the State such as the banana and screw-pine fibres are hard, the hyacinth fibre is soft. It can also be used to reduce the hardness of the hard fibres by way of blending.

Drying in sunlight is the only processing that is required for hyacinth fibres, explains Dr. George.

Workshop

KIDS will organise a two-day State-level dissemination workshop on September 14 and 15 on the subject.

T.M. Thomas Issac, Finance Minister; K.P. Rajendran, Revenue Minister; M. Satyanarayana, director, ICEF, and Johnson Panketh, executive director, KIDS, will attend.

K.S. SUDHI

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