Trash to Cash Material: Water Hyacinth
Last year, the news regarding the intense flood that devastated provinces in Mindanao was all over the headlines. Millions of families lost their homes and livelihoods because of the flooding in Rio Grande de Mindanao in Cotabato City (http://pnej.org/?p=377). Unlike here in Metro Manila where floods are caused by non-biodegradable trash like plastics, the flood in Cotabato was caused by tons and acres of Water Hyacinth in the river.
Water Hyacinths or simply known as water lilies clog water ways of the Rio Grande de Mindanao, Laguna Lake and other bodies of water here in the Philippines. There have been many attempts to address this issue. Even President Aquino himself announced a "war versus water hyacinth" because of the severe damages it caused (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/17217/aquino-leads-'war-vs-water-hyacinths' ). All these attention were not enough to solve the issue. Water hyacinths grow and multiply faster than the efforts of people and the government to extinguish those pests.
There have been efforts to turn these pests or trash materials into cash. Some corporate foundation and government agencies like TESDA have initiated livelihood programs to turn water hyacinth into workable materials. The methods they use are traditional. This is a good start but there are still lots of room for improvement.
Currently, Water Hyacinth are dried, weaved and then made into handicrafts like baskets, traditional slippers and bags. It is produced by locals from Laguna, Rizal and other provinces where water hyacinths are abundant. There are still a lot of in demand products, for the local market and for export, that can be made using dried water hyacinth.
My suggestion and idea is for the government to invest in necessary equipment and machines for production of dried and weaved water hyacinth. The private sector is also encouraged to invest here since it is really a viable business. The supply of water hyacinth is unending. This is to shift the production from a manual or traditional method to a automated or machine-assisted way. With the necessary equipment, our country can produce and also be a world leading supplier of dried and weaved raw material.
More Local Products
Here in the Philippines, we can really be proud of the talents and ingenuity of our people. The arts and design field is where we are one of the best in the world. We have world renowned fashion and furniture designers doing design works for the world's most elite. We also have local talented designers that are capable of making world-class designs.
My suggestion is to make in demand products using water hyacinth as its main material like furniture. Making handicrafts using water hyacinth is a good idea however, in my opinion, the demand for local handicrafts are not big enough. We have a lot of furniture designers that uses natural or green materials for their products.
The world renowned Kenneth Cobonpue makes his designs for Hollywood stars and other big-time clients using green raw materials (see: http://www.kennethcobonpue.com/collection/grid ) unlike foreign designers who use artificial or not environmental-friendly raw materials. Furniture designers here are more inclined to use natural raw materials because it is most available here in our country and nature is their source of inspiration. They do not rely on sophisticated fabricating machines for their works but rather on pure design, creativity and hardwork. Bamboo and rattan are the most popular materials since way before. I suggest to make water hyacinth an addition to the most used raw material for furniture making because it is not only feasible but also helpful to many communities in our country. Furthermore, the application for this kind of material is most suited for furniture making; it is strong, durable and has a natural look to it. With a modern method of drying and weaving water hyacinth, we can achieve this. It can not only help unclog waterways and prevents flooding but also stir up our economy since the demand for Filipino furniture is in demand worldwide. <DOST has such projects> 3
Instead of just throwing away water hyacinth which are currently considered as trash and pests, why not make it something that can be beneficial to our economy? We have the supply. Studies have shown and some small-time production have been started to show that water hyacinth can be converted into something useful. All we need to do is to modernize and commercialize it.
Submitted by: Evan Uy
1 comments:
Hurrah! Look also at its use for fuel. The trash left over from fiber production can be digested into fuel gas, compacted into fuel briquettes, or composted. It makes good biochar, too! Keep it up, You're on the right track!
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