How an Engineer in Jharkhand Makes Sarees With Water Hyacinths, the ‘Terror of Bengal’ |
Originally reported and written in May 2023, this story has been republished as part of our archival content.
A nuisance for water bodies, water hyacinth is a freshwater weed with a massive growth potential that blocks sunlight and chokes the aquatic ecosystem.
“Water hyacinth is known as the terror of Bengal. This weed grows in still pond water, and almost every household here has a pond in their backyard. Aquatic life can survive only when dissolved oxygen in water is at least five mg per litre, but it decreases to one mg per litre in the presence of water hyacinth. This threatens aquatic life and deteriorates water quality. It is a global phenomenon,” Gaurav Anand tells The Better India.
Interestingly, water hyacinth is used in the country to make mats, paper, and other handicrafts. But in an innovative move, the 46-year-old Jamshedpur-resident has found a way to convert this nuisance into fusion sarees by extracting fibre from the plant.
“I wanted to come up with a sustainable solution to the growing problem of water hyacinth so that people do not see it as a nuisance but as a resource. We utilise 25 kg of water hyacinth to make one fusion saree,” he says.
Since February 2022, when he first made such a saree, Gaurav has been able to make 50 fusion sarees and aims to make 1,000 more by the end of this year.
Befriending the water hyacinth
The environmental engineer........