Artisans are trying to tame water hyacinth, ‘the terror of Bengal’, by exploring its economic and ecological potential
THE MENACE OF WATER HYACINTH CAN BE TACKLED WHILE MAKING MONETARY GAINS AND ENRICHING THE TRADITIONAL CRAFTS OF INDIA
AT TIMES all it takes to win a war is a novel strategy. And that’s precisely how several communities and organisations in the country are trying to gain the upper hand over an old enemy—the deceptively beautiful water hyacinth.
The perennial aquatic plant’s lilac, white and violet flowers with floating thick, glossy dark green leaves are believed to have caught the attention of the Britishers, who brought it to the country towards the end of the 18th century. Since then, the plant, known as Eichhornia crassipes in scientific lexicon, has spread widely, choking ponds and lakes, invading paddy fields and clogging water supply pipes. Today, it is one of the fastest growing plants known. By duplicating itself in less than two weeks, it suffocates the waterbody, depletes it of oxygen and blocks sunlight from reaching other species. The impact is so severe that it is said an Act was introduced in 1936 to “provide for the destruction of water hyacinth in Bengal”. Probably since then, the plant has also been referred to as the “terror of Bengal”.
In 1999, Punjab undertook a military operation to end the march of water hyacinth in Harike lake, the largest wetland in north India. Hyderabad in 2017 initiated a massive water hyacinth clearing project from its 53 lakes at the cost of 17 crore. But such efforts mean little for a plant whose seeds can remain dormant deep in the soil for almost 30 years.
The only way to manage the weed is by making it economically and ecologically useful, says Juhi Angam from Ukhrul district of Manipur. For the past few years, she has been leading a self-help group of 100 women who twist and twirl the dried stems of water hyacinth and water reed to create a myriad of products, from bags and baskets to purses and lamp shades. A local company, Chuimeiyao Handloom Weavers cum Handicrafts CS Ltd, markets the products in places as far as Delhi, popularising this new craft.
WATER HYACINTH IS AVAILABLE IN PLENTY AND FOR FREE. EXTRACTING THE FIBRE ALSO DOES NOT REQUIRE MUCH SKILL OR LABOUR
“This has made us financially independent and brought us international recognition,” says Angam, adding that typically, an artist takes a day to weave a bag of medium size. At Dilli Haat, an exhibition ground in Delhi, these bags sell at anywhere between `700 and `1,000.
Since 2011, conservation group World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has also tied up with the Punjab forest department to promote crafts made of the weed. It has mobilised women from Churian and Sudhian villages along Harike lake for making handicrafts from it. WWF
says the arrangement has the managers of the wildlife sanctuary happy because the sales of these handicraft can now pay for extraction of the weed. The communities also no longer feel alienated from the wetland and respect its ecological values.
The North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFI) situated in Assam, in collaboration with North Eastern Council (NEC) has also championed the cause of promoting water hyacinth crafts under its market portal “Aqua weaves”. NEDFI
explains how handicrafts made using water hyacinth makes more sense when compared with cane and bamboo products. According to NEDFI-NEC, the raw material is available in plenty, and for free. Even after harvesting, it takes just about 15 days for the plant to regrow. Besides, extracting the fiber does not require much skill or labour. All that one needs to do is identify the mature plants, which are 40-70 cm long and 1-3 cm thick; harvest those; remove all leaves and leave the stalks for drying in the sun. Within five to six days the stalks turn brown and can be used to make artefacts. The dry stems, which are as sturdy as cane and bamboo, can also be directly used in preparing furniture, photo frames.
In a bid to diversify its product range and make the products more appealing, NEDFI-NEC have trained artisans to make jewellery and slippers that have huge demand by hotels and the hospitality industry. From time to time, they invite professionals from Thailand, where the craft has been in practice for over 40 years, to train artisans in braiding and product finishing.
It’s time state governments recognised the potential of water hyacinth in promoting alternative livelihoods in rural as well as urban areas through self-help groups. This can herald a happier ending to the protracted war.
IMET Abhay Xaxa around 2007-08, but had heard about him much before. His name would regularly come up in conversations on the rights of Adivasis and I distinctly remember how people would say they were waiting for Abhay to return to India to strengthen the tribal rights campaigns. His regular references intrigued me. I often wondered how important he was to the people. Abhay, at that point in time, was in the United Kingdom doing his Masters in Anthropology from the University of Sussex. Once he returned, I realised why he was needed in India.
He was restless, argumentative and would never mince words to convey his dissatisfaction over how the problems of and are dealt with in the country. He worked with and for people and tirelessly fought power centres and exploitation.
Abhay’s insights are needed more now than ever. His intellectual rigour could put the most seasoned detractor to doubt. He nurtured people as much as he challenged their minds and arguments. His activism against state repression proved to be a hurdle for him in getting a stable job. People and organisations loved him as an activist but they saw him as a big risk to be formally taken onboard. We failed him.
It was his 37th birthday on March 13. He appeared on a social media site on March 14 to thank his friends for the wishes. And in the evening, the news of his death shook the soul out of me. How could he go so early, so young?
He will live in all our struggles and triumphs, even though our eyes and hearts will search for him in all the protests, meetings and debates. The intellectual discourse that he pursued and pushed us to understand must be carried forward.
Abhay, the fearless. Go well, comrade... Hul Johar. One cannot forget Abhay. His poetry that echoes everywhere, in forests and farms, makes him an immortal companion:
I am not your data, nor am I your vote bank,
I am not your project, or any exotic museum object, I am not the soul waiting to be harvested,
Nor am I the lab where your theories are tested,
I am not your cannon fodder, or the invisible worker, or your entertainment at India Habitat Centre,
I am not your field, your crowd, your history, your help, your guilt, medallions of your victory, I refuse, reject, resist your labels, your judgments, documents, definitions, your models, leaders and patrons, because they deny me my existence, my vision, my space, your words, maps, figures, indicators, they all create illusions and put you on pedestal, from where you look down upon me,
So I draw my own picture, and invent my own grammar,
I make my own tools to fight my own battle,
For me, my people, my world, and my Adivasi self!