Floating garden-uses of water hyacinth (kochuripana) Bangladesh way to solve the problem

Mula river in Maharashtra,India full with water hyacinth

Water hyacinth known as Kochuripana in Bangladesh is a tropical free-floating aquatic plant. It grows all over the world-tropical,subtropical areas of the world. It is now found in more than 50 countries on five continents.

Water hyacinth is a very fast growing plant. Now a days it is known as a ''noxious weed''. Due to this plant many countries face a lot of problems.This plant is a threat to the water eco system.Fish cannot breath and boats can not travel when a pond or river is covered by the water hyacinth or kochuripana.The blooms of the hyacinth also provide a breeding place for insects and diseases.
Many people in different countries are now working to find new uses for water hyacinth(kochuripana).I mention here in very brief a number of possible uses for the plant, some which have been developed and others which are still in their infancy or remain as ideas only.


Furniture made of water hyacinth

There are all kinds of things the weed is good for after it is harvested.

Women in Fiji weave baskets with dried water hyacinth(kochuripana).Now people are making furniture from water hyacinth. Even in Philippine and India it is also used to make basket and goods for the tourist industry.Countries that export a lot of water hyacinth furniture include Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. A few examples (on the above) of how this material is used in making contemporary furniture.

The Mennonite Central Committee of Bangladesh has been experimenting with paper production from water hyacinth(kochuripana) for some years. But the result is not economically viable. Papers quality is not so good.In Uganda people use water hyacinth to make paper and mat.The quality of paper is low and is used for making folders, boxes etc.

Water hyacinth is used to make fiber board, yarn and rope in a small scale. To produce biogas from water hyacinth is also under experiment. The technology is not fully successful to operate like this project commercially.

In some parts of Bangladesh people use water hyacinth in different ways. We can call it ''floating garden''. People make heap with water hyacinth, when decayed, make wonderful fertiliser for cropping.Moreover,some crops and vegetables grow luxuriously on the dressed water hyacinth heaps. This has attracted many landless peasants to accumulate and heap water hyacinth(kochuripana) to make floating fields for agricultural production.

S: en.wikipedia.org; farmradio.org/english; ehow.com; practicalaction.org/search;

forums.permaculture.org.au/showthread.php?5544-Possible-practical-applications-of-Water-Hyacinth

Read also: Water hyacinth(kochuripana) beauty and death