Everyone wants to make their wedding memorable. A young woman, Kalyani B. from Kainakary in low-lying Kuttanad in the district, has ingeniously used the “most important event” in her life to bring attention to the problems caused by water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), one of the most troublesome aquatic plants, and highlight the importance of its value-addition.
Ms. Kalyani has created unique invitation cards for her wedding scheduled on January 21 using handmade paper from the pulp of water hyacinth.
“I have grown up seeing water hyacinth choking waterbodies, affecting paddy cultivation and inland navigation and snuffing out the life in freshwater ecosystems. The infestation has affected our day-to-day life and the threat is getting bigger with time. I chose my wedding to highlight the problem,” says Ms. Kalyani, an MSc Marine Biology student at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies.
She collected water hyacinth plants from the waterbody in front of her house for making the cards. The eco-friendly invitation cards are crafted by blending the pulp of water hyacinth with pulp made from used paper. An alumnus of SD College, Alappuzha, Ms. Kalyani got the support of EichhoTech, a student start-up based in the college, in all stages of the cards’ making. Eichhotech is focussed on manufacturing a diverse range of eco-friendly value-added products utilising aquatic weeds such as water hyacinth based on “simple and sustainable rural technologies” developed by the Centre for Research on Aquatic Resources (CRAR) of SD College.
Ecological damage
“The infestation of water hyacinth is causing severe damage to the ecology of Kuttanad in many ways,” says G. Nagendra Prabhu, Professor and principal investigator, CRAR. “Apart from affecting the livelihood, the weed is the single major cause of biodiversity loss in freshwater ecosystems around the world. The Thanneermukkom bund, which prevents the entry of saline water into Vembanad Lake, aggravates the weed problem in Kuttanad. Over the years, crores of rupees has been spent to clear the weed, but it grows back within weeks,” he said.
“The only solution is to manage the weed by developing efficient methods to utilise it through a decentralised, participatory model. The out-of-the-box thinking by Ms. Kalyani, who did her final-year BSc project under my guidance, will inspire the people of Kuttanad, especially youngsters, to prove their commitment to the environment,” says Mr. Prabhu who is also the mentor to EichhoTech.
The wedding cards adorned with the images of showy lavender flowers of the weed is designed by Anoop Kumar V., chief executive officer, Eichhotech. He said the start-up, apart from designing invitation cards, had developed various products from water hyacinth, including business cards, coasters, mats, fridge magnets, and bookmarks, just to mention a few.
