Agriculture Business Week

Woment members of the Buhi Ecuminical Development Association, Inc. (BEDAI) are making handicraft items out of water hyacinth (more popularly called water lily) from Lake Buhi in Camarines Sur. The products include table runners, placemats, canisters, bags, slippers and wall decors.

The BEDAI members are wives of farmers engaged in the development projects of the Department of Agriculture in the municipality. The members sought the help of the Department of Trade and Industry and a local non-government organization to start a local water-lily-based small to medium-size enterprise.

Considered a weed, the water hyacinth can live and reproduce while floating on the surface of freshwaters. The plant size ranges from 6 inches to 38 inches, depending on its growing condition. It can multiply very fast and could cause infestation of large areas of water in no time, creating various problems.

Posted on May 29th, 2010 under Special Report, Textile. Tags: Fiber, Hyacinth, Textile, Water, Water Hyacinth. Comments: 7

The technology to commercially tap three nontraditional sources of natural fiber has been developed by the Philippine Textile Research Institute (PTRI), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology headed by Dr. Carlos Tomboc.

The three sources are maguey, saluyot and water hyacinth better known locally as water lily. Products made of these natural fibers were showcased last Wednesday at the national conference on natural fibers held at a Makati hotel.

The products include materials for making barong, lady’s dresses, handbags, home decors, accessories and many other products made of fabric. The fibers can also be manufactured into nonwoven fabrics which have various applications in industry like insulating or sound-proofing materials in rooms and car interiors.

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Posted on December 4th, 2009 under Textile. Tags: Fiber, Hyacinth, Textile, Water Hyacinth. Comments: 1