From Pest to Pesos
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Thanks to the FPRDI Water Hyacinth Dryer, many families living near the Laguna Lake have found an extra source of income, as more and more livelihood coops in the area are getting involved in water hyacinth processing.
The FPRDI dryer has reduced the drying time of water hyacinth stems from about a week to only a few hours,thus better protecting them from molds. It allows small and medium-sized businesses to maintain and even raise their production as they are able to thoroughly dry their materials during the rainy months.
According to FPRDI’s Ms. Wency H. Carmelo,“Mayor Bernardo San Juan, Jr. of Cardona, Rizal has reported that using the dryer, the cooperative Samahang Kababaihang Barangay Patunhay (SKBP) plans to double their production capacity to 50,000 stems per week. Most of the coop’s dried and pressed water hyacinth stems are bought by the Magic Clean Company which turns them into high-end wall coverings exported to 45 countries.”
Australian scientists have called the water hyacinth “the world’s worst aquatic weed”, clogging rivers, dams, lakes and irrigation channels on every continent except Antarctica. It destroys aquatic environments and costs billions of dollars a year to control. (Rizalina K. Araral, 08 July 2014)#
