BHUBANESWAR: For generations, water hyacinth has been a perennial menace for the fishers communities along Chilika lake. The weed had been gradually choking long stretches of the lagoon, disrupting fish habitat and affecting livelihood of the hundreds who depended on the resources.
Today, the situation is undergoing a reversal with the floating menace transforming into a source of hope, thanks to a group of women from the local fishers community who are removing the invasive weeds from the lagoon and turning the problem into a sustainable enterprise. By removing the weed and crafting it into handmade goods, they are not just clearing the lake and protecting its ecosystem but also securing a new and productive means of livelihood for themselves.
Around 14 women members of Swayamshri Producers Group from Hatabaradi panchayat in Chilika block are now crafting decorative, ornamental, stationery and daily use items from the weeds. From earrings, money purses and vanity bags to pen stands, gift boxes and file covers, the women from the fishermen community are making a number of products from the waste. They include, baskets, home decor items and weaves.
They were introduced to the craft in January last year and after formal training have now converted quintals of the invasive weed from the lagoon into handcrafted products. With water hyacinths, thriving in low salinity, the women visit as far as Bhusandpur to collect the aquatic plant. They then dry the stems and process them into eco-friendly, biodegradable and flexible rope to use them for weaving, basketry and creating home decor items.
“Though it has been only a few months since we started making the products from water hyacinths, we had never thought that something that had been affecting our lake and livelihood could itself change our lives for the better. Cleaning the lake and making crafts has given us work and confidence. It also makes us proud to find that we are contributing to the lake’s protection while supporting our families,” said Sumitra Behera, a fisherwoman.
Urmila Behera, a community resource person in the area, said the initiative started in January 2025 with training of around 10 women from Maa Ghanteswari self-help group (SHG). Soon more women from other SHGs joined and the Swayamshri Producers Group was formed. Out of 20 members, 14 are now engaged in the initiative, she said.
Their first sale at a mela in Kuhudi in Khurda during Raja festival last year fetched them around Rs 3,000, while they also managed to earn around Rs 8,000 from online sale. Their souvenir shop opened recently in Tangi has also fetched them around Rs 15,000 in two weeks, while in the Subhadra Mela at Khurda this week, they did a business of about Rs 18,000.
The first-of-its-kind initiative of the women producers group has earned them recognition in the Subhadra Mela, where they were awarded with Rs 15,000 cash prize for the unique sustainable business.
The Fishing Cat Project and Human Environment Alliance League (HEAL) piloted the initiative with fund support from Delhi-based The Habitats Trust. Arya Narayan Swain, education and livelihood officer at HEAL said the women have been making the products in a completely eco-friendly manner. “Turning the weed into handcrafted products, they are not just restoring the waterbody but also generating a sustainable income for themselves,” he said.
Fishing Cat Project co-founder and HEAL secretary Tiasa Adhya, who guided the local women in taking up the project, said during her visit to Kenya she came to know about the women groups earning livelihood from water hyacinths in Lake Victoria by turning the weed into handicraft products and bio-fuel, etc.
“On one hand they are reducing the threat of invasive species and on the other hand they are creating livelihood opportunity from it. This, I thought could be replicated in Chilika lagoon, where water hyacinth infestation has emerged as a major ecological threat for the ecosystem,” she said.
Tiasa said they then looked for trainers in India to implement the project involving people from the fishermen community, whose livelihood has been affected. “Trainers from West Bengal and Assam were roped in. The initiative apart from helping clear the lake of the hyacinths, provides very strong livelihood opportunity for the women. The area is lacking a good souvenir shop and offers an advantage for marketing of these products and sustained business,” she said.
She said the Odisha government should also take up the initiative in other parts of the state including Anshupa lake where the water weed infestation is emerging a big problem.