Water­hyacinth

Water plant that is braided by hand into beautiful and unique basket items.

Water hyacinth is a weed that grows freely and has a suffocating impact on major freshwater river systems. Our choice of material results in baskets that are sustainable – both in the home and in nature.

After a patient drying process in the tropical sun, the plants are ready for a new purpose. In the hands of the skilled local craftsmen who use traditional techniques, this weed is transformed into beautiful, durable and sustainable products you use in your home. Thanks to the craftsmanship they are all unique and have a history.

As with jute and many of our other materials, our water hyacinth products are manufactured on site, where the actual crop grows, in this case in Vietnam.

An unusually beautiful weed with a strong ability to grow fast. 

Water hyacinth belongs to the family of water hyacinth plants and is found naturally in South America. Thanks to (or because of) its beautiful flowers in color scale from lavender-purple-pink, it has spread throughout the world, but unfortunately has become a troublesome and problematic invasive weed in tropical waters.

In the areas where it grows abundantly, it poses an environmental problem as it reduces the oxygen supply in the water and makes it difficult for the sunlight to penetrate the water surface. It’s so bad that the water hyacinth is listed on the EU list of invasive alien species and is prohibited from importing, cultivating and plant in nature.

It is a free-flowing perennial aquatic plant and with wide, thick, glossy, oval-shaped leaves, the water hyacinth can reach up to 1meter above the water surface. The leaves are 10–20 cm across and sit on a stem that floats with the aid of a carrying bulb at its base above the water surface. They have long, porous and bulbous stalks.

The water hyacinth is one of the fastest growing plants known. Some water hyacinths have been found to grow between 2 and 5 meters per day in some locations in Southeast Asia. The common water hyacinth (Eichhorniacrassipes) is powerful in its growth and the plant mats can double in size in one to two weeks.

In addition, each plant can produce thousands of seeds each year, and these seeds can remain viable for more than 28 years.

A completely natural material

The water hyacinth is indeed a beautiful purple when it blooms, but at the same time it causes great trouble. It spreads unchecked and clogs waterways that are important for the fresh water supply around the Mekong Delta. But the stems can be used. They are harvested, dried and hand-braided by skilled craftsmen and become valued baskets and other products.

The plant’s root system floats freely on the surface of the water. When the stem is long enough, it is harvested. The rest of the plant must remain in the river. Small leaf shoots can also be harvested and eaten as a salad. The large leaves can be used as wrapping paper when preparing and cooking food. The mother plant gets new shoots that become new floating plants – again and again. This is very beneficial from an ecological sustainability perspective.