Water hyacinth is a free-floating perennial aquatic plant (or hydrophyte) native to tropical and sub-tropical South America. With broad, thick, glossy, ovate leaves, water hyacinth may rise above the surface of the water as much as 1 meter in height. The leaves are 10–20 cm across, and float above the water surface. They have long, spongy and bulbous stalks. The feathery, freely hanging roots are purple-black. An erect stalk supports a single spike of 8-15 conspicuously attractive flowers, mostly lavender to pink in colour with six petals. When not in bloom, water hyacinth may be mistaken for frog’s-bit (Limnobium spongia).
One of the fastest growing plants known, water hyacinth reproduces primarily by way of runners or stolons, which eventually form daughter plants. Each plant can produce thousands of seeds each year, and these seeds can remain viable for more than 28 years.[1] Some water hyacinths were found to grow up to 2 to 5 metres a day in some sites inSoutheast Asia.[2] The common water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) are vigorous growers known to double their population in two weeks.
By improving the education, people have better more understanding on how to manage these Waterhyacinth, originally people just leave them as a waste which bothers circumstance. Now local people can meet with some artisan who introduce the usage and benefit of waterhyacinth, such as using waterhyacinth material to make beauty of product, starting from many ways, from weave them manually, to weave them by combining with threads.
Presently, these products made from natural fibers like waterhyacinth are known well and marketable in many locations. This strongly helping the income increment for the local people involving they who harvest the waterhyacinth, the weavers and the sellers. Achieving better quality of life for the people above are the big benefit earned from this waterhyacinth.