Weaving water hyacinth in Cà Mau Province’s Hồng Dân Commune provides an average income of VNĐ100,000–200,000 (US$4 – 8) per person per day. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Kiệt

CÀ MAU — Many households in Cà Mau Province’s Hồng Dân Commune earn a stable income from products made with dried water hyacinth.

Situated along the Cái Trầu River, the commune has favourable conditions for this traditional handicraft as natural water hyacinth grows abundantly on the river, providing a steady source of raw material.

Households in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta commune have maintained this traditional occupation for more than 10 years. The work creates jobs, offers stable income, and helps many households escape poverty.

Phan Văn Tế and Võ Thanh Xuyên, a couple from Vĩnh An Hamlet, have relied mainly on water hyacinth weaving and earn VNĐ300,000 – 400,000 (US$11 – 15) per day.

Previously, the couple worked as factory workers in the former province of Bình Dương, now part of HCM City. They have returned home to build a house and stabilise their lives for more than 10 years.

Besides weaving dried water hyacinth to make handicraft products, they cultivate two rice crops per year on a 5,000sq.m field.

They also grow water hyacinth along the river near their home to secure materials.

Their products follow fixed designs for export markets. With materials readily available, production continues without interruption.

Water hyacinth weaving can be done at any time of day. The work is light and suits women or older people. However, the difficulty is that it requires skill and careful workmanship, Tế said.

“Apart from busy farming days, we still earn several hundred thousand đồng daily. That income is enough for us.”

For many households, especially women and older people, weaving water hyacinth products are done in their spare time.

Along rural roads in Vĩnh An Hamlet, water hyacinth is split into thin strips and dried under the sun. The strips are laid in front of houses or along the roadside.

After drying, the material is woven into handicraft products for domestic use and export.

Many households in Cà Mau Province’s Hồng Dân Commune cut water hyacinth, dry it, and use it to weave handicraft products. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Kiệt

Thanks to water hyacinth weaving, Nguyễn Thị Phấn in Ninh Định Hamlet has also gradually changed her life in the past 10 years.

In the past, her family mainly relied on farming, with unstable income and many difficulties. Since being trained in water hyacinth weaving techniques and joining the hamlet’s weaving group, she has had a stable job, escaped poverty and become better off.

She said she has been able to build a house and buy household equipment, with most of the money coming from income earned through water hyacinth weaving.

To produce a complete water hyacinth woven product, workers must go through many careful stages. After harvesting, water hyacinth is dried, split, technically treated, and then woven and braided.

Through the skillful hands of experienced workers, water hyacinth is shaped into a wide range of products such as handbags, mats, tables and chairs, decorative lamps, trays, flower pots and other household items.

In addition to practical use, these products meet aesthetic requirements and serve both domestic and export markets.

The commune has more than 1,000 people involved in water hyacinth weaving, most of them women, according to its economic office.

The commune’s annual revenue from water hyacinth handicraft products reaches tens of billions of đồng, making a positive contribution to local socio-economic development, it said.

The most common production model is subcontract weaving, where local people receive materials, frames and designs from agents or businesses and complete the products.

Beyond creating livelihoods, water hyacinth weaving also helps address environmental issues.

Nguyễn Nhân Đức, chairman of the commune People’s Committee, said water hyacinth weaving has been developed in the area for nearly 20 years.

Income from water hyacinth weaving is only at a moderate level, but it suits local conditions, he said.

The trade not only helps people earn extra income but also reduces floating water hyacinth on rivers, contributing to environmental protection, he said.

On average each woman engaged in water hyacinth weaving earns VNĐ3 – 3.5 million ($114 – 133) per month.

The commune will encourage more women to join the occupation, establish more co-operative groups, facilitate access to policy credit, provide training to improve skills, and connect people with product buyers outside the province to ensure stable outlets for domestic consumption and export. — VNS