Water hyacinth rakhis made by SHG women a global hit

The 30-odd women of the self-help group (SHG) at Karmatirtha Bhawan in Haripur gram panchayat under the Pandaveswar block of West Burdwan district were very busy over the last few days to meet the last-minute delivery deadline for Rakhsha Bandhan celebrations.

These women have tirelessly worked almost day and night to make eco-friendly rakhis and bags from water hyacinth (kochuripana in Bengali), a water weed found in abundance in ponds, lakes and rivers of the state.

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“As the global battle against growing pollution continues, these eco-friendly rakhis made by the local SHG women from Haripur gram panchayat are an effort towards a sustainable future and should be encouraged,” said S Ponnamballam, district magistrate of West Burdwan.

These women started making rakhis and bags from water hyacinths after seven days of training, held recently by persons who had mastered the technique.

The local men “harvest” the hyacinths from the ponds in the region, after which they are dried and washed with turmeric water for disinfection. The plants are then ironed, polished, coloured, cut into small pieces and stitched by the women to become very colourful eco-friendly rakhis and hand bags.

These items are not just environmentally sustainable, but they are cheaper as well, compared to the other rakhis and bags available in the market and made with various other materials.

Gopinath Nag, vice-chairman of Haripur gram panchayat, said the venture not only cleans the local water bodies and provides a means of livelihood for the SHG members, but it also is an attempt at creating awareness among the public on how plastic, used in making many types of rakhis, can be beneficially substituted.

“Our chief minister Mamata Banerjee has always spoken about empowering women through self-help groups. The Haripur effort shows how two purposes are served in one go. The proposal was accepted and already over 1,200 eco-friendly rakhis have been hand-made. Of this, 700 pieces have been handed over to the Pandaveswar block administration for marketing,” the panchayat official added.

“Like there is a huge demand during Doljatra and Holi for herbal abir or gulal (instead of chemical varieties), we had hope that our handcrafted eco-friendly rakhis and bags would also get a good market. We are in the process of becoming financially self-reliant through this effort,” said Mandira Sutradhar, a housewife and SHG member. Only water hyacinth plant stems that are 2.5 feet in length are used for rakhi manufacturing, she added.

“A similar effort by women of Bongaon Municipality had been made in 2022. The rakhis were sent to President Draupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi, chief minister Mamata Banerjee as well as global leaders like then Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and US President Joe Biden. I feel proud that the women under my constituency have now come forward with this initiative,” said Pandaveswar MLA Narendra Nath Chakraborty.