{"id":5961,"date":"2025-12-11T10:24:48","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T10:24:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/?page_id=5961"},"modified":"2025-12-11T10:30:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T10:30:19","slug":"water-hyacinth","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/water-hyacinth\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Hyacinth"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Craft Name: Water Hyacinth Craft (Water Hyacinth Weaving \/ Eichhornia Craft)\n<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Region: Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, West Bengal (strongest cluster: Assam)<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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CRAFT
\nHISTORY<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWater Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive aquatic plant that entered India in the early 1900s and quickly spread across rivers and wetlands. In Assam and Northeast India, the plant\u2014locally called \u201cPani Meteka\u201d\u2014became a major ecological challenge. In the 1980s\u20131990s, craft communities and NGOs initiated experiments to dry, treat, and weave the stems of water hyacinth into functional, eco-friendly products. Over time, artisans refined the techniques to create bags, mats, baskets, footwear, planters, furniture, and home d\u00e9cor items.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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WHAT\nMAKES IT\nUNIQUE:<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  • Eco-friendly & sustainable:<\/strong> Converts an invasive weed into useful natural fibre.<\/li>\n
  • Traditional weaving techniques:<\/strong> Uses hand-woven braiding, plaiting, and coiling methods.<\/li>\n
  • Lightweight, durable, flexible:<\/strong> Ideal for lifestyle and home d\u00e9cor products.<\/li>\n
  • Natural, earthy appeal:<\/strong> Offers a rustic aesthetic with warm brown tones.
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  • Promotes environment restoration:<\/strong> Removing the plant improves water ecosystems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    \"\"<\/figure>

    Received a
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    COLOURS<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    • Natural beige, golden-brown, or deep brown (sun-dried tones)<\/li>
    • Occasionally dyed in earthy shades: olive green, maroon, mustard<\/li>
    • Dark lacquered finish for premium products<\/li><\/ul>

      How much time does it take to make a product, and how many artisans are involved in the process? <\/strong>Depending on product type and detailing it may take 5\u201315 days and typically 2-5 artisans work on a single piece.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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      MOTIFS<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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      • Braided designs<\/li>\n
      • Basket weaves<\/li>\n
      • Zig-zag & twill patterns<\/li>\n
      • Coiled motifs<\/li>\n
      • Floral or diamond-style plaits<\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        RAW MATERIAL<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        • Water hyacinth stems (harvested, treated, sun-dried)<\/li>\n
        • Jute or cotton ropes (sometimes used for reinforcement)<\/li>\n
        • Bamboo or cane frames (for structured products)<\/li>\n
        • Natural dyes (optional)<\/li>\n
        • Hand tools: knives, sickles, scissors<\/li>\n
        • Needles, hooks, binding thread<\/li>\n
        • Varnish or natural lacquer<\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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          CRAFT MAKING PROCESS<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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          \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"form\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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          HOW TO IDENTIFY GENUINE AND AUTHENTIC CRAFT<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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          • Natural fibre texture<\/strong>\u2014rough, woven, and organic.\n <\/li>\n
          • Lightweight but sturdy<\/strong> feel.\n <\/li>\n
          • Characteristic earthy aroma<\/strong> of dried natural fibre.\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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            • Visible hand-braiding<\/strong> with slight variations.<\/li>\n
            • Rustic natural shades<\/strong>, not synthetic glossy colouring.\n <\/li>\n<\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Craft Name: Water Hyacinth Craft (Water Hyacinth Weaving \/ Eichhornia Craft) Region: Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur, West Bengal (strongest cluster: Assam) CRAFT HISTORY Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is an invasive aquatic plant that entered India in the early 1900s and quickly spread across rivers and wetlands. In Assam and Northeast India, the plant\u2014locally called \u201cPani […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-5961","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5961"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5978,"href":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/5961\/revisions\/5978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aiacaonline.org\/craftkatha-pop-up\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}