Unemployed residents learn how to weave
Residents make furniture out of water hyacinth.
Kwatsaduza – A group of unemployed residents in Slovo Park have taken upon themselves to improve their financial status by making furniture out of water hyacinth.
This after they attended a four-week training offered by Thekga Project on how to make furniture out of the water plant.
Water hyacinth is an aquatic weed found covering dams and rivers.
The plant is invasive and known to disturb the ecosystem of water bodies. Over the years, residents living near the dams in Springs have complained about the awful smell coming from the dam once the aquatic animals have died.
Thekga Project manager Boitumelo Mphahlele, who learnt how to craft from her grandmother, explained she discovered that one can make furniture out of water hyacinth.
Also read: End to hyacinth problem in sight
“Through online research, I discovered that farmers in Vietnam used the plant to make furniture.
“I started learning the skill through the online tutorials. This was not difficult because I already knew how to weave.
“Through practice, I was able to master the skill and decided to share it with others to empower them financially,” she explained.
Bopitumelo added this is the second group she has trained.
“Through the project, we know that we are not only giving them skill but also creating job opportunities in townships,” she said.
She is hoping women will use the acquired skill to turn their lives around: “They now have the skills and raw material at their disposal to turn their finances around,” she added.
Also read: Investigation into dead fish in Murray Park Dam still ongoing
Beneficiary Johanna Makoe (34) said she didn’t know that something good would come out of water hyacinth.
“I only knew it as weeds that disturb the ecosystem in the local dams, killing the aquatic species which lead to the rotten smell we get exposed to as a community living close to the Blesbokspruit.
“When I received an invite to attend the training, I took the opportunity with both hands because I have been unemployed for seven years,” she explained.
Makoe added that she is planning to start a business making furniture with other unemployed women in the area. Through the initiative, they are empowered and will be able to support their families financially.
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