A shortage of skilled labour and low profits are preventing local businesses from making use of one of the country’s most abundant and versatile renewable resources. Eichhomiacrassipes, the water hyacinth, blooms on nearly every stretch of water in Myanmar. However, new workers are now being trained to develop this raw material.





Though not as durable as rattan or bamboo, its long, spongy bulbous stalks, dried and shaped, can be made into furniture, ladies fashions, handbags and ropes. China has a thriving export market for hyacinth products, so have Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, says U Thaung Aye, chair of Monsoon Village rattan furniture, who makes a few furniture products using hyacinth on a small-scale.

But the country’s biggest producer of those products, U Win Htut, says the industry is stunted by the difficulty in finding skilled labour and the poor profits to be made.

“This is a fast-growing aquatic plant that can be found in abundance on all inland waters across the country,” he said. “If we can find enough skilled labour, we could start to export within a year and a half.”

But finding and attracting such workers will not be easy, he said.

“We can’t pay them much because our sales income is low. Though the products sell for high prices in Bagan or Sagaing, most of the profit goes to the dealers.”

A certain creativity is also required to make the best of the water hyacinth’s potential. “It’s not just a question of doing the same thing over and over again,” he said.





The industry’s biggest problem is the high proportion of the takings creamed off by the middlemen at the expense of the producers, said U Thaung Aye.

U Win Htut, who is also involved in training, said with the limited labour available he could produce only 240 bags a year. “I’m trying to open a shop in Yangon first. I think I can pay my workers more and train them to compete in the international market,” he said.

On December 12, with the support of Myanmar Forest Products’ Merchants’ Federation, a two-week training course began for 28 trainees in developing value-added products made from water hyacinth. U Thaung Aye and U Win Htut are both involved as trainers. There are 30 more training sessions planned.

U Soe Win, Secretary General of MFPMF said that after a meeting related to economic policy in Nay Pyi Taw in July, MFPMF representatives had a chance to meet State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Ki. “She urged the federation to find substitute to wood for the furniture and accessories, and especially to develop a market for hyacinth and rubber products,” he said.

MFPMF then studied the market for those products and the technological gaps in Myanmar’s industry, forming a committee dedicated to building local capacity and searching for export markets, U Soe Win said.

“We hope the training course can help create job opportunities and develop a good substitute for wood that can help conserve the forests,” he said.