NAGA CITY---Water hyacinths (Eichornia crassipes) made a Sept. 18 debut in a fashion flair here that aims to advocate environmentally sound creations and promote livelihood opportunities for families living along lakes and rivers in Camarines Sur.

        Behind some 30 creations, two fashion designers, Alex Buena and Rommel del Valle, collaborated to demonstrate that there is more to water hyacinths than just being fast-growing unwanted plants that clog lakes and rivers.

        “Using water hyacinth in couture has lot of potentials. So, maybe the show would encourage processors to improve techniques and create fabrics from it,” Buena said.

        He said they were asked by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to use water hyacinths in their creations to bring out innovations and expand the market.

        Del Valle said they were able to assemble their creations in just a two-week period that included clothes for casual wear, cocktails and long gowns.

        Achieving a level of success in using water hyacinth to dress up models on the catwalk, Buena admitted there’s still a lot of things needed to make the material become wearable for ordinary occasion.

        They used 142 yards of handloom dried water hyacinths from Buhi, Camarines Sur harvested from Lake Buhi where they grow abundantly near its shores.

        Salvador Espiritu, municipal development officer of Buhi local government unit (LGU), said they have mobilized some 190 weavers to provide the material for the fashion show.

        Espiritu revealed the townsfolk along Lake Buhi, home of the world’s smallest commercial fish sinarapan, now benefit from the abundance of water hyacinths once bane to tilapia growers there.

        He said water hyacinths contribute to fish kill in the lake because they diminish the oxygen content of the lake water.

        “But now, we see water hyacinths as sources of additional income to the people around the lake. We now have an emerging handicraft industry because of the discovery of their new use aside from sparing the LGU from spending limited resources to clean-up water channels,” Espiritu added.

        The fashion show was the highlight of the conference of “One Town, One Product (OTOP)” project in Camarines Sur that the DTI spearheads to generate jobs and enterprises at the grassroots level.

        Jay Ablan, DTI spokesperson in Camarines Sur, said the OTOP under the CamSur Water Lily Development Project covers the towns of Buhi, Bato, Milaor and Naga City.

        Ablan said the use of watery hyacinth in apparel is the newest innovation for this biodegradable material for clothing.

        He identified other applications of handloom water hyacinths in upholstery, utility boxes, wall covers, interiors, window blinds, bead headboards, footwear and bags.