From weed to wealth: Assam women turn water hyacinth into livelihoods near rhino habitat
Women in Assam's Laokhowa-Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary are turning water hyacinth into marketable products as part of a livelihood initiative. This project, supported by the International Rhino Foundation, aims to improve economic conditions while protecting the wildlife habitat. The women have been trained to create various household items, contributing to both their income and the conservation of the area.
- ▪The Laokhowa-Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary is a key biodiversity area contiguous with Kaziranga National Park.
- ▪Women from local villages are trained to produce items from water hyacinth, an invasive aquatic weed.
- ▪The initiative aims to enhance economic conditions for local communities while securing wildlife habitats.
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A livelihood initiative supported by the International Rhino Foundation has helped women in the fringe areas of central Assam’s Laokhowa-Burhachapori Wildlife Sanctuary (LBWLS) turn weed into wealth. A key biodiversity area, the 114.19 sq. km LBWLS is contiguous with the landscape of the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve.Much of the Laokhowa part of the sanctuary was reclaimed from encroachers in two phases since February 2023, allowing one-horned rhinos to return after 40 years. The rhino, tiger, and other animals were wiped out from Lawkhowa in the 1980s, when people from surrounding villages converted large swathes of the jungles and associated government land into paddy fields and fisheries.
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