BUJUMBURA June 15th (ABP) – The company Hyacinth Art House, which specializes in making works of art from water hyacinth, allows some Burundian women to be financially independent, according to Kathia Gretta Iradukunda, founder of Hyacinth Art House during an interview she gave to a check by ABP on Tuesday June 13, 2023.
Aged 27, Miss Iradukunda said she set up the company ”Hyacinth Art House” in March 2022, after discovering on the internet that art objects can be transformed from water hyacinth, a plant considered an environmental threat. She stressed that her principle is to take advantage of that plant while protecting the lakes.
In the company of some young people, she collects leaves of that plant, which are then dried for two to three weeks, depending on whether it is in the dry or rainy season, she said. After drying, these leaves are transported to a cooperative in the province of Bubanza, called Synergy of Artisan Cooperatives of Bubanza (SCABU), with which Miss Iradukunda has established the partnership. The cooperative brings together more than 145 women who specialize in braiding. By combining those dry water hyacinth leaves with other plants such as sisal and raffia, they produce good various objects including baskets, lampshades, grocery bags, tablecloths, vases, to name but a few.
The founder of the said house also indicated that all the objects they manufacture are exhibited in a shop, at the equestrian club of Bujumbura. “That’s where customers find them,” she says. She also said that some tourists or Burundians living abroad can also choose their design on the company’s platforms and we make them objects, according to their preferences.
Miss Iradukunda also indicated that the company intends to evolve towards the manufacture of carpets, chairs, tables, biodegradable packaging, etc.
Challenges are not lacking, according to her, and requests financial support to obtain certain protective equipment, including boots and gloves. And during the rainy season, that eco-entrepreneur says that it is difficult to find adequate drying space. She asks the government of Burundi, which continues to encourage young people to integrate into cooperatives or income-generating activities, to grant them ample space and modern drying techniques, which can facilitate their task.
In addition, she said, it is a business that generates good results because these women manage to meet family needs, educate their children, dress well. There are even some who have already built their own houses covered with iron sheets.