Alex Rose-Innes
In 1880 Sir Walter Scott said, “Oh what a tangled web we weave……” More than two centuries later, Achenyo Idachaba from Nigeria did just that, but in her case it was not as Sir Scott poeticised “to deceive.” This Cartier Institute former African Laureate is recycling water stultifying weeds to create beautiful objects and eliminate its harmful environmental effects.
Water hyacinths are beautiful to look at and their aroma is most enticing. However, this show of beauty hides a dark reality. This fast growing plant ruins the water supplies of communities and simultaneously destroys fish populations. Water resources are depleted of necessary nutrients to sustain fish populations, for many the only sustainable income.
In the Niger Delta, where hyacinths abound, Achenayo saw a problem and devised a plan to fix it with youthful energy and vision. The aquatic weeds became the basis of a very successful eco-friendly business in Nigeria.
MitiMeth, now a sustainable business providing work for many, is a perfect example of a new generation of sub-Saharan women who find ingenious solutions to environmental problems. The team at MitiMeth is not only weaving beautiful products from natural fibres considered eco dangers, but recycles and upscales agri-waste such as banana bark and maize husks (non-timbered resources) into bespoke arts and crafts.
While running training programmes in communities to find alternative incomes by using resources around them, the MitiMeth team also produces unique furniture pieces and other household items, stationery and branded souvenir items with a global appeal. With the success of Achenayo’s brainchild, workshops are sponsored through partnerships with private and public sector institutions.
Many governments across the African continent had for a long time been battling to untangle the damage done by hyacinths and that of Taya grass which flourishes on river banks. It took Achenayo and MitiMeth to unclog waterways, not only providing an answer to a huge environmental problem, but also ensuring riparian communities can survive. These waterways are part of water provision to inland communities and these weeds have a detrimental effect even on those not living along riverine systems.
While researching her business idea, this young woman befriended weaving artists in Sabo and Ojurin communities in Ibadan and from them she learnt to produce MitiMeth’s first two products, a wastebasket and a table tidy from a tangled weed. And voila, an indigenous and eco-friendly business was born!
To date, MitiMeth had trained more than 400 people from 20 communities to harvest water hyacinths and weave the weeds into functional products, imparting life-long skills towards a sustainable future and income.
Using her social media abilities and computer knowledge, Achenayo markets her products on a global scale while planning to train more communities in her home country and beyond to start micro and small enterprises specialising in fibre transformation.
