Believe it or not, the water lily, once considered a nuisiance for clogging waterways is now more than just an eyesore. It is a good source of income in Las Pinas. A community in Las Piñas City was the first to discover the benefits of water lilies, which for some are useless floating plants.
In 2005, the Las Piñas Arts and Crafts Center (LPACC) started the water lily weaving industry that provided decent jobs to some 25 families.
According to William Bolo of LPACC, water lilies floating in the Pasig and Zapote Rivers are regularly collected and dried up. The desiccated leaves are then woven into novelty items such as baskets, bags, tissue- and wine-holders, and hampers.
The BF Resort community proudly shared this week on “Umagang Kay Ganda” on ABS-CBN that these water lily woven items are of export quality reaching Hong Kong and the United States.
Impressively durable but reasonably priced, water lily novelty items will make good Christmas gifts this season.
Water lily bags are priced at P250 to P400 each. Hampers or laundry baskets, meanwhile, are sold for P700 to P1,000 each depending on the size.
LPACC also sells eco-friendly tissue-and wine-holders at P50 to P200 apiece and baskets at P300 each.
With reports from abs-cbn News.com
There were water lilies in Cavinti waters before. But that was during my younger days. I have not gone to those bodies of water now : Cavinti River, Bombongan River, Lumot River, Lumot Lake, Caliraya River, Caliraya Lake, rice paddies (mga tubigan) at mga salak. If there are still water lilies in those bodies of water and are plentiful, then sana gumawa rin ang mga taga Cavinti ng mga handicrafts na maaaring pagkakitaan ng pera. Marurunong magsilala ang karamihan ng mga Cavintinians, so they will not find difficulty making artistic handicrafts from water lilies. Just an opinion, take it or leave it. It is for our town mates to decide.
Our native and hand-woven BALULANG from pandan leaves can very well take the place of the plastic bags used in grocery stores. This item prominently made in Cavinti, Laguna, Philippines, is biodegradable and definitely environment friendly.