How Cambodia's hyacinth weavers are changing lives

James Shackell

July 19, 2023

On the outskirts of Siem Reap, not-for-profit organization Rokhak is changing the lives of Cambodian women and helping the environment at the same time. It’s also a brand new Intrepid experience for 2023. We sat down with founder, Hor Sounsrors, to find out how invasive weeds can be used for good.

Looking out over Tonlé Sap lake in northwest Cambodia, you can see huge clumps of greenery on the water, floating between the stilt houses of Kompong Khleang. It looks pretty, but that greenery is actually water hyacinth, an invasive species from the upper Amazon Basin, half a world away—and it’s a huge ecological problem.

“When it grows, it grows thick,” says Hor Sounsrors, also known as ‘Sros,’ who runs Cambodian not-for-profit Rokhak. “It means there’s no sunlight getting into the water, so the fish and other species below can’t get enough oxygen. In some places, you can actually walk on it.”

A monk walks through the ruins of Angkor Wat. — The International Labor Organization estimates that women in Cambodia women spend a disproportionate amount of time on unpaid care work (about 188 minutes per day, compared to 18 minutes for men). Photo: Giulia Brochetto

Turning pest into profit

Water hyacinth can double in size every two weeks. It’s a virulent pest, choking the waterways and blocking the passage of boats. But Sros founded Rokhak to tackle the problem in a unique way. The center employs local Cambodian women to collect hyacinth from Tonlé Sap and the surrounding rivers, dry it out, steam it, and weave it into baskets, rugs and other handicrafts.

It’s a double win for local people: They’re helping the ecosystem breathe and creating valuable employment at the same time.

“Three years ago, I went to this village and found an old woman living in a tent—just a plastic bag stretched across as a roof,” Sros says. “But she was living next to all this water hyacinth. So we trained her to collect the plants, and then people started buying the stems from her, and now she earns a good living. She uses the profits to plant fruit and vegetables, which she can sell as well.”

Locals can collect up to 200 hyacinth stems at a time; they’re brought back to Rokhak, dried in the sun, then steamed over charcoal to deepen the colour and kill any bacteria. The stems are then carefully woven by hand, turning an ecological disaster into something useful—and best of all, valuable.

Left: Hands weave dried out hyacinth. Right: A woman picks hyacinth from the lake. — It takes about two weeks to learn how to weave water hyacinth, but once you have that skill, you’ve got a trade for life. Photos courtesy of Intrepid Travel

Empowering local women

Sros says she’s currently training 13 women to weave the water hyacinth, and Rokhak employs five more full-time in the workshop, producing products for local businesses in Siem Reap, or for guests that visit the center.

Travelers can buy intricate rugs, beautiful bags and hand-woven plant baskets, and all the profits get funneled back into the local community. Rokhak also runs workshops where visitors can practice their hyacinth-weaving skills.

“My mother always told me, ‘You have to be independent. You have to stand by yourself.’ These women still have to raise their children, of course, but now we can give them the skills to make a living and work from home.”

- ''Sros' - Hor Sounsrors

“Travelers will get to make the small bowls themselves as a souvenir,” Sros says. “It’s really hands-on. We train them the same way we train women in the villages.”

Left: A basket made of hyacinth. Right: A woman picks hyacinth from the lake in Siem Reap. — Water hyacinth can double in size every two weeks, writes James Shackell: “It’s a virulent pest, choking the waterways and blocking the passage of boats. But Sros founded Rokhak to tackle the problem in a unique way. The center employs local Cambodian women to collect hyacinth from Tonlé Sap and the surrounding rivers, dry it out, steam it, and weave it into baskets, rugs and other handicrafts.” Photos courtesy of Intrepid Travel

This training has real economic value. It might take three artisans a few weeks to weave a single rug, but each rug can sell for up to USD $300—more than most Cambodians see in a month.

Beyond its ecological impact, Rokhak changes the lives of local women. The center’s real product, and its ongoing legacy, is employment and financial independence. It takes about two weeks to learn how to weave water hyacinth, but once you have that skill, you’ve got a trade for life.

This is a big deal in Cambodia, where the International Labor Organization estimates women spend a massively disproportionate amount of time on unpaid care work (about 188 minutes per day, compared to 18 minutes for men). It’s a gender-based inequality that has a real impact on women’s lives and livelihoods.

People on scooters ride through the centre of a market. — Sros is currently training 13 women to weave the water hyacinth, and Rokhak employs five more full-time in the workshop, producing products for local businesses in Siem Reap, or for guests that visit the center. Photo: Humphrey Muleba

Looking to the future

“When you have no income, you have no voice,” Sros says. “Most women in the floating villages have five or six children. Many kids don’t go to school, and there’s always housework to do. I respect that so much, but if you ask these women what they do, they’ll say, ‘I don’t have a job. I’m just a housewife.’

“My mother always told me, ‘You have to be independent. You have to stand by yourself.’ These women still have to raise their children, of course, but now we can give them the skills to make a living and work from home.”

Sros began her career as an accountant, but teaching was always her dream. Having recently earned her Bachelor of Education, she says the ultimate goal for Rokhak is to expand the center, train more women, and eventually launch educational programs for the local kids.

“I do some fun activities for the kids in my village,” Sros says. “Cooking, painting, drawing, and they get to experience the weaving as well. Running a not-for-profit is hard—the money to start Rokhak came from my own savings—but these women and these children keep me going.”

***

Have older kids of your own? Experience Rokhak for yourself on our Cambodia Family Holiday with Teenagers.

***

Adventure.com strives to be a low-emissions publication, and we are working to reduce our carbon emissions where possible. Emissions generated by the movements of our staff and contributors are carbon offset through our parent company, Intrepid. You can visit our sustainability page and read our Contributor Impact Guidelines for more information. While we take our commitment to people and planet seriously, we acknowledge that we still have plenty of work to do, and we welcome all feedback and suggestions from our readers. You can contact us anytime at hello@adventure.com. Please allow up to one week for a response.

James Shackell

James Shackell is a freelance journalist with words in The Huffington Post, Red Bull, Canadian Traveler and Smith Journal. One day, he'll be bumped to business class, and you'll never hear the end of it.