On Lake Naivasha in Kenya, invasive water hyacinth is suffocating fish and threatening local livelihoods. Engineer Joseph Nguthiru has transformed the deadly plant into an eco-friendly innovation, showcasing how a crisis can be turned into a sustainable opportunity.

Lake Naivasha

Water hyacinth, an invasive aquatic weed, has severely impacted Lake Naivasha in Kenya, harming fish populations and local livelihoods. Engineer Joseph Nuguthuru, founder of the start-up Hyapak, has developed a solution by converting this environmental threat into biodegradable materials that mimic the properties of plastic but decompose quickly.

Hyapak's products include seedling bags that can be planted directly into the soil, where they break down and release nutrients to support plant growth. The initiative has cleared over 20 acres of hyacinth from the lake and has been recognized by the United Nations Environment Programme with the 2025 Young Champion of the Earth award.

Kenyan engineer turns deadly water hyacinth into green solution

On Kenya's Lake Navaisha, water hyacinth is choking the shoreline, killing fish and livelihoods. But for engineer Joseph Nuguthuru, this invasive menace became the spark for a game-changing, eco-friendly innovation. According to UNEP, water hyacinth is the world's most invasive aquatic weed. It flows on top of water and it blocks oxygen from reaching underground and this kills important aquatic life. In addition to that, it also is a problem when it comes to navigation, irrigation, fishing and important other blue economic activities. And also forms a breeding ground for mosquitoes that then cause malaria to the communities living around. Joseph is now the founder and CEO of Hyapak, a start-up transforming water hyacinth into biodegradable alternative materials. So our solution at Hyapak is to use one problem of water hyacinth to solve yet another problem of plastic waste pollution, while creating green jobs for the local communities. What makes our solution unique is that we are filling in the vacuum of making products that feel like plastics, perform like plastics, but they are going to biodegrade and disintegrate after a short time. One of Hyapak's key innovations is seedling bags that are planted directly into the soil, releasing nutrients that boost growth, a solution that is eco-friendly. For normal trees, you will have to remove the plastic bag so that you can plant the tree. But for ours, you insert this seedling into the soil together with the plant, and as it decomposes, it releases nutrients that accelerates the growth rate of this plant. So far, Joseph and his team have cleared more than 20 acres of hyacinth from Lake Navaisha, work that has earned him the 2025 Young Champion of the Earth award from the United Nations Environment Programme.

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Breakdown