The River Reed Company in Cape Town

Click on any thumbnail below to see a bigger picture. Pictures by Sandi Barrett

	The water hyacinth is collected from the Black river. It is put on the bank to dry a bit. Some of it is taken to the River Reed company in Observatory where the stems are shredded.

	The dry shredded water hyacinth is mixed with recycled paper. Water and caustic soda are added and it is boiled to make a pulp.
	Paper lifting - The pulp which is mixed up in the water is scooped up into a sieve like frame. The wooden frame has a piece of net over it. The water drains out, while the paper pulp remains. This is then carefully turned onto a piece of carpet and is taken to the paper press.
	The paper is put into a paper press to get rid of the excess water.
	The paper is put onto drying lines. Fans circulate the air and dry the paper.
	The paper has to be sized so that the ink will not run on the paper. It is then cut sizes and is ready to be sold.
	The River Reed Paper Company management team of Adrian Taylor and Andre Marks can be contacted at the Observatory Industrial Park in Lower Scott Road, Observatory. Telephone: 021 447 67 21 Fax : 021 448 7802

Simple paper making from Water Hyacinth
Chapter 10, Use Water Hyacinth,Keith Lindsey, Hans-Martin Hirt

	Collect Water Hyacinth.
	Dry in the open until semi-crispy.
	Cut off stems – use the leaves and roots for other purposes.
	Cut the stems into small cubes.
	Take one large handful of the cubes.
	Put these cubes into a blender with 3 ½ cups of water a mix for 30 seconds (given no electric power, you could use a pestle and mortar.)
	Pour in to bowl half full of water.
	Repeat this sequence with 4 handfulls.

Make a wooden frame with a fine gauze. Slide it under the hyacinth and put on the bottom of the bowl. When the water has settled, gently raise the frame.

Using a small, dry cloth, pat the water hyacinth to make it as dry as possible.

Spread a larger cloth out on the floor. Turn the frame over, lay it on the cloth and pat more with the small cloth.

Lift the frame so that the water hyacinth paper falls on the cloth. Place another cloth on top of the water hyacinth, and several newspapers on top of that. On top again, place a wooden board, and a rock or something heavy.

After 30 minutes, take everything off the water hyacinth paper, peel it carefully off the cloth and lay it out to dry for 24 hours.

Experiment with different proportions of Water Hyacinth pulp and wastepaper pulp, until you have the paper you like best.