Grass Mache: Dal Lake Weeds Turned into Craft Products
Why in the news
A Srinagar artisan created Grass Mache, a craft using Dal Lake weeds.
About Grass Mache
- Raw material: discarded aquatic weeds and grasses of Dal Lake.
- Adapted from Kashmir’s papier-mâché craft; sustainable products from biological waste.
- Process: dried weeds become fibrous pulp, are blended, moulded and dried into a stone-like finish.
Dal Lake and related facts
- Dal Lake is an urban lake in Srinagar troubled by eutrophication, encroachment and weeds.
- Invasive weeds: Azolla, Salvinia, water hyacinth, Ceratophyllum.
- Eutrophication: nutrient enrichment that triggers weed and algal overgrowth.
- Managed by the Lakes Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA), earlier LAWDA.
- Kashmiri papier-mâché has a GI tag, like Pashmina, Saffron, Walnut Wood Carving and Basohli Painting.
- Ramsar Sites: Wular Lake, Hokersar, Surinsar-Mansar, Tsomoriri.
Exam angle
- Concept shown: circular economy, waste streams as inputs.