With support from the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF), Dr. Alice Nabatanzi, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Plant Sciences, Microbiology and Biotechnology, College of Natural Sciences (CoNAS) carried out a project titled:

From World's Worst Water Weed to Worth: Small-scale Community Biorefining of Water Hyacinth to Produce Value-Added Commercially Valuable Products.

The project successfully developed three value-added innovations:

• Biofertiliser from water hyacinth biomass
• Briquettes as an alternative solid fuel
• Biodegradable sanitary pads, incorporating water hyacinth fibre together with banana fibre and papyrus in the absorbent material.

The research dissemination workshop will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the innovations, share the scientific findings, and engage stakeholders on pathways for community uptake, further development, partnerships, scale-up and commercialisation.

Date and Time: Tuesday 22nd September 2026, 9:00AM - 12:30PM.

See Project Video: https://youtu.be/tp8Z4mA1EWI

Some of the Products - Aurene Aura Collection: https://youtu.be/MZ0Hh-Tx8zQ