Mrs. Cynthia Villar is shown here posing with the winning Christmas Tree in a competition last December at a hotel in Makati. The Christmas Tree is made of cured stems of water hyacinth more popularly called water lily in the Philippines.

Mrs. Villar is responsible for starting an industry in Las Pinas where workers, men and women, have found a profitable livelihood making various handicrafts out of water hyacinth.

The idea started when the Las Pinas-Bacoor River was clogged with water lily. She thought of converting the pesky weed into something of value.Now, the river is cleared of all water hyacinth. They are now using water hyacinth from Laguna Lake.