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https://www.designforsocialchange.org/journal/index.php/DISCERN-J 
 
ISSN 2184-6995 
 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 
International License. 

 

  

 

 
 
Eco-development of biocomposites from water hyacinth: A sustainable 
integral design proposal for Xochimilco, Mexico City 
  
Ricardo Gonzalez 

 

Published online: May 2022 

 

To cite this article:  
Gonzalez, R. (2022). Eco-development of biocomposites from water hyacinth: A sustainable integral design 
proposal for Xochimilco, Mexico City. Discern: International Journal of Design for Social Change, Sustainable 
Innovation and Entrepreneurship, 3(1), 67-82.  



 

68 

Eco-development of biocomposites from water hyacinth: A sustainable 
integral design proposal for Xochimilco, Mexico City 
 
Ricardo Gonzalez a  

 
aUniversidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City. ricardogislas@hotmail.com 

 

Abstract 

This work starts from the context of an environmental crisis that frames a growing trend of a search for 

alternatives of a sustainable nature as a proposal solution from the transdisciplinary approach of design. 

The objective of this work consists of planning an eco-development strategy to create biocomposite 

materials using water hyacinth (eicchornia crassipes) as raw material. The approach will be part of a 

collective research programme for future doctoral studies whose further objective is the sustainable 

integral community development of San Gregorio Atlapulco in Xochimilco, Mexico City. Theoretically,  

an approach is made from complex thinking and the sustainability paradigm, resulting in a vision of design 

as an integral sustainable activity, from the perspective of the formulation of new materials, appealing to 

movements like Material Activism, Ecodesign and Material Designers, in conjunction with a circular 

economy. Exploratory experimentation for bio bases and sustainable treatments for the water hyacinth 

fibre was carried out to establish the optimal formulations for the elaboration of biocomposites. From this, 

seven biocomposites with different properties were obtained that can be used with various low-impact 

processes for manufacturing sustainable design objects. By doing so, this stage ended with a prospective 

scenario that was proposed for further work with the community as the beginning of a social 

entrepreneurship initiative.  

 

Keywords: Biocomposites, Integral sustainability, Water hyacinth, Eco-development 

 

Introduction 

The current situation of crisis in environmental, social, cultural, economic and health aspects is a 

consequence of the imbalance brought by industrial development, which has raised growth in terms of 

capital instead of ecological improvements. This is reflected for example, in accordance with sources like 

the Global Footprint Network (2020), which mentions that the planet has an average biocapacity of  

1.63 global hectares (GHA) and that the ideal would be to have an ecological footprint that does not exceed 

that amount. However, the average per person is 2.75 GHA, which represents a deficit of 1.1 GHA. Today, 

humanity uses the equivalent of 1.6 Earth planets in terms of exploitation of resources and waste 

absorption; among them are deforestation and overfishing and carbon dioxide emissions, respectively.  

In a local context, we can think about specific problems in each community that can be added to the main 

ones. In this case study, the presence of water hyacinth with its impact on different areas and scales of 

Xochimilco is the main concern. 

 

As a brief presentation, Xochimilco has an history of eco-development since ancient times, a balance 

between a wetland environment and anthropogenic activities. Nowadays, there is only a remnant of that 

antique land. Xochimilco “is a zone that includes a group of original towns, a net of water channels, lakes 

and the chinampas (which is a portion of land built on the water with soil and the help of the endemic 

ahuejote trees, with agricultural purposes) whose importance was recognised in 1987 by UNESCO when it 

was declared a historical and cultural heritage of humanity” (Soria, 2004, p. 261). Despite its natural tourist 

attraction, it has various problems in each of its neighbourhoods. With a population of 442,178 people 



 

69 

(INEGI, 2020), it expresses an environmental crisis promoted by water pollution, deforestation, irregular 

settlements in the protected area and in the socioeconomic dimension, due to abandonment of local 

activities such as agriculture, lack of opportunities, unemployment and migration, which together have 

returned to the town hall a very vulnerable area. One of the original neighbourhoods is called San Gregorio 

Atlapulco, a place that reunites a set of characteristics that led to proposing a project towards the 

sustainable development of the community from the design perspective. Beyond the political organisation 

of this town, San Gregorio has the characteristic of being well-organised through cooperatives with mainly 

commercial purposes. The people who work at chinampas defend their land, interests, customs and 

traditions, doing a very remarkable form of organisation in the zone. 

 

It is proposed that a strategy for the eco-development of biocomposites with water hyacinth can be 

derived towards a proposal of sustainable integral design. For their part, these materials have properties 

that make them suitable for use in various design projects. At the same time, the strategy seeks to 

integrate a prospective proposal within comprehensive community development plans that can be adapted 

and adopted in areas with similarly vulnerable situations. 

 

In the first place, the eco-development concept mentioned here is the one proposed by Ignacy Sachs 

(1974), which considers this form of development as an adaptation to the ecosystemic situations of each 

eco-region. The author mentions that one strategy for development will not fit all realities, given the 

complexity of the topic and multiplicity of operative variables. This concept aspires to define a 

development adapted mainly to third world rural regions, addressing specific solutions to specific 

problems, contemplating the ecological and cultural characteristics and the immediate and long-term 

needs. The eco-development then, is a reaction against the trend of universal solutions and master 

formulas. 

 

On the other hand, a biocomposites, as defined by Bootle et al. (2001) is a combination of two or more 

constituent materials, which are the matrix and reinforcing component, with at least one being naturally 

derived. This new material must show an improved performance over its individual components. The 

reinforcing material can be fibres, whiskers, particles or flakes; meanwhile, the matrix is the binder that 

provides mechanical support. 

 

In the last two decades, there has been a great interest in the development of alternative materials around 

sustainable design, given the problems of environmental deterioration that have forced us to rethink how 

resources are extracted and exploited and how objects are produced and disposed of at the end of their 

useful life. Greater attention has been paid to the life cycle of both the products and the materials used. 

The present work proposes a contribution to the exploration of new material alternatives and the link 

between design and social innovation through a project leading to co-creation. As designers, is necessary  

to rethink the activity in terms of the impact of what we design and how, so the main question is: What can 

be done from the perspective of design to transform the situation of a community with social and 

environmental issues? 

 

This work offers an approach to the potential that a developing country can have by visualising 

opportunities where they do not seem to be found, taking advantage of local resources to contribute to the 

transition towards a deeper ecology, following the concept of Ecopuncture proposed by Casagrande (2011) 

combining ecology and acupuncture, where a pin prick in a determined place will carry a revitalising effect 

to the point and its surroundings, i.e. a reaction of positive refeeding to have a bigger impact than expected 



 

70 

with the initial move. In this case, San Gregorio is chosen as the ecopunctural site to have the incidence for 

further application of projects. 

 

Literature review 

Integral Sustainability 

Sustainability, from its conceptualisation and foundation, is referred to as a complex paradigm, uniting 

scientific and technological, political and legal and social and cultural aspects to improve the global 

environmental situation through local plans, mainly in countries like Mexico, in growth. It is about 

substantiating pro-environmental actions that will lead to modifying the situation through changes on  

a small or large scale, involving very punctual or utopian actions that motivate a change of paradigm, 

implying “awareness, responsibility, ethical and cultural aspects, as well as patterns of consumption and 

lifestyles” (García, 2008, p. 73). For his part, Lopez (2004), in his essay on integral sustainability, mentions 

that “it is clear that the emancipatory mission, linked to arousing efforts and actions for the constant 

improvement of the quality of life of the population, cannot be left in charge of the only attention to the 

environment, but that it has to be given integrally, it must be assumed taking into account the social 

problem as a whole. In this case, we would talk about comprehensive sustainability”. This paradigm implies 

recovering the transforming sense in different dimensions, since, in its practice, it tends to suffer different 

degrees of reductionism or, as mentioned above, it is easily manipulated in terms of convenience. 

 

For Azamar and Matus (2019, p. 16), the challenge of building comprehensive sustainability involves two 

central aspects: 1. Thinking completely, considering the complex network of knowledge that a particular 

situation can summon; 2. Development of operational actions that merge science and practice into an 

interrelated whole. Sustainability, to face complexity, requires a degree of interdisciplinarity that needs 

material and logistical resources not currently provided for research. It implies not only the simple 

concurrence of disciplines but also an exercise in which situations are studied from articulated 

perspectives, linked to the processes that it defines and at the same time with those that integrate  

it (Tainter, 2006, as cited in Azamar and Matus, 2019). It will include the integration of productive, 

environmental, sociocultural, political, and technological processes, among others, that are evident  

on different spatial and temporal scales. 

  



 

71 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Image 1: Dimensions of Integral Sustainability. 

 

Design in this context will play a vital role, being a determining factor through the points described in the 

work of García (2008, p. 25): “raw material extraction, selection of materials, determination of the 

production process, establishing how the product is used, distributed and discarded”, that is, influencing 

each stage of the production of products. Sustainable design contemplates the other seven dimensions  

of the context in which it will be carried out, to transform reality. 

 

Integral sustainable design through material creation 

The role of the designer has come to be perceived as “an original conceptually deliberative thinker, who, 

through an active dialogue with manufacturers, fosters the development of new materials or production 

processes or develops them himself” (Bürdek & Eisele, 2011, as cited in Karana, 2013, p. 169). And in either 

case, the request is the same: production must be based on renewable raw materials and recyclable and/or 

biodegradable products. For this, the following five complementary proposals were considered: 

 

Circularity 

In a complex way of thinking, products must be understood as systems that are connected to other 

complex systems. These connections will allow waste streams from one system to be the raw material for 

another system. It is in the hands of the designer to apply this principle of circularity in the development of 

services and products, both by creating some that last longer, and by thinking about the future of the 

materials when they become waste (Cléries et al., 2018, p. 14). 

 

Upcycling 

Alternatives have been explored mainly in the last decade, such as upcycling, understood differently from 

recycling (recycling) as an upcycling that “provides an opportunity for waste or discarded products to be 

transformed into new, reconfigured, readapted and improved articles […] in some versions even being 

ephemeral like bags made of food waste […] and others that range from soaps, carpets, lamps, furniture 

and even entire constructions” (Bramston & Maycroft, as cited in Karana, 2015, p. 123). Beyond being  

a phenomenon of mass production, it came to reflect on whether it is possible to compete with local 

Environment
al 

P
o

litic C
u

lt
u

ra
l 

Design 



 

72 

resources and techniques against industrial production. In time, more and more designers and experts from 

other disciplines such as biology joined the trend, products of this type entered the market, and material 

developments were increasingly elaborated based on this principle. 

 

Material Activism 

At the same time, there is another material concept called material activism (Ribul, 2013), whose purpose 

is to explore the democratisation of material production with do-it-yourself tools, in terms of materials and 

infrastructure that can be had at home and from there carry out experimentations. From this perspective, 

new materials can be developed with non-advanced technology, using the inputs at the discretion of each 

creator, but following some scientific guidelines that are shared “freely” on the Internet by activists ranging 

from bioplastics to biotextiles, from fungal or bacterial polymers for packaging to construction materials. 

 

Material Designers 

Recently, a proposal has been consolidated by the institutions Elisava Barcelona School of Design and 

Engineering, the Design Department of the Politecnico di Miano, and Ma-tt-er London. It is called Material 

Designers (Cléries et al., 2020), and it consists of a project, co-founded by the Creative Europe Programme 

of the European Union, whose objective is to promote talent towards circular economies on the continent. 

Material Designers consists of a platform, a training programme, an award and a series of events for the 

positive impact that material designers can have in all types of industry and the generation of an alternative 

that relates to the circular economy. According to Cléries et al. (2020), it is about empowering communities 

to search for alternatives applied to industry or the creation of activities from a creative sector, as it is 

through new explorations based on design and with the collaboration of other disciplines. The designer acts 

as a facilitator of materials derived from a reflection of the context, of the processes with which they can 

be created and of ideas for their application, since, based on the words of Manzini (1986), it has been 

understood that the designer not only can transform and create using the material for invention, but can 

invent the material itself. 

 

Biocomposites 

Nature has developed examples in countless presentations, according to García (2017), in wood, where 

lignin acts as a matrix and cellulose as a reinforcing fibre, bones made up of a calcium binder and collagen 

fibres, the nacre of molluscs, made up of calcium carbonate or aragonite and a conchiolin biopolymer. 

Now, in addition to proposing the manufacture of environmentally friendly materials, a more 

comprehensive approach is sought, so that these have relevant social, economic, aesthetic, scientific-

technological and cultural impacts to contribute to the transformation of reality from design. 

 

For Dos Santos and Lenz (2013) the most environmentally friendly materials are those formulated from 

biodegradable polymers and reinforced with natural fibres, which can be composted at the end of their life 

cycle. However, the challenge here is the balance between life performance because of the physical 

properties and the biodegradability. For its part, the biodegradable polymers can be obtained from plants, 

such as cellulose, starch, pectin, soy derivates, polypeptides and polyphenols and from animals, such as silk, 

wool, polypeptides, chitin, chitosan and glycogen. The natural reinforcements are used to improve 

mechanical properties, giving stiffness and strength to the matrix, and the main source is the vegetable 

fibres. These have many advantages besides the environmental, like low costs, easy processing, lower 

density and lower energy consumption. The main lignocellulosic fibres are flax, hemp, henequen, jute  

and kenaf, among others, that have the best chemical compositions to work properly on biocomposites. 

Dahy (2017) mentions that natural fibres like flax, jute, hemp, etc. have a higher cost and are not available 

worldwide as they are obtained from agricultural residues, which are those fibres retrieved after the crops 



 

73 

harvesting, also called agro-fibres. This has lead to a search for new sources other than the conventional 

ones to improve the production of material alternatives. 

 

In recent years, there has been a great boom in the exploration of these types of material. To mention 

some that have inspired this work, we have The paper pulp by Debbie Wijskamp, a composite of newspaper 

and a bio binder, to fabricate furniture; the ex-presso project by Julian Lechner, taking coffee waste mixed 

with casein or bio resin to make cups and other receptacles, the Zostera stool by Carolin Pertsch, a stool 

fabricated with a composite made from aquatic plant waste and bio resin; Sargablock by Omar Vazquez,  

a brick made from sargasso and soil for the construction industry; Coconut ecodesign by Karina Sánchez,  

a composite developed from coconut waste and bioplastic made of starch; and the Cheer Project by Gaurav 

Wali, a biocomposite that consists of pine needles and bioplastic made from starch. 

 

As the main source of inspiration for this work, the Cheer Project of Gaurav (2019) and the thesis Eco-

regional Design for Xochimilco by Reséndiz (2010) are the chosen works. These are examples of academic 

works with the intention of reaching another level for social innovation and entrepreneurship in developing 

countries. The Cheer Project for India and the Eco-Regional for Mexico are both proposals for organisation 

that starts with biocomposite materials in similar contexts, trying to take advantage of residual biomass 

that causes big environmental problems if it is ignored, so that a community takes part to solve the 

problem, and in a way, it turns out to be a cultural and productive activity. As with these examples, there 

have been so many more in recent years. Developing countries that count on natural fibres that also 

represent an environmental problem are looking for commercial exploitation in some industries. At this 

moment, most of the biocomposites projected are limited to lab-scale investigations. It is important to 

consider the role of government legislation and technology development to escalate the lab work. 

 

Water hyacinth for biocomposites 

Eicchornia crassipes is a floating perennial plant with green leaves that has a spiky bloom violet and yellow 

in colour and has a fibrous root that extends up to three metres. It belongs to the Pontederiaceae family, 

whch is native to South America. It is the only species of the genus eicchornia that is floating. The petioles 

have intercellular spaces filled with air, and the blades are raised above the water level and act as sails, 

which allow it to float freely and quickly spread its distribution until it becomes a plague (INECOL, n.d.).  

It has been lying in bodies of water in Mexico for more than a century, spreading to cause major problems 

in its early years and to this day. It is suggested that it was brought during the government of Porfirio Diaz, 

given the policies that were implemented in the economic sector to increase the development of 

agricultural and fishing activities. Due to this, it is thought that it could have arrived as green manure in 

chinampera agriculture, as an element of fish farming technology or as an ornamental plant, according to 

Cervantes and Rojas (2000). It has a wet weight of 11–51 kg per square metre, corresponding to 0.62–2.87 

kg per square metre in dry weight. The biomass has a variable doubling rate of between 7.4 and 46.5 days 

(Juárez, 2011). Its use for material creation was not raised until a few years ago. Micro-enterprises are 

dedicated to its transformation into paper and derivative handicrafts woven from the stems, and more 

recently it has been proposed as fibre for the manufacture of composites and parts for the automotive 

sector. Great interest has been shown in the last two decades for the creation of a wide variety of projects 

of this type, both research and marketed, for the sustainable use of waste and weeds mainly aimed at their 

transformation into industrial/handcrafted materials. 

 

This plant has been proposed as raw material, for example, due to its absorbent quality, to retain 

contaminants resulting from spills. Vargas (2017) mentions a variety of existing and possible derivative 

products, such as compost, paper, handicrafts, toxin absorbers, construction materials, paint texturisers, 



 

74 

oven supplies, fodder, soil remediation, some produced as a biocomposite, with the addition of chemical 

or biological matrices. Ajithram (2020) evaluates its use in compounds with epoxy resin, showing 

characteristics very similar to those provided by synthetic fibres. This is oriented to industries such as the 

automotive industry. Non-woven textile production has been proposed by Bhuvaneshwari and Sangeetha 

(2017) through a defibration process and combined with another fibre (hemp) that has greater  

cohesion power. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1: Physical properties of water hyacinth fibre compared with others. (Ajithram et al., 2020). 

 

Methodology 

To implement an ecological production system for biocomposites in coherence with the context and the 

objective of comprehensive sustainability defined from the documentary review, a search was carried out 

for processes with the least impact on both environmental and human health, drifting towards simplified 

processes that are feasible to be carried out in vulnerable communities with a lack of services, reduced 

spaces and low investment level, using the most accessible tools and machinery in terms of use and costs, 

the least possible use of substances or additives both renewable and non-renewable, as well as an optimal 

use of energy and in the same way, the least possible, whether electricity or from fuel. In this way,  

a strategy of strategies emerged that occurred four stages before social entrepreneurship. 

 

1) Theoretical foundation. Relevance of the proposal. 2) Strategy where the methods of preparation of the 

fibre and other inputs for the material creation were planned. 3) Strategy of experimentation in the 

creation of materials. 4) Proposal for the future for obtaining materials and the creation of design objects 

aimed at a social enterprise. 

 

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Image 2: Strategy phases of the proposed methodology for eco-development of biocomposites in San Gregorio. 
 



 

75 

The main contribution of this methodology is to find a way to make an impactful project in the San 
Gregorio region, going little by little, given the cultural characteristics of the communities. This work frames 
the first steps where a posture of eco-development is taken through the theoretical investigation and 
materials are obtained, so is possible to offer workshops with actors of the community to have an approach 
from the perspective of design and other fields like biology, architecture, chemistry, among others, with 
social entrepreneurship aimed at since the beginning. This is the first estimated bridge between the 
community and a group of work that will carry a whole project of sustainable restoration called Master plan 
of sustainable development for San Gregorio Atlapulco, in which professors, investigators and students 
from different disciplines like those mentioned before meet. With a complete map of stakeholders, we can 
formulate a complex strategy for the estimated project to the integral sustainable transformation of San 
Gregorio Atlapulco. 
 

Case study 
San Gregorio Atlapulco is chosen as a strategic site within the Xochimilco demarcation. It is made up of 
different zones: rural chinampera, wetlands (remnants of Lake Xochimilco) and urban and hilly. This area 
shares the typical characteristics of Xochimilco; it consists of an average altitude of 2,240 metres above sea 
level with an average 669 mm annual rainfall and temperature of 16.4°C (Torres-Lima & Conway., 2018). 
The lake system is made up of 277.8 km2, where an estimated volume of 2622 cubic metres of water is 
contained in 160 ha. There is a channel network of 203 km in total length. The agroecological production 
area has decreased from 9,000 ha registered at the beginning of the 20th century to 1,200 ha. Torres-Lima 
and Conway also mention a series of problems that affect the sustainability of the San Gregorio Atlapulco 
wetlands (Table2): 

 

Indicator Socio-environmental Impact 

Socioeconomic 

Use of modified or transgenic seeds 

Use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides 

Replacing traditional chinampas techniques with greenhouses 

Construction of stables 

Construction of bridges between canals 

Introduction of a sanitary hydraulic network in chinampas 

Improvised rubbish tips 

Loss of trade with local markets  

Environmental 

Construction of locks and weirs 

Closure of canals and ditches 

Destruction of dykes 

Drainage of sewage into canals 

Deforestation of native ahuejotes trees (Salix Bomplandiana L.) 

Invasion of water hyacinth (Eicchornia crassipes) 

Removal of wild plants and animals 

Use of motorised aquatic vehicles  

Regional 

Abandonment of piers 

Transformation of chinampas into housing 

Conversion of canals into streets 

No intervention on the part of institutions and government 

officials 

 
Table 2: Indicators and variables of socio-environmental impacts that negatively affect wetland sustainability  
in San Gregorio Atlapulco (Torres-Lima et al., 2018). 

 



 

76 

The aforementioned has motivated the generation of a proposal that articulates the use of the water 
hyacinth plague that shows an average yield of 120 tons per hectare yearly (D’Agua et al., 2014) and an 
approximate cost of 70,000 Mexican pesos per hectare to remove it from the waters (Juárez, 2011), causing 
an economic, environmental and social impacts that affect the water ecosystems and productive activities. 
With the strategy of utilisation as fibre, this can be profitable, through value-added products created by the 
community members in workshops. 
 
Strategy of planning and technical design 
The processes for the preparation of the water hyacinth as a raw material for the manufacture of 
biocomposites are established, starting from the theoretical basis of the treatment of fibres for their  
use as reinforcement in biobases. A general approach to the treatment of the plant is provided by Ajithram 
(2020) with a sequence of extraction, cutting of roots and leaves (which are discarded), drying and 
crushing. In addition, implements for these processes were designed and manufactured. Subsequently, 
experiments were carried out with the manufacture of biobases using starches, vegetable glue, pine resin 
and gelatin. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 

 
Image 3: Preparation of biomass for utilisation in biocomposites experimentation. a)–c): Drying process in net panels; 
d), e): designed low cost shredding machine; f) particle sizes obtained from shredding; g) experimental biobases of 
starch, gelatin, mucilague + fibre. 
 

To obtain the optimal biobases for fibre binding, it was considered a design of experiments with mixtures 
proposed by Gutiérrez y De la Vara (2008). Guided by the geometric representation, the vertexes represent 
pure mixtures, the edges represent binary mixtures, the faces correspond to tertiary mixtures. and the 
interior points to quaternary mixtures. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Image 4: Geometric representation of design of experiments with mixtures by Gutiérrez y De la Vara (2008). 

 
Strategy of material experimentation 
With the selected formulas, the material tests were carried out to obtain seven different presentations  

of fibre and combined biobases, using, as mentioned, simple processes, friendly for the user and  

the environment: 



 

77 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Image 5: Paper. A laminate from a mixture of 80% water hyacinth fibre and 20% recycled newspaper, both previously 
treated with water immersion of 7 days to soften the fibre. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Image 6: Agglomerate. Material made of 100% fibre, previously treated with water immersion of 7 days, only 
subjected to pressure in a mould to take form and expel most of the water. This presentation of bars was weak  
in its face, but very strong when it was resting on its edges.   

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Image 7: Agglomerate with starch bioplastic. The optimal matrix was composed by a 4:1:1:1: 1/5 formula: water 30 g, 
starch 7.5 g, vinegar 7.5 g, glycerin 7.5 g, with 1.5 g of dried fibre. The difference between this material and the 
previous one is that this were not subjected to pressure to give form. It was just cast into the mould and left to dry.  
It takes around 4 days to be completely dry. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
Image 8: Vinyl of gelatin and starch bioplastic with fibre. The optimal formula for the matrix was 10:3/4:2:1, which 
entails 100 g water, 7.5 g of gelatin, 20 g of glycerin and 10 g of vinegar for the mould used. The optimal amount  
of fibre added was 3 g dried or 20 g wet. It solidifies in 15 minutes, but to be completely dry takes approximately  
96 hours. 
 
 



 

78 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Image 9: Bioplastic of pine resin. This material consists of three components: pine resin, beeswax and fibre. The wax is 
added to give fluency to the mixture. The optimal amount was 15 g resin, 15 g   wax and 3 g dried fibre. The matrix is 
heated until it melts and then is cast in a mould with the fibre already inside it, stirred for a few seconds and left to dry. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Image 10: Bio-laminated weave. This material consists of a piece of woven stems and a process of bio-laminate with 
starch bioplastic. First, the hyacinth stems are set in the sunlight for drying, then the air is removed by pressure with 
the hand. Once the stems are flat, the weaving starts. The bio-laminated weave consists of mechanical pressure 
applied to the piece of woven stems. Once it is flat, it is coated with layers of starch bioplastic, then is subjected  
to pressure again, with a source of heat supplying hot air to dry and harden the piece. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Image 11: Bio-panel. A combination of the last two materials: agglomerate + bio-laminated weave. The agglomerate  
is glued by the faces with starch bioplastic and subjected to pressure. Then, two pieces of laminate are set under and 
over the agglomerates and glued with starch bioplastic applying pressure too. The result is a light and hard piece of  
a sandwich of water hyacinth that supports large amounts of weight. 
 



 

79 

Strategy of prospective approach 
This section proposes an application of the development of materials and the manufacture of design 

objects in a community environment that contributes to its integral sustainable development. It is intended 

that from this research a complex strategy arises, where the materials function as a means through which  

a community such as San Gregorio Atlapulco can provide solutions to the identified problems and solve 

needs, improving the current situation without causing further environmental deterioration, and alluding  

to environmental education and awareness. 

 

How the project is planned to be carried out in the next stage is in a co-creation space where the 

community inhabitants interact with the material to explore design alternatives or applications for each 

material likely to be marketed to generate a social enterprise. This implies empowering the members of  

a community to achieve independence based on the self-production of materials, using simple 

transformation processes with local and circular inputs. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Image 12: Examples of applications for the developed materials in this work. 1) Biovinyl applications. 2) BioVinyl 
objects. 3) Paper for art. 4) Biovinyl lampshade. 5) Bio-laminated veneer on PDF. 6) Paper dog poop collector.  
7 & 8) Bioplastic from hand-moulded starch. 

 
The main contribution of this work is a extensive exploration of the material possibilities with water 
hyacinth, working with austerity, thinking about taking the processes to a rural environment, with the 
possibility to make a manual for developing this kind of biocomposite to use with groups in workshops. 
Another contribution is that when the work was showed to the public, mainly academic experts on the 
region of Xochimilco, it generated great interest as a project applying social innovation, whereby this 
project has been considered the more feasible way to approximate to the communities of San Gregorio,  
to carry then a greater project that covers another area and requires more actors. 
 
In the context of developing the project proposal as social entrepreneurship, it is expected that there will 
be attention to each of situation that needs solutions, as follows: 
  



 

80 

 
Dimension Development 
Environmental Water hyacinth control; inculcate ecological awareness; the barrier between the 

protected area and irregular settlements  

Social  Improve quality of life; creation of new organisations; improve health 

Economic Improve navigation in channels; offer job opportunities 

Bio-cultural Heritage revaluation; landscape conservation; inculcate values and environmental 
care 

Political Agreements between stakeholders; support networks; proposal of new regulations 
and policies 

Scientific-
Technologic 

Research and technological development (materials, processes); implementation  
of eco-technologies;  

Educational Form a socio-environmental criterion; educate for family planning 

Fields of design Sustainable alternatives of creation; aimed at socio-environmental benefit; 
investigation to and from design; create a regional product identity 

 
Table 3: Developments for each dimension of integral sustainability. 
 

Final considerations: Limitations and scope 

The objective is to create an eco-development strategy aimed at the production of materials in an 
environment of scarce resources and infrastructure. The methodology will entail an approach to a technical 
manual for the eco-development of biocomposites with water hyacinth. Aspects of feasibility will aim  
at a circular economy that contributes to community development through innovation and social 
entrepreneurship, which in turn, contributes to its control in the tributaries that are plagued by water 
hyacinth. Finally, due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the study of the community was carried 
out through document review and participation in seminars and talks with academics who have worked in 
the area. 
 
Conclusions 
A realistic scenario is proposed to carry out the eco-development strategy in the community of San 
Gregorio Atlapulco. Through a subsequent multidisciplinary, in-depth study with various actors (research 
community and authorities) and with a definitive structure, a pilot project with desirable scenarios will  
be developed. 
 
The sustainability paradigm is perceived integrally, trying to contemplate the complexity, in this case, of the 
object of transformation, and thus responding with a proposal from complexity to provide solutions for 
social change. However, this approach is nothing more than a viable transition for the moment, towards  
a paradigm of deep ecology. 
 
Future investigation will explore the optimisation of materials using other sustainable inputs – biobased  
or synthetic – and greater self-produced technological development. There will be execution of quantitative 
tests, such as mechanical, use and end of cycle like degradability and compostability. In addition, an impact 
matrix with social, cultural, economic and aesthetic indicators will be developed. Finally, a survey 
methodology will be implemented in the community on the receptivity of social entrepreneurship 
initiatives from design. 
  



 

81 

 
 

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