{"id":17405,"date":"2026-06-03T04:02:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyapak.com\/?page_id=9102"},"modified":"2026-06-03T07:26:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T04:26:26","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/hyapak.com\/es\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"Acerca de"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n <\/span>\n Acerca de<\/span>\n OUR STARTUP JOURNEY \u00b7 HYAPAK \u00b7 KE<\/span>\n <\/div>\n

A small collective<\/em>
using one mess
to solve another.<\/h1>\n

\n HyaPak is a Kenyan circular-economy company. We harvest invasive water hyacinth\n from Lake Naivasha and Lake Victoria and turn it into biodegradable packaging\n that looks, feels and performs like plastic, then quietly returns to soil,\n or water, wherever place it ends up discarded.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n

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01<\/span>Mission<\/span><\/div>\n

\n Our commitment is to tackle both plastic-waste pollution<\/em> and\n water-hyacinth infestation<\/em> through innovation, joining climate action to a\n healthier blue economy and the biodiversity of our lakes.\n <\/p>\n

\n Ultimately, we want to change how you interact with conventional packaging\n plastics in your day-to-day life.\n <\/p>\n

\n Not just because biodegradable alternatives are eco-friendly,\n but because ours are affordable, more reliable, and much higher quality<\/em>.\n <\/p>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n

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02<\/span>Nuestra historia<\/span><\/div>\n

Stuck in a lake<\/em>.<\/h3>\n
\n <\/protected-img>\n
Lake Naivasha \u00b7 the lake that started it all<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n <\/div>\n
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\n HyaPak started, quite literally, by getting stuck<\/em>. A group of\n Egerton University engineering students trapped for several hours in a dense\n mat of water hyacinth on Lake Naivasha during a class trip.\n <\/p>\n

That afternoon framed two problems in the same body of water: an invasive weed strangling the lake, and the plastic waste piling up on its shore. We started asking a research question; WHAT IF one problem could one solve the other?<\/p>\n

What began as a final-year project is now a team of engineers, designers, harvesters and lab researchers building packaging that looks, feels and performs like plastic, grown from the very weed clogging the lake.<\/p>\n

\n \u2014 The HyaPak team<\/span>\n Universidad Egerton \u00b7 Nakuru, Kenia<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n \n
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03<\/span>How we do it<\/span><\/div>\n

Four steps from
lake to shelf.<\/em><\/h2>\n <\/div>\n
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  1. \n
    01<\/div>\n

    Sourcing<\/h3>\n

    We harvest water hyacinth with the help of affected fishermen, fisherwomen and community members from Lake Naivasha and Lake Victoria. This contributes to additional income to their daily lives, to help counter the income that their households lose to the same weed through fishing activities.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n

  2. \n
    02<\/div>\n

    Quality control<\/h3>\n

    The biomass is sun-dried and then mechanically crushed to a fine, fibrous flour. We test every batch for moisture, particle size and fibre length before it enters the line.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n

  3. \n
    03<\/div>\n

    Extraction<\/h3>\n

    Through a meticulous extraction process, we draw the cellulose from the fibre and blend it with our proprietary binders and additives. Each formulation is tuned for the end product. For example, agricultural applications would have a different recipe to a flexible mailer.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n

  4. \n
    04<\/div>\n

    Conversion<\/h3>\n

    Using innovative techniques and patented processes, we convert the composite into seedling bags, parcel packaging, carton liners, plates, tumblers, films and custom moulds<\/em> that are drop-in replacements for fossil-fuel plastics that biodegrade in custom time, between 3 and 12 months.<\/p>\n <\/li>\n <\/ol>\n <\/section>\n\n \n

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    04<\/span>What we stand for<\/span><\/div>\n

    Three values
    we ship by.<\/em><\/h2>\n <\/div>\n