This innovator converts Lantana Camara weed into ecofriendly ‘wood’; empowers tribal people

Dr Binish Desai’s innovation journey began when he was ten. The animated series, ‘Captain Planet’, about an environmentalist with superpowers, and ‘Dexter’s Laboratory’, in which a boy genius has a laboratory in his bedroom unknown to his parents, were his favourite cartoons. 

“I wanted to do something for my superhero, Captain Planet. I wanted a lab of my own like Dexter. When I was ten, I learnt about evaporation and condensation in school. I noticed the steam released in the kitchen during cooking. I created a machine to capture that water vapour and convert it into water for gardening,” the 32-year-old innovator-entrepreneur tells 30Stades. 

“This watch I am wearing is made entirely from waste. The dial is made of recycled PoP (plaster of Paris) while the strap is made from recycled flowers,” says Dr Binish with a childlike grin. 

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He has worked with over 190 types of waste to make functional products and has 147 inventions and 19 patents to his credit. One of the most amazing projects is making bricks using chewing gum and waste paper!

During COVID-19, he converted masks and PPE kits into bricks. This initiative was mentioned in the World Health Organization (WHO) bulletin as a commercially viable solution.   

Today, one of his most impactful projects is making ‘Eco-wood’ by converting Lantana Camara, an invasive species, into an eco-friendly wood composite. 

Curbing carbon emissions

On a visit to the Jim Corbett National Park, Dr Binish saw the lantana infestation. Given the magnitude of the problem, he knew a large-scale effort was required.  

The environmental impact of the Eco-wood project is huge.

Recycling 1.8 kg of lantana per sq ft, can prevent 3 kg of carbon emissions. “That means that by making one table from Lantana Eco-wood, we can curb 15 kg of carbon emissions,” he explains.  

Dr Binish’s venture ReArtham Tech LLP is based in Valsad, Gujarat. ReArtham, founded, in 2023, was previously a proprietorship called Eco Eclectic Tech since 2010, when he set up his first company at the age of 16 years. 

ReArtham provides sustainable solutions to waste management by inventing biomaterials that help convert waste into eco-friendly and economical products.  

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The process to convert Lantana into Eco-wood is simple and inexpensive. “We collect the Lantana, largely with the help of local NGOs, and set up a processing unit near the infestation. The entire plant including stems, flowers and leaves is collected.  We wash the plant and dry it," he says.

The processing unit is run by locally employed tribal people who grind the dried waste into powder. Special crushing techniques (to be patented) are used, and the powder is mixed with a proprietary binder, explains Dr Binish. 

In this process, 82 percent of the lantana and 18 percent of the binder are mixed and kept for 10 minutes to stabilize. The material is then put into moulds to make various products such as flooring, countertops, kitchen cabinets, furniture, décor items like lamps, utensils, and even jewellery! The ecofriendly products can be painted or laminated.  

‘Persistent experimenter’

Dr Binish completed an integrated course in MSc in biotechnology from Veer Narmad South Gujarat University, Surat. He has an honorary PhD in environmental sciences from a university in Texas. 

His wife Yashvi Desai, co-founder of ReArtham, is closely involved with the Lantana project. She handles manufacturing and training of women to make the products. 

The Eco-wood innovation is featured in a book on the ‘Honey Bee Network Creativity & Inclusive Innovation Awards - HBN CRIIA-India, 2024’. Honey Bee Network was set up by Prof Anil Gupta, a former faculty of IIM, Ahmedabad promoting grassroots innovations. 

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“Dr Binish is a persistent experimenter and innovator. He has been trying to make so many products with Eco-wood. He has proved that this weed can be put to good end use in making contemporary furniture and other products. His work is important in the area of repurposing waste and the circular economy,” says Prof Gupta.

“People with innovative ideas should contact GIAN (Grassroots Innovations Augmentation Network), which nurtures and scales up grassroots innovations and helps the development of successful enterprises,” urges Prof Gupta.  

Magnitude of the problem 

According to a study published in the ‘Journal of Applied Ecology’ in October 2023, Lantana Camara has the largest expanse, covering 574,186 sq km, or 50 percent of India's natural areas. This includes forests and agricultural lands.  

Lantana Camara was introduced by the British in the 1800s as an ornamental plant because of its attractive flowers. Due to cross-pollination, it began to spread widely and competes with native plants for space and resources.

It releases chemicals that make the soil acidic and inhibit the growth of other plants, adversely affecting biodiversity, explains Dr Binish. The government has been spending a lot of money to get rid of the weed. However, it keeps coming back.

It is toxic to animals and can be dangerous to wildlife in other ways. Like if a tiger enters a lantana thicket, it may suffocate inside. 

The Lantana invasion has resulted in the scarcity of native forage plants for wild herbivores. Lantana is also one of the major reasons for the decline in the vulture population in the country.  

In farming, Lantana competes with crops for resources and reduces crop yields. It also hampers farm operations by interfering with access to fields and obstructing machinery. Lantana is also a problem for tribes living in forests due to the dense nature of its growth. 

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Why Eco-wood 

Eco-wood is 100 percent recyclable, strong and durable, waterproof, pest resistant and has natural thermal insulation making it suitable for all weathers. It has good nail-holding capacity. It doesn’t have to be treated as much as plywood. Only eco-friendly chemicals are added during processing, stresses Dr Binish. 

Tribal communities have been making furniture for years but the furniture is not aesthetically appealing. Moreover, they use only part of the plant, he says. Now they can make more market-friendly products and earn a decent livelihood. 

The existing selling price of Lantana Eco-wood is Rs 90 per sq ft for 10 mm thickness. The main competitors are Chinese and European companies. 

Plan to scale up  

ReArtham has recently started commercial production of Eco-wood products. The company works with different kinds of waste and clocked an annual revenue of Rs 60 lakh last year. For instance, PoP Ganesha idols were converted into school benches. The firm made a ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ from recycled flowers! 

Dr Binish has been on the Forbes 2018 list of Asia’s top social entrepreneurs under 30. A book on his life titled ‘The Recycle Man’, written by Nikhil Chandwani was published in 2019. A Bollywood movie is planned on his life. 

“I see Lantana as a resource rather than a problem or nuisance. We are set to scale up production of Eco-wood products. My message to entrepreneurs is to never fear failure. Learn from it. Also, I always seek to collaborate rather than compete,” signs of Dr Binish. 

(Aruna Raghuram is a freelance journalist based in Bengaluru. She writes about people, environmental matters, parenting, DEI issues, and social/development enterprises.)

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