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| Saturday, 24 April 2004 |
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The bamboo economy in India from Upali Rupasinghe in New Delhi Bamboo, perhaps is one of the most ancient plants on earth.
It is also an ordinary reed with extraordinary qualities and hundreds of traditional uses. New technologies, new ways of thinking have enabled new uses and products. In 1879, Edison's lightbulbs used 'bamboo' filaments. Today 125 years later, bamboo continues to re-invent itself. Innovative housing, bamboo-glass fibre composits, pre-fabricated structures, wood and plywood substitutes, activated carbon, laminated flooring, planar and space trusses, and corrugated roofing are a few popular uses from the bamboo plants. Also bamboo can generate employment and income for millions. It can even generate electricity-power to the people. Earlier this month, deligates from around the world had a close look at the brave, new uses of this "miracle plant" in the context of sustainable development that has protection of the environment at its core. "There is a great beauty in the bamboo's amazing range of functionality. In a flute it creates music, in brush and paper it creates poems and paintings and in simple sticks and strips in the hands of ordinary men and women, it inspires wondrous works of art "India's Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee said while inaugurating the VIIth World Bamboo Congress in Delhi. India has the second largest resource of bamboo in the world next to China but has tapped a mere one-tenth of the potential income from this common plant. Value addition by selling products rather than raw bamboo can double the current income from Rs. 20 billion to Rs. 45 billion and touch Rs. 260 billion by 2015, according to the Department of Science and Technology. The plant, which for centuries had been integral to the daily lives of people, had 1,500 documented uses, from the cradle to the coffin. The Government of India had allocated Rs. 26,000 million in the countries 10th plan for the promotion of bamboo. It hopes to create about eight million jobs in the bamboo plantation and industry, lift five million families out of poverty and earn Rs. 160,000 million in revenue by the end of the 10th plan in 2007. India has recently launched a National Mission on Bamboo Technology, Application and Trade Development that will involve the community in the growing and primary processing of bamboo, leaving all value addition and commercial activities to cooperatives and private entrepreneurs with the government playing the role of a facilitator for creating an enabling environment. The Central government in New Delhi take a particular interest to develop bamboo cultivation and bamboo industry concentrated in the Northeastern region. At the World Bamboo Congress which was held for six days from February 27 every effort was taken to bring together businessmen, artisans, scientists, architects and government officials from 36 countries to provide a technology platform to showcase the $10 billion potential that bamboo holds worldwide. On the closing day of the Congress, Vivek Oberoi, advisor of the Bamboo technology information network said "The world has rediscovered bamboo". In Sri Lanka there was an interest to grow bamboo and to export them to Japan in 1970s. But just like fashion fruit plantations it was forgotten by the officials as well as growers. According to the representatives who participated in the Congress from Assam, there is lot of opportunities in Sri Lanka to generate income from this miracle plant. |
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Produced by Lake House |
According to the written history, bamboo plantations existed even
during the time of the Gauthama Buddha. At Rajgir, in Bihar Pradesh there
is the Veluwana or the Bamboo Garden where the Buddha visited from time to
time during the reign of King Bimbisara.
