GIFTS GALORE AT THE BAMBOO STORE

There are gifts galore at the Bamboo Store - all of them beautifully made and created with a lot of love - from Meghalaya, Nagaland, Assam, Delhi, Uttarakhand .......... Come discover for yourself

A Tharu basket made from grass dyed in bright colours. It is resting on a tray from Meghalaya
Our most popular soap-trays - guaranteed to last for 15 years !!

A votive holder - using the natural form of bamboo

Our latest - The EEKS !! Collection of bugs and beasts !!

My Bamboo Poems - This one is on Storage

TONS OF THINGS AND NO WHERE TO STORE
YET YEH DIL MAANGE MORE !
COME TO THE BAMBOO STORE
WHERE WE HAVE SOLUTIONS GALORE !
CLOTHES STANDS WITH RODS PLENTIFUL
STACK UP YOUR SCARVES, STOLES, SHAWLS BEAUTIFUL
BAMBOO LADDERS TO PROP UP AGAINST THE WALL
TOWELS, LINEN, IT WILL TAKE IT ALL
FOR TRINKETS AND SOCKS
HOW ABOUT A BAMBOO BOX?
FOR YOUR FINEST SILKS AND SUITS TO KEEP
CANE HANGERS NOT TOO WIDE OR DEEP
YOU GET MY DRIFT BY NOW
WE HAVE STORAGE SOLUTIONS AND HOW

ONLY @ The Bamboo Store N-11 rear Lane N-block Market Greater Kailash I New delhi -110048 ph 9810328934
we will be happy to make customised storage for you too.

The Bamboo Store at UN Day

It gives me immense pleasure to let you know that the Bamboo Store was part of the United Nations Day International Year of Natural Fibres (IYNF) celebrations at UN Headquarters New Delhi. Jaya Jaitley and Dastakari Haat Samiti put up a wonderful show called from Grass to Gold and there were many products from the Bamboo Store there

Bamboo pavilion by NMBA wins gold award

From 14-27 November, The Bamboo Store has been at the India International Trade Fair IITF 2009 as part of the National Mission on Bamboo Applications ( NMBA)'s specially designed bamboo pavilion. We had a display there of our bamboo products and I was conducting the first of its kind bamboo festival called BAMBOOSTIC ! I am happy to report that the festival was a super success with participation from people of all age groups and backgrounds ( from 3 to 60 year olds) who expressed themselves creatively in the painting, slogan and poetry writing competitions, all bamboo themed.

The icing on the cake however is that the NMBA pavilion won the Gold Award for Best Display ....................... putting bamboo definitely in the forefront !!

And while everyone focusses on the problem of climate change and global warming, all of us in the bamboo world including the participants of BAMBOOSTIC would like to offer bamboo as part of the solution to deforestation and other environmental problems.

BAMBOOSTIC 2009 - FIRST OF ITS KIND BAMBOO FESTIVAL

The Bamboostic poster

At the IITF 2009, there was a special festival at the NMBA pavilion.

Called BAMBOOSTIC 2009, this festival aimed to win hearts and minds to the cause of bamboo. A creative mix of competitions and events - painting, poetry, paragraph and slogan writing on bamboo and the environment had over 300 participants of all ages - from 3 and 1/2 year olds to 60 year olds ....everyone had a blast and the pavilion got really crowded during competition hours as each participant was encouraged by hordes of family members and friends !

As Coordinator of the Festival, what made me happy was to see people's joy - young and old - in expressing their creativity - in fact many people thanked us for the opportunity TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES. Another heartening thing was that so many people actually sat and thought about bamboo and how it coud be useful to combat deforestation, global warming and climate change - normally many of these people would not have bothered about bamboo. All in all, it was extremely gratifying.

In addition to the competition events, we organized live craft demonstrations ( toy-making, kites and weaving) and also had an artist making what else but "Bamboo Tattoos" on the face and hands - everyone wanted one !! We also distributed 20, 000 windscreen stickers promoting bamboo - the slogan was

CHOOSE BAMBOO FOR A CLEANER, GREENER EARTH !

BAMBOO PAVILION AT THE INDIA INTERNATIONAL TRADE FAIR 2009

The National Mission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA) has built a stunning all bamboo pavilion at the India International Trade Fair 2009 Pragati Maidan. A total of 1.5 lakh daily visitors to the IITF had a chance to see the pavilion and all the bamboo innovations here which included bamboo housing for rual tourism, disaster relief housing, bamboo and solar lights, a bamboo bicycle capable of generating electricity, bamboo flooring, handicrafts, machinery, bamboo microscopes, and much more.

And yes, the Bamboo Store was there too !!

New Bamboo Poem for Diwali

Diwali is round the corner,
Give Bamboo a place of honour!

Climate change is here to stay,
What a warm October I must say!

Bamboo can be the warrior great
Reducing global warming at any rate

Use bamboo and let the trees be
For that there is no extra fee

Bamboo for candlestands plenty
Of bamboo gifts, we have a variety

Come o come to the Bamboo Store
Where we have bamboo and more

BAMBOO ON THE ROAD - TREE GUARDS ENROUTE TO DEHRADUN

We, at The Bamboo Store, always get excited when we see bamboo being used in new and innovative ways. On a recent road trip to Dehradun, we saw something that really made us happy and our hearts sing. Bamboo has been extensively used as tree guards here all along the road as you approach the hilly stretch near Mohund. The bamboo has been painted a nice shade of green and all the greenery around this green bamboo was a beautiful sight. We were pleased because bamboo is such a sensible option for tree guards -

• it is locally available in most places,
• easily renewable,
• easy to work with and
• not resource intensive to produce such as metal tree guards.

Also, once the tree becomes big and the tree guard is no longer required, the bamboo can be re-used. Depending on the time-frame, if the bamboo has got spoilt, since it is bio-degradable, it can be returned to earth.

Enjoy these pictures of the eco-friendly tree guards !!

A sturdy, practical tree guard

You can't tell where the tree guard ends and plants begin - a melding of all things green

Bamboo for the Garden

Bamboo looks wonderful in the garden - natural or brightly coloured. Bamboo can be used in so many ways in the garden - both for functional and decorative purposes. You can use bamboo for fences, gates, planters, stakes, sculptures, fountains, water-pipes, garden candlestands, torches, solar and bamboo lamps, bird-houses, bird-feeders and much much more.

Here is one of the exciting things we at The Bamboo Store are creating for the garden

bamboo and coconut shell candlestands

Bamboo Furniture

There is something about bamboo furniture

Sturdy yet sleek

In the words of a poet

"A Bamboo Chair -- is mostly composed of Air".

Yes, it is this quality of lightness , of not being bulky that is appealing about bamboo furniture.

Enjoy this offering from The Bamboo Store, New Delhi, India

Bamboo Table Mats - Perfect Recipe for Aesthetic Meal-times

Bamboo Table mats all the way from Northeast India at the Bamboo Store - an elegant way to set the dinner table . Roll them up and carry them for a good-looking picnic lunch. Or why not eat in style at office too - the benefit of a bamboo table mat is that it is sturdy, washes well, can be rolled and carried easily and looks good !!

BAMBOO AND COMMONWEALTH GAMES NEW DELHI 2010

Check out http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/sports/bamboo-screens-to-hide-delhi-slums-during-commonwealth-games_100233286.html

BAMBOO STORE REVAMP & THE RIGHT CHOICE

The Bamboo Store has been around for 1 and a half years now and we felt it was time for a revamp - so guys be prepared for green walls, some bamboo flooring and perhaps golden painted bamboo as the store transform itself in the coming weeks. And to complement the new look are a couple of new bamboo products - we are doing special gifts for the festive season - but something different from the usual shiny - shimmery stuff - something that is eco-conscious and trash-sensitive.

Why do I say this ? We have spent one of the most miserable summers in recent times - a summer that seemed to go on forever with high temperatures and humidity to match - ideal weather for millions of flu and fever viruses. The monsoons played a disappearing trick - aided no doubt by the massive acres of cooling forests that have disappeared in India as well as the wanton destruction of the Arravalis.

I sincerely believe Bamboo is an answer - it is after all Nature's Band-Aid - holding soil together, letting water seep through to recharge groundwater, greening degraded areas, purifying the air, sequestering carbon and serving as an alternative to wood and plastic in the home. The point is - The solution to a lot of the climate problems that ail us is here -the point is how many consumers are going to make the right informed choice? Bamboo over plastic and wood, cement and steel?

CHOOSE BAMBOO ANYDAY, ANYWAY AND THE BAMBOO STORE WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN

MY LATEST 'POME' FOR THE BAMBOO STORE

Stay cool in this economic meltdown
Don't wory, don't frown

Surround yourself with bamboo green
On this strong grass you can lean
Life will not seem so mean
In bamboo's embrace, you can preen!

Shut out the hot sun with bamboo blinds
Surely, one of the Bamboo Store's great finds
Create a cool atmosphere for great minds!

Bamboo for the table
Bamboo shoots on the table
If you are willing and ableBamboo is quite a staple !

Bamboo lamps to flood your home with light
Bamboo baskets for many purposes so right
Don't give up without a fight
Keep your spending really tight

So no more economic doom
Let bamboos boom !!

Bamboo products galore
Only at The Bamboo Store
N-11 rear Lane
N _ Block Market Greater Kailash Part I
New Delhi -110048

The World Wakes up to Bamboo

This is a story that has appeared on the CNN website - I think it is exciting that bamboo's potential is being widely recognised. We at the Bamboo Store have been working to do just this - show bamboo as a solution to the environmental and poverty issues in today's world.
The story is titled

Can bamboo tackle environmental and poverty concerns?
Story Highlights
-Bamboo could be source to lift thousands out of poverty in south east Asia
-Potential of industrial use of fast-growing plant lies in greater export market
-Bamboo must overcome image problem, say advocates

This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser.http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/02/15/eco.bamboo/index.html

Blind Love: Bamboo Blinds

Basically, bamboo blinds are made by weaving together splits of bamboo in a continuous roll. Bamboo blinds can be made from bamboo that has been split either very fine or in broad bands. Sometimes, blinds are made by combining thin and thick splits. Coloured threads can be used while weaving to create patterns and the bamboo may even be dyed to create interesting colour combinations. Since blinds have a loose weave, they allow light and air to enter while affording privacy. Blinds can be easily rolled up and down and are a great way of screening spaces. The benefits of bamboo blinds are

• They lend a lovely warm and natural look to any space, be it a office or home.
• They are an easy way of bringing nature into interiors
• They allow privacy and yet enable light and air to come.
• They are easy to maintain - dust regularly or wash them (they do not shrink unlike cloth blinds)
• They add space to a room as they are sleek and not voluminous like curtains
• Natural coloured blinds can blend in with any colour of furnishings/furniture.
• They can even be dyed as per your choice.
• They are sturdy and durable - will last you for ages.

EASY WAYS TO INCORPORATE BAMBOO IN YOUR LIFE

One thing I realise clearly now is that most people find it very difficult to think of ways to incorporate bamboo in their daily lives. Yes, they may be ecologically conscious and want to adopt bamboo. Yes, they may like the look and feel of bamboo. But they don't know how to begin to include bamboo in their daily lives. So, now for the next couple of blogs, I am going to look at how bamboo can be used at home, offices, restaurants, spas, gardens, etc. This will be like a practical guide to the various bamboo products available today, especially at The Bamboo Store. I will focus on particular products too and explain their construction and use.

For today it is a sampling of different bamboo products:

bamboo mats for your table

a variety of lamps

A Bamboo Life: Kitchen Garden in the City

Continuing the theme of " Bamboo Life" as in having a closer-to-Earth organic life, I am pleased to let you know that for years ( 14 to be precise), I have had a terrace garden - nothing fancy but just pots in which I have grown flowers and vegetables. More vegetables because I like the idea of growing my own food, using organic fertilizers ( cow manure and vermicompost). Watching the tiny flowers metamorphose into flavourful little tomatoes is wonderful. As I brush past the mint and the basil, they release their wonderful fragrance. Beans, onions, brocolli - they all share the sun in my garden. I use a lot of bamboo - to stake up the tomatoes , as a railing all along the terrace ( cheap and beautiful- not cold metal ) . Some pictures of my terrace garden - cheers to the Bamboo Life !

Notice the green bamboo railings above - they have lasted for years under the Delhi sun - just needs a coat of paint once in two years.

the heirloom tomatoes are heavy - the bamboo stakes are handy !

Bamboo Life Vs A Plastic & Glass Life

The responses to this blog and the Bamboo group on Facebook have been encouraging - I have had several heartwarming emails and chats about the blog. My friend S had the most interesting observations "I read your bamboo matters blog and realised that what I had written (to a friend) actually says what you were trying to say in one of your posts- that Earth and Grass are the perennial materials , sustainable, renewable, abundant, gifted by nature to humanity and animals to create homes and beauty, with soul and love. With so much steel,glass,concrete we lose touch with our own flesh and being, and the added illusion of perpetual contact through text and visual through digital media we humans have become the animated characters we created.A major revolution will happen in which people will have to learn to touch,sense,feel,smell the earth again. Its more than an climate change we are suffering, we are in crisis about what it means to be human and our relationship with "rasa" , desire which is with each other and not fantastic illusions like the golden deer.The only perpetual sustainablity along with Earth and Grass, along with it "rasa" of humans with each other and nature, absorption without necessary consumption!"

To this my response is yes there is a " Bamboo Life" which is warm and natural, which is far removed from the plastic world we seek with its cold metal and glass embellishments. This is what I wrote back to S " I totally agree with you - the more we run from what is natural, organic, " of the Earth" - the more we get into plastic, steel and glass - the more cold and unfeeling we are becoming as a race. Think of it - the computer game is replacing friends - I see it in my daughter's life. We ourselves are morphing into the materials we surround ourselves with - don't trust, don't feel, don't think. Just BEing ! "


So what do you think of it?

The Staff of Life

Bamboo in Northeast India is "The Staff of Life". It is there in the bamboo knife your umblical cord is cut with, the house you live in, the utensils you feed in, your daily implements, the pipes that bring you water, the bridges you walk on, the musical instruments you play and so till bamboo bier you lie on when your time on earth is up !

We have been working with bamboo craft communities in Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland. Every state, every community has its own distinctive style of working with bamboo and even though the products are the same, baskets, containers, etc. each tribe/community has its own kind of bamboo product. We have been fortunate to work with bamboo artisans in most of the northeastern states and in Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh but somehow, Northeast and bamboo are synonymous. Perhaps, it is because bamboo is used with great felicity here and there are bamboo groves everywhere - bamboo housing, bridges, fencing, chicken coops, grain baskets, tea baskets and even pig cages - ever seen a squealing pig being transported !! Fish traps are beautiful in bamboo - strong and yet delicate, never spoiling despite being dunked in water for ages.

Working in Nagaland has been a highpoint - the design workshops there were led by Shahriyar. Some pictures from Nagaland -

heat-flattened bamboo culms

and woven bamboo products

Some of the products from our workshops and training programmes in the Northeast are available at The Bamboo Store. Believe me, each of them tells a story !!

Bamboo Group on Facebook

Well, today I did something I have been planning to do for a long time - I started a Bamboo Matters group on Facebook. I have been going blue in the face trying to tell people what a great material bamboo is - both in itself and as an alternative to wood and plastic. More than selling actual bamboo products, what is turning out to be critical is to sell the concept of bamboo itself. Instead of feeling frustrated by the lukewarm response people have to bamboo, I have decided to rededicate myself to the Bamboo Cause and double my efforts. I honestly believe that bamboo in the 21st century makes for great ecological and economic sense !! At the rate that trees are disappearing and how resource intensive plastic production is, bamboo is a great alternative - it grows fast, can be used as is with little preparation ( at least for certain things) - and inspiring me to do all this is Shahriyar - the steadfast Bamboo Man - for while I do venture into arts, crafts and culture, he has remained the quintessential Bamboo Guy !!

So to all those reading this, jump onto the Bamboo Bandwagon - let's roll ! Lets promote and adopt bamboo and leave the world a little better for the future generation !!

Bamboo Cutlery

Of late there have been many enquiries for bamboo cutlery at the store - from Australia, Slovakia and even India - for the Commonwealth Games !! Would be lovely to have an organic, fork, spoon and knife instead of the usual cold, fragile plastic stuff. I mean can you imagine eating with a golden, glowing, strong bamboo spoon and fork? Not afraid that it will snap into two like a plastic one does as you pick up a morsel ? And then once you are done with the meal, even if the cutlery is disposed, it is bio-degradable and will not fill up a garbage dump or landfill. Great idea - I would love to sell them - only if I had them !! Up until now, I have met artisans who make spoons, forks and knives - but these are all hand-crafted artisanal products. They will definitely not be able to produce in large quantities or at the throwaway prices the buyers demand . So I am still waiting for some manufacturers of bamboo cutlery. In the meantime , a picture of some bamboo cutlery - handmade in India !

Industrial Bamboo Products

In India, industrial bamboo is just beginning to make waves. Of course, China beats us totally at this game - they have had the monopoly on industrial applications of bamboo for over two decades now. We have just begun -- at least we have got to the starting line. The National Mission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA) is spearheading the effort to popularize industrial bamboo - seeking out entrepreneurs willing and able to set up bamboo industries. Currently, the industrial bamboo applications in India include

• Bamboo flooring
• Bamboo blinds
• Bamboo charcoal
• Bamboo mat board

A NEW YEAR, NEW BAMBOO RESOLUTIONS

It has been ages since I wrote on any of my blogs - prolonged dental treatments ( too much anaesthesia ), travel and simply trying to coordinate the functioning of The Bamboo Store has left little time to blog. But hey this is 2009 - a new year and time for a couple of new bamboo resolutions - so I promise to be a frequent blogger now. In the meantime, here's reporting on what The Bamboo Store has been upto

• Featured in the first ever "Luxury Travel Guide" to New Delhi published by Love Travel Guides . The book comes in a shocking pink silk pouch and is truly a labour of love by Fiona Caulfield.



• There have been many articles and TV programmes - interior design magazines, lifestyle magazines and even one on Entrepreneurship featured the Store - thanks to all the media friends who are helping us spread the word.



• Introduced Dilliwallahs to bamboo charcoal - guilt free kababs for no tree was cut for that oh! so smoky taste. Bamboo is carbonised and then briquetted to make bamboo charcoal - we even designed a special terracotta stove and pot ( chulha and handi ) to use the charcoal in - slow-cooking tasty food the way grandma used to !!

• Sold tons of good quality mats and blinds ... new designs and colours to suit every home or office.



• For the festive ( Diwali - Xmas- New Year) season, we made tons of candlestands , recycling coconuts for holders !!

Selling the concept of bamboo in saddi 'bling-loving' Delhi has been tough - but we have persevered - and may 2009 bring us BIG business !!