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 !!