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Preeti Mehra

If there is one area where design and material can work wonders, it is bamboo. While bamboo has been used for centuries by traditional industry for uses as diverse as smoking pipes, toys, cooking vessels, diverting river water, building bridges, etc., it has been recently recognised as one of the most eco-friendly materials that can be regenerated fast and efficiently. It is also being identified as a material that can drive economic prosperity as well as development in the globalised era.

Once it is developed into a sustainable source of raw material, it could support several economic value added services through crafts and small industry initiatives. In fact, in the last few years, Asian and Latin American countries have been looking at bamboo as raw material to be used in housing and industry. They have set up both forest-based resources and farm-based initiatives to design and popularise bamboo, so that it adds to local economic prosperity and contributes to the country's GDP.

While Malaysia and the Philippines have substantial export incomes from the cane furniture industry, it is China that has made the maximum strides. It is reported that China's export and domestic industry produces wealth of the magnitude of over $2 billion in craft, industrial and food related uses of bamboo. It is reputed for the laminated bamboo boards that it exports to developing countries.

In India too, there has been a nation-wide initiative to promote the bamboo sector. While Central Ministries of the Government have prepared plans for systematic interventions in the 10th Five Year Plan, several of the State Governments have shown interest in developing and promoting bamboo.

NID too has been part of the development process and its design interventions through the project, `Bamboo Boards and Beyond', created 100 design solutions for furniture, structures, toys and household products. While some of the products are displayed at Showcase Design, earlier too they have been exhibited in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Guwahati, Aizawl and Milan in Italy.

Pictures by Ramesh Sharma

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