Bamboo: The Magic Grass

Oinam Naobi *

3rd World Bamboo Workshop 2019 at Hapta Kangjeibung in February 2019 :: Shankar Khangembam

Bamboo has been rightly called Green Gold or Magic Grass. Its fame is well deserved: it is used as food, medicine and as construction material, to name just a few of its numerous uses.

In a recent episode of Man Ki Baat, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi even drew attention to it highlighting the bamboo tiffin boxes of the North East.

While speaking at a function of inauguration of Imphal water supply, PM said:
“The northeast has the potential to replace India’s Bamboo import with local production. There is a huge demand for incense sticks in the country and we import billions of rupees worth incense sticks...Hundreds of crores of rupees are being invested under the National Bamboo Mission for Bamboo farmers, artists associated with handicrafts and other facilities. This will benefit the youth of the northeast and the startups here,” he added.

To understand Prime Minister’s idea, consider the following facts: bamboo’s global trade is around 60 billion dollars.In India,agarbatti industries imported around Rs 600 crore worth of incense stick and raw agarbatti.

Agarbatti is in high demand in the national market. Bamboo furniture made by the local artisan can sell locally or globally. It can be used as school or office furniture. Its wide use in construction is well known.

Bamboo can be converted into charcoal, purifier, vinegar, hand sanitizer, bamboo ethanol etc. Post-Covid, lots of bamboo pulp will be required for bamboo toilet papers and napkins.

As for its potential, we must understand the needs of commerce and the global markets. For example, the design has to change for convenience of transportation and handling.

Almost 30 to 40 percent of bamboo handicraft work is done from the home of the artisans. This has to change. There is a need to form clusters and manage production in a proper way for quality control and maximum productivity.

Working with bamboo has not been an easy task because of lack of technology, design and proper management of production. Bamboo itself needs to be protected.Special measuresare needed to prevent destruction from diseases and termites. It has to be‘treated’ in a right way, lest it loses its value and quality.

There are other important issues to keep in mind. Bamboo needs time to mature - almost 3 to 4 years.

Decorative items like bamboo cups, trays, mugs, pen stands, curtains etc. are in high demand in the market but the artisans are not able to satisfy the demand due to lack of standardisation, proper finishing and mis-management. They cannot produce in bulk because there are no production clusters in Manipur. Assam has started working on it in different districts.

In energy sector, bio-fuel plant, bamboo briquette,pellets are alternative to petrol, wood charcoal and coal. It is not only a replacement of charcoal, it helps reduce deforestation.

The cost of bamboo pellets in the European countries is Rs 40/kg even doubles in the winters. There is a rise in pellet demand of around 5%-13% in residential, commercial as well as industrial market.

In health sector, extracted silica from bamboo and some other chemical mixture are used in treatment of cough, bile, fever, leprosy and wounds.

Bamboo ethanol can be used in handwash and hand sanitizers. Bamboo produces 10,000 litres per acres per year of ethanol. It is more profitable than sugarcane for producing ethanol.

Bamboo provides more oxygen and wood than other plants. Therefore we need to plant more bamboo plants, not only for our own lungs and heart, but also for the health of our planet.

North-East has a great opportunity for eco-tourism and health-tourism. We can establish bamboo parks where the aged and people suffering from lungs and heart problems can stay for health benefits.

As we said, Bamboo is a magic grass, the benefits of which are immense if we orient ourselves to harvest those benefits properly. Prime Minister has drawn attention towards its potential and now it is up to the implementing agencies to take the idea forward.