Adobe and Bamboo Research Institute

Here is what our Hon’ Finance Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai had to offer to the bamboo sector:

216.. An extensive plantation in public and private lands will be carried out in the form of a campaign with the objective of expanding the forest area and reducing the excessive pressure on public forest area as well as to increase income generating opportunities through strengthening of local supply. For this, 11.5 million plants including fodder grass,cane, bamboos and herbs will be produced and planted and provision of care will also be made. The policy of “One Place One Species” will be adopted in such plantation programmes.

217. At least 75000 families from poor class Dalits, Janjatis and other marginalized people will be provided with the opportunity of income generation through forest based industries and occupations and leasehold and community forests.

We need to congratulate our Finance Minister for encouraging marginalized people to use their sophisticated traditional skills as a source of livelihood. Perhaps we just need to encourage some designs as well, so that the traditional products get the competitive edge. “Design”, is always perceived to be somewhat of a decadent activity, so it hardly invokes a policy level debate. There are always budgets for the “development” of traditional skills, but yet this sector tend not to get the expected result as these product fail to entertain the modern market because they dont have the designs. People have realized that the market is essential; but not the design. Its a catch 22 situation- you dont have the market if dont have the design and vice versa. It’s clear that a design institution need to be established, so that people can use their traditional skills to make products that cater to the modern sensibility

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