Design Category Posts
Bamboo in Budget 2008
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
Stay informed by subscribing to our RSS Feed!
Making the bamboo pavilion
Stay informed by subscribing to our RSS Feed!
Bamboo Pavilion
Bamboo at work. In the the village of Harsar, where bamboo has been used for ages, this demonstration does indeed come as a revelation. The word “truss” is entering the local vocabularly, and indeed the local sceptics of bamboo are thinking twice. The local carpenters are lining up to learn the new techniques.
Stay informed by subscribing to our RSS Feed!
Adobe, Cob and Bamboo
The work in Janakpur had stalled for various political reasons, one being kidnapping of our overseer. Well! That all seem pretty normal these days. Anyways, the villagers put all their effort to resume the work. It just heartbreaking to see, how much love and effort people have put into this project. We not only see work in Harsar as our seminal work because we have an opportunity to try out different construction methodologies like rammed earth, stablized earth blocks, adobe and cob but the social aspect of working with the community has just priceless.
This is a section of a wall with a high stone plinth and foundation, two layers of burnt bricks, adobe wall for thermal mass vertical and horizonatal bamboo reinforcement against earthquake which are all topped off with cob wall for a better adobe and bamboo connection.
Stay informed by subscribing to our RSS Feed!
Bamboo Laptop
Definitely a way forward! ASUS has been experimenting with different materials including leather in the earlier notebook models, and for us nothing is more exciting than a bamboo notebook. We hope that they now will make even the interior components with bamboo. Visit ASUS
Stay informed by subscribing to our RSS Feed!
Bamboo Truss
We had been “underground” in Harsar trying to finish the work at for CareNepal. Here is the first installation of our truss. This is just a training for bamboo connection to the local craftsmen. The real thing is yet to come!! The current unrest has put a hold in the progress, lets pray that the work will resume soon.
Stay informed by subscribing to our RSS Feed!
Namje Design
Stay informed by subscribing to our RSS Feed!