A Study on Cane and Bamboo Handicraft Industry in North-East India

 

Mridusmita Phukan*

Department of Anthropology, Lakhimpur Kendriya Mahavidyalaya, Lakhimpur-787032, Assam, India.

 

ABSTRACT:

India’s North Eastern Region where Bamboo plants are abundant and generate some jobs and economic well-being for villagers while contributing to some rural development. Yet, the cane and bamboo sector remains underdeveloped despite growing international markets for cane and bamboo products, and the existence and/or creation of several government and non-government agencies in India for developing cane and bamboo economies in North Eastern Region. Lack of technological innovations along with inadequate policy support has resulted in the steady stagnation of this industry. The bamboo handicraft sector is under immense pressure as far as the artisans are concerned mainly due to its unorganized stature along with the additional inhibitors, viz. poor development indicators and indices, low capital, poor exposure to new technologies, absence of market intelligence, presence of the formal and non-viable informal sector, lack of a proper institutional and organisational arrangements, significant policy support for the industrial upliftment, and adequate appropriate policy support for the social development, social protection and social security of the traditional artisans in the south Indian states. The present study indicates that development of efficient marketing channels and the problems of the handicraft industry.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

In Assam cane and bamboo craft, carried out traditionally in almost every household in the rural areas, has playing an important role in the rural economy. The sector is functioning in an unorganized manner that has given rise to certain problems like price of raw materials, wages, employment, rise of intermediary, etc. which have deprive the artisans of actual economic benefits [1].

 

 

Bamboo based products are produced from thin strips of bamboo. There are a wide variety of such products and they have been closely associated with the development of civilizations in bamboo growing regions of the world for many millennia. The products may be primarily intended for agricultural use, such as baskets for vegetables or animals and winnowing trays for cereals, or they may be household products such as baskets, trays, jars, case, lampshades, fans and mats.

 

The production of bamboo based products is a traditional technology that has been practiced for more than a thousand years and is widely distributed. Manufacturing bamboo based products combines traditional weaving skills with modern technology. The majority of the bamboo based industries are grouped as cottage and small-scale enterprise [2].

 

 

 

OBJECTIVES:

The core objectives of the study are:

·      To promote marketing of bamboo and cane based handicrafts.

·      To analyze historical development and present status of handcrafts in North-East India.

·      To study the bamboo and cane utilization in North-East India.

 

METHODOLOGY:

This study is exploratory in nature and is based on information on primary and secondary sources. In this study, industrial clusters are considered as geographically concentrated homes that produce cane and bamboo products. Cluster houses are the ultimate unit of observation. Using the semi-structured schedule, primary data are collected from the sample cluster's home. The information sought are about artisan’s personal data, household data, standard of living and welfare, benefits received from Cluster Development Initiative (CDI), etc. This paper is also based on secondary data collected from various articles, journals, relevant books, census report, internet resources and previous research works etc.

 

BAMBOO UTILIZATION:

Bamboo is utilized for various purposes depending upon its properties. It plays an important role in the daily life of people for house construction, agricultural tools and implements, as food material and weaponry etc. Besides being a convenient source of cellulose for paper manufacture and rayon, it supports a number of traditional cottage industries. Bamboo based industry is one of the oldest of traditional cottage industries in India. The origin of this rural craft is traced from the beginning of the civilization when men started cultivation of food crops. People started making baskets, mats and many other products of households use with bamboo that was abundantly available in nearby forests. Later, tribal and rural people in the vicinity of bamboo forest took up this as a means of livelihood. Now bamboo based industries are spread in all rural areas of the country and it feeds millions of traditional workers. Bamboo is emerging as a major source of raw material for several processed products primarily due to its fast growth, wide spread occurrence and its multiple uses.

 

Bamboo has versatile uses as building material, paper pulp resource, scaffolding, food, agriculture implements, fishing rods, weaving material and substitute for rattan, plywood and particleboard manufacture. Pickled or stewed bamboo shoots are regarded as delicacies in many parts of the country [3].

 

The policies established by central and state governments for bamboo development have also been responsible for increasing the use of bamboo in construction. The National Bamboo Mission and National Mission on Bamboo applications are playing a major role both at the central and state levels. These missions are supporting the activities taken at the state level for bamboo development in the construction. State level missions have been established to increase the bamboo area in the respective states.

 

Despite these initiatives, bamboo is not being used in the construction sector because the huge demand and supply gap for bamboo raw material for its industry. Most of the bamboo is supplied to the paper and pulp industry due to increased demand, after which the other industry is very little saved for consumption. Apart from this, the regulatory mechanism in India imposes restriction on transit and harvesting of bamboos, which has a negative impact on the bamboo construction industry.

 

Existing Industry:

There is a well-established industry that supplies ready-made products for handicrafts emporia in metropolitan cities. This industry is distributed in many places in Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur. Most of these emporia-type products are sold as curios that are far from any functional context. Perhaps this factor has contributed to the degeneration in the beauty and structural quality standards of these products. An excessive preoccupation with decorative details which have no reference to physical properties or traditional forms, it is also responsible for this decomposition. It is painful to promote such products by state corporations and government development agencies. Perhaps the best strategy will be to help local artisans to choose the best examples from the wide range of traditional products and to see the powers contained in these products again. Due to the pressures of the market, product diversification must be firmly rooted in traditional knowledge expressed in these products in order to maintain quality standards against changes.

 

Bamboo Technical Support Group (BTSG):

The National Bamboo Mission will cater to a new and emerging area of development and the role of Experts will be central to the management of the Mission. The BTSG will be housed at the National/Regional level institutions located in different regions, which will have flexible norms for recruiting professionals on contract. Service providers could also be engaged for giving the technical services in accordance with the terms of reference laid for the purpose and approved by National Steering Committee. The BTSG would comprise personnel at different levels, who will provide the technical services and their honorarium will be fixed on the basis of qualification, experience and last pay drawn, if retired from Government. Fresh graduates having knowledge in horticulture/forestry, computer professionals, MBA graduates, young professionals could also be a part of the BTSG [4].

 

Increase in income and assets:

In the absent of alternate job opportunities, the cane and bamboo craft cluster has been contributing a lot in increasing the annual income of the artisans and thereby improving their living standard. The following table shows the data relating to the annual average income of the artisan of the Barpeta Cane and Bamboo Craft Cluster since 2005-06. The data support the fact that the bamboo craft works has led to the income enhancement of the artisans over the year.

 

 

 

 

Table 1: Distribution of annual income per artisan

Year	Annual income (in Rs.)	Increase in income (in Rs.)
2005-06	10800	-
2006-07	13200	2400
2007-08	14400	1200
2008-09	41000	26600
2009-10	58320	17320
2010-11	60000	1680
2011-12	72000	12000
2012-13	79000	7000
Total	348720	68200

(Source: Annual report of Barpeta Cane and Bamboo Craft Cluster, 2010)

 

Profit earned per unit of product:

Some exercises were run to see the profitability from different handicraft items produced by the artisans. The estimated amount of gross profit per unit of item is shown in the table.

 

Table 2: Estimation of cost of production and profit margin of selected product

Head of costs	Sofa (Rs./set)	Triangle Chair (Rs./piece)	Lamp (Rs./piece)	Flower stand (Rs./piece)
1	2	3	4	5
Raw materials I. Bamboo II. cane	1750.00 1400	110.00 50.00	80.00 20.00	2.00 1.00
Chemicals & dyes	350.00	50.00	10.00	0.00
Wage	4000.00	350.00	400.00	30.00
Direct consumables used in pdn	1200.00	180.00	100.00	1.00
Utilities (elect, water, etc)	150.00	20.00	0.00	0.00
Other cost (gas)	400.00	30.00	0.00	1.00
Cost of production	100,50.00	790.00	610.00	35.00
Price of product	14000.00	1000.00	800.00	50.00
Gross profit	3950.00	210.00	190.00	15.00

(Source: Self calculated based on field survey data.)

 

The profit per unit is substantially greater in case of heavy products like sofa, chairs, bed, etc. but it requires a heavy investment in the part of the artisans. Therefore, it is not possible for the poor artisans to specialize in the production of such profitable products.

 

Challenges faced by the industry:

The challenges faced by this industry are categorized into Fundamental, Market related, Input related and Technological [5]. Despite tremendous scope for the development of bamboo handicrafts, there are many problems in obstructing its development even today. As already mentioned, there is a need to develop entrepreneurial perspectives and skills among local artisans. There is a serious lack of accurate data on the structural and mechanical properties of various bamboo species. Although local artisans have the intuitive understanding of these qualities, but there is a need to classify this kind of information in an outset and scientific manner. There is also a lack of systematic botanical information on the growth and spread of suitable species for handicrafts on the basis of area-to-area. Bamboo handicrafts are relatively low price. In the current volume-to-cost ratio attracts a disproportionately high transportation cost, especially due to the geographical and political location of the North East region. Bamboo is also susceptible to attack by fungus, insects and borers. Traditional methods of conservation cannot be applied to bamboo handicrafts for new applications.

 

FINDINGS:

The finding of this paper as follows:

·      Shift in consumer choice from artisanal good to factory made ones.

·      Problems of intermediaries.

·      Lack of marketing skills.

·      The traditional craft skill, however beautiful, needs sensitive adaptation, proper quality control, correct sizing and accurate costing of it is going to win and keep a place in the market.

 

CONCLUSION:

This paper gives a clear picture about the status of bamboo and cane based industries in North-East India. This material is one of the alternatives to consumption and environmental friendly goods. It provides employment and enhances the market economy. Potentiality of Cane and Bamboo based cluster in terms of income and employment generation can never be overlooked. Modern cane and bamboo based products are becoming decorative items for many people residing in urban areas. With the help of government and NGO’s this sector may gain more in terms of more exports earn foreign exchanges, effective function of theory of location and relevant areas in the field of working economies.

 

Modern cane and bamboo based products are becoming decorative items for many people’s residing in urban areas. These products are ecofriendly and can thus protect the green planet. It has an international demand but the market is not yet explored completely. Thus, every effort must be made for all round development of this industry. Government grant is an urgent need to produce more products.

 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST:

The author declares that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

 

REFERENCES:

1.     Das R., Das AK. Industrial Cluster: An Approach for Rural Development in North East India. International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance. 2011; 2(2): 161-165.

2.     El Bassam N, Jakob K. Bamboo – A New Source for Raw Materials, First Experimental Results. Bangladesh Journal of Forest Science. 1997; 26(2) 19-22.

3.     Chen Xuhe.)Promotion of Bamboo for Poverty Alleviation a Economic Development. Journal of Bamboo and Rattan. 2003; 2(4): 37-51.

4.     Ian Hunter R. Bamboo Resources, Uses and Trade in the Future. Journal of Bamboo and Rattan. 2003;  2(4): 59-73.

5.     Dutta P. Fostering economic development through Msmes a case study of the Barpeta cane and Bamboo craft cluster. Indian Streams Research Journal. 2014; 4(5): 1-5.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Received on 16.07.2018       Modified on 10.08.2018

Accepted on 20.09.2018      ©A&V Publications All right reserved