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How Assam Artisans Turn Bamboo Into Hundreds of Everyday Products
Bamboo is a plant that can be used in many different ways.
In Assam, artisans turn it into chairs, baskets, homes, decorations and other products.
Prabhat Saikia started a bamboo and cane workshop in 2006.
His workshop now gives work to about 20 young artisans.
Some workers can earn money without moving to cities.
Bamboo can also provide food, paper, fabric and musical instruments.
Its roots can help hold soil together and reduce erosion.
The story shows how skills, good treatment and creative design can make a common plant valuable.
Prabhat Saikia’s Jorhat workshop turns bamboo into furniture and decorative products, employing around 20 young artisans.
Saikia began his bamboo and cane handicraft unit in 2006 and later trained in treatment techniques with the Rainforest Research Institute in Jorhat.
Bamboo is used for construction, flooring, furniture, baskets, musical instruments, food containers, paper, textiles and edible shoots.
India has 136 bamboo species, including 125 indigenous species, across 13.96 million hectares.
Government-backed bamboo initiatives reported 528 product development and processing units and 104 treatment and preservation units by December 2024.
- Who
- Prabhat Saikia, young artisans, and India’s bamboo-sector workers and institutions.
- What
- Artisans are turning bamboo into furniture, construction materials, household goods, food products, paper, textiles and other items.
- Where
- Jorhat and other parts of Assam, with bamboo uses extending across India and Asia.
- When
- Saikia started his workshop in 2006; the National Bamboo Mission reported its latest cited figures as of December 2024.
- Why
- To create products and livelihoods from an abundant, renewable resource while supporting construction, household use and soil conservation.
Key facts
- India’s bamboo diversity
- India has 136 bamboo species, of which 125 are indigenous.
- Land under bamboo
- India has 13.96 million hectares under bamboo.
- Saikia’s workshop
- The Jorhat workshop began in 2006 and employs around 20 young artisans.
- Bamboo growth cycle
- Bamboo can be harvested in a two- to four-year cycle.
- Documented applications
- Bamboo has more than 1,000 documented applications in board and panel forms, according to the Indian Institute of Wood Science and Technology.
- Soil conservation
- A bamboo-based conservation system cited by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser reduced soil loss from 22 tonnes to 4.5 tonnes per hectare per year and conserved 45 percent soil moisture.
- National Bamboo Mission units
- As of December 2024, the mission reported 528 product development and processing units and 104 treatment and preservation units.
Sources
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