Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

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3. Fine: This kind of weaving essentially uses bamboo strips that are usually less than
0.5 cm in width. Jalia(fish traps), stylish caps, etc. belong to this class. Most of the
products of this class are decorative in nature.
Weaving can be simple or compound. In 'simple' weaving only one layer(network) is
created whereas in 'compound' weaving two or more layers are created. Most of the
bamboo-ware belongs to the 'simple' type whereas few like the bhati-tukuri are the product
of 'compound' weaving.
Some like Mr. Pradeep Mohapatra of National Rural Development Council, Sonepur
believe that in the strict sense of the term, producers of baskets, doli, jhudi, etc. can not be
called ‘artisans’ since their work is not artistic. Artistic work, according to them, has a finer
sense of creativity often accompanied by appropriate choice/use of colour combinations.
However, it is also true that the artistic touch is not totally absent in the traditional
bamboo-wares of Orissa; rather it seems to have remained underdeveloped due to want of
scope in many cases. Otherwise, bamboo artisans sometimes apply colour(now, often
synthetic) to their products(particularly, small baskets); and sometimes they just use the
greenish uppermost layer of bamboo alongwith the creemish lower layer in a pattern that
itself gives a feel of colour combination.
Green bamboo(salia and sundarkani) is mainly used by the artisans because extraction of
strips is comparatively easier and the strips are also flexible unlike those of the mature
bamboo which can be used only for few 'coarse' works (like odara making). Products made
of green bamboo look fresh and attractive with a creamy colour and at the same time are
less durable than those made of mature bamboo, implying to the fact that the customer will
have to purchase a new one after some time, hence ensuring sustainability of the trade in
terms of demand. Products made of mature bamboo look dull though they are more
durable.
Different kinds of bamboo-ware are made in Orissa as in the following table:
A. Traditional products:
1) Mati-jhudi
a. Gania(Dasapalla): For three jhudis:
Cost of raw material(bamboo) : Rs.30
Labour: One day (say Rs.50)
Selling price: Rs.90 @Rs.30/piece
Net profit: Rs.10(to include labour charges)/Rs.60(to exclude labour)
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