Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

More documents

Recommendations

Info

All rights reserved by VASUNDHARA(www.vasundharaorissa.org). For any clarification, contact author at sunlit1968@yahoo.co.in The impact of raw material shortage and loss of market demand of traditional bamboo-craft due to growing popularity of plastic-made items has forced some artisan families switch over to other means of livelihood. For instance, in Sorada area about 500 mediri families have reportedly done this(The Darshan, 1-7-04, p.3). On the other hand, there are instances where the artisans are in great trouble despite having good resources of bamboo. For instance, the Paharias, otherwise known as the Kamars are the poorest community among all the residents of the Sunabeda plateau. They are also the most malnutritioned ones in the area. Leading a wretched life they depend basically on bamboo basketry, and hence live near bamboo forests(Patnaik N. et al 1984, Life in Sonabera Plateau, pp.104-05); but now restrictions of the sanctuary(Sunabeda) have caused more distress to them. Entry of the traders into the sanctuary being restricted, and weekly markets having been stopped inside the sanctuary, these poor artisans now hardly have any scope for selling their products. It is highly unfortunate that unlike their brethrens in the neighbouring state of Chhattishgarh, they do'nt enjoy here any special privileges regarding their age-old profession of bamboo work(per comm.., Soumen Sarangi). The average HH income per month from this source varies from Rs.500 to 800. It can increase variably under special circumstances like contract for regular supply of particular products, growth in demand and prices during festivals, marriage season and harvesting season, etc.. However, in most cases the traditional bamboo crafts can not ensure income above Rs.1500(say) and hence both the govt agencies as well as some NGOs are trying to train the artisans in value addition techniques so that there can be a substantial increase in the net profit. The Ministry of Textiles, Govt of India has been organising training programmes for the artisans under its Babasaheb Ambedkar Hastashilpa Vikash Yojna and presently bamboo artisans of Orissa have been benefited by this scheme in the Jagatsinghpur & Kendrapara districts(Sahada and other villages) through an NGO Project Aparajita, and in the Sonepur district(village Lachhipur) through the NGO National Rural Development Council. NABARD has sponsored similar initiatives in the Beheramal village(Sonepur). Project Aparajita, a Delhi-based voluntary organisation associated with the Voluntary Health Association of India started its work in Orissa after the super-cyclone of 1999, to rehabilitate the artisans of the affected areas. It has created 3 self-help groups of male artisans in Sahada village(Jagatsinghpur) and 4 SHGs of females artisans in Tikhiri village(Kendrapara); and has imparted training to them on manufacturing new items from bamboo (like bamboo furnitures). It has also established a chemical treatment plant for seasoning bamboo at Tikhiri. This initiative has increased the monthly income of female artisans of Tikhiri from Rs.1000 to Rs.2500/HH (per comm., Itishri Kanungo, Project Aparajita). Development Commissioner, Handicrafts also provides support for the development of bamboo craft in the state by organising district- or state level exhibitions. DRDA reimburses the travel expenses etc. of the artisans participating in such exhibitions particularly if they belong to KBK districts, and ORMAS facilitates the marketing. However, getting help from DC, Handicrafts needs a lot of paper work and hence is not easier. 59
All rights reserved by VASUNDHARA(www.vasundharaorissa.org). For any clarification, contact author at sunlit1968@yahoo.co.in The Forest Department also took some initiatives in Dhenkanal districts to benefit the artisans (The New Indian Express, 9.12.04, p.5). In some cases bamboo artisans are employed on contract- or daily wage basis. For instance, in Koduanpalli village(Nayagarh district) artisans are employed to make a doli against a payment of Rs.100 for two mandays, and the employer purchases the required bamboo at Rs.30; the total cost being Rs.130. This way the employer saves Rs.70 on each such doli which is otherwise sold by the village artisans at Rs.200/piece(per comm..). Secondary employment Bamboo cutting operations require development of roads and many other works not directly related to the bamboo itself. These secondary works also generate employment for the local people. An estimate suggests the number of people engaged in such works may be roughly 25% of that of the bamboo cutters (based on The Prajatantra, 6-7-01). In specific areas this % may be much higher, like in Nayagarh district the number of secondary labourers is said to be about 700 against the number of cutters as more than 1200(The Pragatibadi, 5-4-02, p.1). And the engagement of these secondary labourers more or less coincides with that of the cutters. During training programmes organised for artisans, master craftsmen are invited from other states since their expertise was not available earlier in Orissa. Now few of the local craftsmen like Pratap Nayak of Sianbahal village(Sundargarh) are being invited to such programmes. Nayak got Rs.4000/- per month(which includes his DA) for working for 4 hours daily in one such programme organised by an NGO of Keonjhar, and Rs.3000/- per month for working for 3 hours in a similar programme organised at Rourkela. The organisers provide the raw materials. Although such opportunities are not available now for the whole year, still it has created a new form of employment for the expert craftspersons. Employment through plantations Employment through bamboo plantation schemes is often an irregular in nature both in terms of time and area. Still it has some contribution in the livelihood of the local people. Bamboo plantation has been used for employment generation through the Employment Assurance Scheme(EAS), a form of Jawahar Rojgar Yojna. For example, bamboo was planted on 30 hectares of land under this scheme in the Gajanpahar RF of Hemgir Range(Sundargarh district) in 1996-97. It was funded by District Rural Development Agency. At present there is no report of any bamboo plantation created through EAS. All the plantations are being created either under FDA or RLTAP scheme. The average number mandays generated per hectare of pure bamboo plantation has been calculated to be as under: 60
Page 1 and 2:
All rights reserved by VASUNDHARA(w
Page 3 and 4:
Page 5 and 6:
Page 7 and 8:
Page 9 and 10: All rights reserved by VASUNDHARA(w
Page 59: All rights reserved by VASUNDHARA(w
Page 101: All rights reserved by VASUNDHARA(w
show all

Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?