Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

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All rights reserved by VASUNDHARA(www.vasundharaorissa.org). For any clarification, contact author at sunlit1968@yahoo.co.in Project Aparajita, which imparted training on bamboo furniture, has established a unit where machineries are available for cutting bamboo, etc.. This is expected to help those women artisans who otherwise had to depend on male members for such heavy and strenuous work. In community forestry initiatives, the women of Sinduria-Kodalapalli(Ranpur block of Nayagarh district) twin-villages have set up an example. They have been protecting the nearby forest patch which has rich bamboo resource. In 2004 they once seized bamboo worth about Rs.200, smuggled from this patch by some neighbouring villagers; and penalised them Rs.500 for this offence. These women, who belong to the scheduled caste and schedule tribe, have formed their self-help groups, and the income from bamboo goes to the group-fund(per comm., Arakshita Sahu and Bhagyalaxmi Biswal). Significance in betel- farming: Betel(leaf) cultivation is an important source of livelihood in many parts of the coastal districts(like, Puri, Nimapara, Jagatsinghpur, etc.) 33 and the product is not only consumed inside the state but is supplied to other states also (like Maharastra). Betel cultivation is a part of Orissa's agro-heritage and when the state has a bad reputation of depending on other states for many agro-products, betel is among the very few products which it exports and hence betel farming is a matter of pride for this state. Betel vines being quite delicate, various kinds of external support is needed not only for their growth but also for their sustenance during storms, heavy rains and also for protection against cattle and thieves. And this protection is mostly ensured through various uses of bamboo. The first and foremost use of bamboo in betel farms is for external fencing and roofing. For this purpose both the whole culm and the split parts of various sizes are used. The expenditure against this accounts roughly for about 20% of the total expenditure in the Jagatsinghpur district if cost of bamboo- pakhudi is to be excluded. The support required for the betel plant for climbing is known as pakhudi. For this purpose, the reed of a plant is used which is 75% less durable than its bamboo counterparts, particularly in areas where white ants are a menace. It is for this reason that unlike the farmers of Nimapara district, farmers of Erasama region in the Jagatsinghpur district prefer using bamboo as pakhudi. While a bundle(having approx.640 pieces each of about 7 feet height) reed- pakhudi costs about Rs.80 to 100, same number of bamboo-pakhudi (6.5 feet high) costs about Rs.400 to the farmers of Nuagaon in the Jagatsinghpur district, and the total share of bamboo in the farming cost increases from 20 % to 50%. Hence, for betel cultivation in one acre of land in many parts of Jagatsinghpur district, the total cost would be approx. Rs. 2 lakhs out of which Rs.1 lakh would be required if bamboo- pakhudi is used. In Nimapara district, where reed- pakhudi is used and bamboo is required basically for fencing and roofing, expenditure on bamboo would be approx. 33% for one-acre 33 However, as exceptions betel cultivation is also practiced in some parts of western Orissa, like the Sonepur district. 67
All rights reserved by VASUNDHARA(www.vasundharaorissa.org). For any clarification, contact author at sunlit1968@yahoo.co.in farming. These bamboo-materials are durable for two years after which they are used as fuel. And all kinds of bamboo can be used for this purpose excepting thorny bamboo. Expenditure on bamboo varies to some extent according to the farming practices. For instance, in Nimapara and Puri districts the betel farms are situated at a higher level i.e., about 3 to 4 feet above the ground; and the bamboo used is of comparatively greater height than that in the Jagatsinghpur district where farms are on the ground level. Similarly, in Nimapara district bamboo is almost the only raw material used for roofing whereas in Jagatsinghpur district branches of Casuarina etc. are sufficiently used for the same purpose. Purchase prices also differ. Pakhudi is as thick as the finger. Farmers bring the bamboo culms and employ labourers to make pakhudis out of that 34 . On contract basis, a labourer may charge Rs.12 to 15 for making a pana(80 pieces) of pakhudis (6.5 to 7 feet high) in parts of Jagatsinghpur district. The time taken may be about 1.5 to 2 hours. For fencing and roofing purpose, split-bamboo is used in the form of binchana and phalia. Binchana is approx. 9 feet high and thick like a finger. For making 80 pieces of binchana, a labourer may take about 3 hours and gets Rs.20. Phalia is about 7 ft high and 3 inches wide, and for making 20 such pieces a labourer may take 30 minutes and gets Rs.7 in the Nimapara region. In Jagatsinghpur district, the phalia-like pieces are known as bata and the pakhudimakers(labourers) are usually asked to split bata into pakhudi. For making 80 pakhudis, it may take them 45 minutes on an average for which they get Rs.10 plus food. Before the super-cyclone of 1999 the betel-farmers used to ensure some supply of bamboo from the local sources at low prices. Besides, bamboo used to come from Ganjam and other districts where bamboo-cutting operations were carried out by the Forest Department. After 1999, while most of the local clumps vanished under the cyclonic effect, ban on bamboo-cutting operations severely affected supply from other districts. Acute shortage increased the rates by about 10 times, and the betel-farmers found it extremely difficult to sustain their farms. Thus, farming was reduced by about 50%. In the recent past, things have started improving and betel farming is gradually reviving itself. Most of the raw material (bamboo) now comes from north Orissa in every two weeks and since the farmers are critically dependent on betel cultivation, they try to continue their age-old profession somehow. Betel business is badly dependent on three types bamboo baskets specially made for this purpose. The varieties are as under: • Pata: Big size baskets used for local transportation of betel. A family can make 10 such baskets in a day. 34 Some just purchase pakhudis directly. 68
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Bamboo in Orissa: Trade and Livelihood Perspective - Vasundhara

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