The business of bamboo products is a Rs 2,500 crore market, which is only a small margin of its actual potential!
It is a small store with a big dream. The dream is to promote bamboo as a viable eco-friendly alternative to wood and plastic.
As you walk in, you see a variety of bamboo lamps and bamboo planters resting on the floor of the shop.
Shift your eyes to the shelves and you find yourself in bamboo heaven. From bamboo toys, bird feeders, wind chimes and candles, to CD racks, trays, bags and baskets—you name it, and they have it! They even have an ‘eco-bathroom range’ with bamboo soap dishes, toilet paper holders, towel stands, and bath mats and toothbrush holders.
Bet you didn’t know that bamboo could be used for making so many products. Well this is exactly what The Bamboo Store based in New Delhi is set out to do. Supported by the National Mission on Bamboo Applications, the store aims to create awareness about the tremendous potential of bamboo both for handcrafted and industrial products.
How was such a store conceptualized? Says, Minhazz Majumdar of The Bamboo Store, “After working with bamboo for over a decade with The Earth and Grass Workshop, I realized that people only knew about bamboo craft, and were oblivious to its industrial usage. Bamboo flooring, corrugated bamboo roofing, bamboo charcoal etc are relatively a new concept in India, if not completely unheard of. Bamboo needed to be promoted in a more efficient manner”. |
Does this account for a new opportunity for entrepreneurs? According to Minhazz, it is a definite yes! “Entrepreneurs can work in conjunction with designers and traditional craft communities to create innovative bamboo products. Being the second largest in bamboo production, if we can just get the bamboo artisans community to become organized, we will definitely go places in terms of bamboo exports”.
Where do we stand?
According to Aseem Narain, of the National Mission on Bamboo Applications, the global market for bamboo is about Rs. 50,000 crore and is expected to double by the year 2015. The annual turnover of the bamboo sector in India is around Rs. 2500 crore, but it has a potential of Rs. 4500 crore. “The annual harvest of bamboo in India is 13.47 million tons, but the current demand is about 26.7 million tons,” claims Aseem.
Even though there are around 130 species of bamboo, spread across several parts of India, 80% of the world’s bamboo comes from countries like China, Japan and Malaysia. India accounts for a mere 4% share in the global market. 65% of the bamboo harvested in India is used for non-commercial purposes.
As Minhazz puts it, “There are about 1500 documented uses of bamboo but in India, most of it is sent to mills for paper production. There is obviously a huge gap between the present and potential yields”.
What’s in a bamboo?
Bamboo is extremely sustainable and has proven to be a survivor in even the harshest of conditions. It is no wonder that it can be found in several parts of India, including Assam, Orissa, Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Bamboo is also one of the fastest growing plants with an extremely large biomass production. It takes about 3-5 years to mature and is easily renewable in comparison to most wood species that take between 12-20 years. Bamboo’s strength and physical characteristics also make it a viable alternative to wood.
“Nature’s band-aid” is what Minhazz likes to call it. “Bamboo roots bind soil together, helping to prevent soil erosion. It also generates 30% more oxygen than other trees, making it a better ecological option for green cover and the purification of air,” she says.
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written by BALRAM, December 28, 2010
written by L.mohan, November 28, 2010
excelent and wonderfull range they got,how to get bamboo products details.
if posible kindly send me details.
sdlmohan@gmail.com
written by Mynampati Sreenivasa Rao, November 09, 2010
Mynampati Sreenivasa Rao .Hydrabad
written by Artur Bloemker Naturbauhaus, September 24, 2010
written by Prem Singh Rainu, September 01, 2010
I am Delhi based small businessmen. I am dealing in manufacturing of furniture and various wooden articles. Looking forward to develop my business, with the help of designers and business planners, in articles made up of bamboo. Would like to hear from you.
Regards,
Prem Singh Rainu
Thanks and
written by Nilanjana, July 24, 2010
written by hardik gupta, March 25, 2010
written by Snehal Pandya, March 23, 2010
written by Eddie, December 15, 2009
written by Sanjeev, August 27, 2009
written by pranab debnath, June 16, 2009
I am looking for any individual, private or public limited would like to get involve with us doing business in large scale.I am basically based on London UK and have access to UK and EU market
Pranab Debnath.
mrpranabdebnath@yahoo.co.uk
written by prashant, May 09, 2009
www.bamboohouseindia.org
www.greenlivelihoods.org
written by Roopam Bahl, May 06, 2009
I was really impressed by your article here. I am currently associated with tripura bamboo mission. they are basically trying to get thousands of artisans to make money through making bamboo products and also propogating the use of bamboo.
you can visit them on www.tripurabamboo.com/aboutTBM.html. It would be great if you could write something for them and also placing a link on your article for them.
It would encourage them to continue this work with full enthusiasm.
Thanks,
Roopam
written by OSK REDDY, April 19, 2009
friends please get back to me with good business opportunities in bamboo business. i look forwrd for early response.
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