Assam

www.assamgov.org
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Bamboo Sector

Bamboo has played an important part in the lives of the people of Assam. It has been an integral part of the cultural, social and economic traditions of the State, and is an important component of the wealth of Assam. It grows in natural forests, and is cultivated in homesteads, groves and on private plantations. It is utilised in many ways, for housing, fencing, functional articles, agricultural implements, basketry, and even fuel and food. People possess traditional skills of working with the material, and knowledge of the cultivation and management of bamboo. Rattan is also an important natural material for the State of Assam. Building on traditional patterns of usage, it has evolved to become the basis for many artisans and craftspersons working on cane craft products for the market.

Bamboo Species

A list of Bamboo species found in Assam is given below : - 

* State Forest Research Institute, Itanagar-Survey of Bamboo in North East India 

• 60,000m² pa plant established at Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP), Amingaon, with Guwahati) KOSONs Forest Products to manufacture composites/ flooring boards. The unit entered trial production in August 2005, and commercial production in November 2005. The unit is producing UV coated and tongue-in-groove parquet flooring in vertical & horizontal configurations & carbonised and natural designs. Prototypes of door designs and small consumer products have also been made.
• A formerly closed plywood unit (KITPLY, Margherita) has been partially converted to bamboo plywood and re-started. Bamboo composite material (shuttering & marine grade plywood, cladding), as well as bamboo particle board being produced with NMBA technical support.
• A flooring unit, Maisang Products Ltd. for bamboo flooring and panel board, with an annual capacity of 90,000 sq. metres) is being established at AIDC Industrial Estate, Sibsagar, in collaboration with EXIM Bank.
• This is a NMBA supported project (Rhino Bamboo Industry, Guwahati ) for manufacture of bamboo blinds and wafer board at EPIP, Guwahati, and is expected to enter commercial production in early 2007.
• 6 innovative structures completed at/ near Guwahati based on use of using whole bamboo (Bambusa balcooa) and bamboo composite material, including residential buildings, kiosks, poultry sheds and arched structures. Structures installed at Block Office, Sonapur, Sericulture campus, Khanapara, AASC Khanapara, NERAMAC and a school.
• A project in Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) area for 16 pre-fabricated structures community halls has been taken up.
• Bamboo shoot promotional and cuisine competition held in Guwahati (September 2005), in collaboration with CII.
• Production of processed bamboo shoots has commenced in August 2005 at Luit Valley Products Ltd., Jorhat under a NMBA and NEDFi supported project. Project in collaboration with NEDFi.
• Cluster level technology packages for tiny scale processing of bamboo shoots have been demonstrated through training workshops at Jorhat and Duliajan in August 2004, and at Kokrajhar in June 2006.
• Two 1 Mw equivalent gasifiers for thermal energy are being installed at Hindustan Paper Corporation, Jagi Road and Hindustan Paper Corporation, Panchgram. The gasifiers will utilise bamboo waste (35 tpd/ unit). Generated by the pulping units, and partially replace furnace oil (9260 litres/ hour) used in the lime recovery unit. The technology support has been provided by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. Commsioing of both units expected by September 2006.
• A 25 Kwe (35 kg/ hour, open top, twin air entry, downdraft, along with biomass cutter) bamboo based demonstrative gasifier (reactor, gas cooling and scrubbing system, modified M/s Cummins producer gas engine) is being installed at Forest Complex, Bashistha, Guwahati under Assam Forest Department, in collaboration with IISc Bangalore. Commsioining expected by end-Augsut 2006.
• A mobile (training) gasifiers has been developed (1 kg/hour), and placed with Central university, Tezpur for training and demonstration purposes.
• Usage of bamboo/ composite material for bamboo pallets has been investigated, as a substitute for the present wooden pallets used by the Tea industry (ICD Amingaon). Technical support provided by NMBA.
• A sliver/ stick making unit  (SP Fabricators, Bongaigaon) commenced trial production of slivers, in December 2005.  Since then the unit has been in regular production.
• Mechanisation of production of craft and utility items has been taken up at Barak Bamboo & Cane Udyog, Karimganj.  The unit produces bamboo based craft and utility items such as lamps, small furniture, trays (non-moulded), basketry items, planters, laundry baskets, dining table mats, bamboo mat based bags and other crafts, and exports these items to EU, America and other countries.
• A mechanised blind making unit has been established (M/s Vighnaraj Bamboo Products ) at Guwahati. The Mission has supported equipment for carbonisation and bleaching, and induction of mechanised looms. The Mission has also trained Vighnaraj workers (at IIT Delhi) in the use of commercial natural dyes. Trial production has commenced in March 2006.
• Testing of machined slivers for handloom conversion to blinds was carried out in Kokrajhar, with 3 tonnes of machined (4 side planed, sanded, 15-17 mm width, 2.5 mm thickness) slivers.
• Technology for application of natural colorants on bamboo and bamboo products was demonstrated at a training workshop in Guwahati  (December 2005), in collaboration with CII Guwahati.
• A project to create consumer products from bamboo strip board has been taken up with IIT Guwahati, to create prototypes of products, to be utilised by furniture converters for creating and manufacturing products of day-to-use.
• Demonstrative plantation, in partial substitution of tea planting, being carried out on 2 tea gardens near Dibrugarh, through the Bharatiya Cha Parishad.
• 35 hectares block plantation being taken up by Deputy Commissioner, Kokrajhar at Kokrajhar, with RD funds and technical support from NMBA. Training imparted and species confirmation carried out at site by NMBA team (May 2006).
• Erosion control activity being carried out at Majuli island by planting bamboo and using bamboo for erosion control in a collaborative project with RFRI Jorhat.
• High quality tissue cultured plant (Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa nutans) material being hardened at facility at HPC Nagaon.
• Vegetative Propagation Centres for preparation of bamboo plant material being established at Guwahati and at Kokrajhar
• A bambusetum for conservation of elite bamboo germ-plasm is being established at Guwahati, in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department.
• Government of Assam has developed, with NMBA support, a State Bamboo Policy, which was released by the Chief Minister, Assam on 14 December 2005 at Guwahati.
• NMBA prepared user-friendly Training Manuals, in Assamese, on “Propagating Bamboo’ and ‘Cultivating Bamboo’ were released by the Chief Minister Assam on 14 December 2005.