Traditionally, village craftsmen in forest areas have used bamboo for making fences, furniture and household items such as baskets. With the rapid shrinking of tiger habitats this has become a serious problem, since bamboo is an integral part of many forests. For instance in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve the undergrowth is almost all bamboo.
Recently Satpuda Foundation organized a workshop for villagers near Pench Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh). Participants were taught to make items out of lantana wood instead of bamboo. Lantana is an introduced species and it has become a problem in India, as it is invasive and harmful to native vegetation.
The group in the first photo have taken up this craft full-time and have already received orders from a local resort and other clients. I took these pictures in the village Turiya. The chair is as tough as bamboo - our Conservation Officer Anoop Awasthi demonstrated its strength to me by standing on it and jumping up and down!
This is part of our regular capacity-building training programmes, through which we empower villagers to earn better livelihoods and reduce their dependence on the forest. It's a win-win situation for all as wildlife and the environment obviously benefit when deforestation stops. It would be great if we could encourage this initiative by placing orders for lantana items. Please contact us at satpuda AT gmail DOT com, or else email me at rajashree DOT khalap AT gmail DOT com
2 comments:
Excellent use of local resource - very innovative and 'the need of the day' product! Keep it up!
Really useful for using Lantana.. which is quite an invasive weed... Beautiful...
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