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Bamboo nursery raised by villagers
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Bamboo resources
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D.Hamiltonii plants for plantation
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GPS points being collected at Taipram village
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Participants of plantation
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Resource surveyors
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Resources found
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Youths on their way to the plantation site
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Tamenglong Bamboo And Cane Developement
Centre (TAMBAC), Manipur |
Tamenglong
district is located in the west of Manipur state at an altitude
of 1,290 m above sea level and covers a total area of 4,391 sq.
km. The total afforested land spreads over 3,884 sq. km, with 1.5
billion standing bamboo culms occupying 563 sq. km (Melocanna baccifera
is the predominant species) and rattan contained in patches over
1,033 sq. km. It is estimated that 70% of the people in the district
are below poverty line. |
The
population of Tamenglong in the 2001 census was 111,493. The Zeliangrong
Naga tribes are the predominant inhabitants and there are a number
of sub-tribes (Chiru, Hmar, Khasi, Kuki, Liangmei, Puimei, Rongmei
and Zemei). Population density is very low at 22.6 people per square
kilometre (compared to 273 average over the whole of India) and
is distributed relatively evenly over the district. Literacy is
about 67% among men and 50% among women. |
About
86% of the workers are engaged in agriculture, predominantly a swidden
practice (slash-and-burn agriculture, locally called Jhum). The
main crops grown are rice, banana, ginger, pepper chilli (king chilli
is the most common), apart from this orange, lemon are vastly grown.
Tea and coffee plantations have been found to be successful on a
small scale. As there are no processing and marketing facilities,
farmers process their tea at home for local consumption. |
The
road network is highly underdeveloped. The Imphal-Tamenglong road
(A State Highway) and the Tamenglong-Khongsang road (part of National
Highway 53) are the only roads that are motorable throughout the
year. There are no railways and the nearest airport is at Imphal,
the capital city, 153 km away. Only 48% of the 171 villages have
an electricity supply but most do not receive it regularly. The
Village Council, which is democratic institution, and the Church
(a large majority of the population are Christians, either Baptist
or Catholic) are the main social institutions in Tamenglong. |
In
December 2000, INBAR launched a three-year Action Research Project—called
“Increasing livelihood opportunities and socio-economic development
in Tamenglong district of Manipur”—in Tamenglong aimed
at bamboo- and cane-based livelihood development in the area. The
US$1.1 million project was funded by the Ministry of Rural Development
of Government of India, the Government of Manipur and INBAR. To
facilitate the field-level implementation of the project, the Tamenglong
Bamboo and Cane Development Centre (TAMBAC) was set up by CIBART
in September 2002 as a Section 25, not-for-profit company (under
Companies Acts of 1956) with stakeholding by CIBART and the local
community. Additional technical support was provided by INBAR. TAMABC’s
initial area of operation covered 68 villages with a total population
of about 46,500. |
The
traditional skills of the local communities in bamboo- and cane-based
activities were enhanced by design inputs as well as partial mechanization
so that market needs can be addressed efficiently. Several community-based
enterprises—from nurseries and plantations to furniture, handicrafts
and charcoal—were set up with the active participation of
the target beneficiaries. These have served to make an important
difference in the quality of life for the people of Tamenglong.
The majority holding of TAMABC has already been passed on to the
local community. |
| Activities |
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At the outset of
the project, satellite-based imaging was commissioned to RMIS Private
Limited, Delhi, to obtain data on bamboo resource, likely cane-containing
forests identification, roads, rivers, villages, topographic details,
land use patterns, etc. |
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This
was followed by a field survey to collect village socio-economic
as well as household socio-economic details of target villages.
The data obtained were incorporated into the INBAR database. The
data were used to prepare the baseline plan, which included resource
conservation and regeneration, livelihood enterprise establishment,
planning lines of communications and supply and marketing logistics,
etc. GPS mapping of all villages, households and field activities
was also carried out, to facilitate the usage of GIS-based planning,
monitoring and evaluation, and feedback for better targeting and
improving activities. |
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Several steps have
been taken to ensure community participation. Village level organizers
(VLOs) have been appointed in all target villages for creating effective
linkages between the village community and TAMBAC. The capacities
of VLOs have been enhanced by training in resource management, setting
up enterprises, infrastructure development, etc. and the VLOs then
provide training to the community By the end of 2004, close to 800
community members have been provided training on areas such as raising
nurseries, planting bamboo, curing cane, basketry, housing, making
bamboo charcoal and activated charcoal, product design and development,
process flow, data collection, and management of self-help groups
(SHGs). By the end of 2004, TAMBAC had set up 37 community-owned enterprises,
providing seed money as needed. These SHGs have not only paid back
the loans but are generating income at levels that are several folds
higher than what they were able to earn previously. The credit worthiness
developed has prompted financial institutions to be less circumspect
in offering business loans to SHGs. |
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Community-owned and
managed decentralized bamboo nurseries have been set up in 51 target
villages, with the remaining 17 to follow soon. The idea is to create
a network of such nurseries, which would be able to meet the needs
of the district, the state and others for good quality planting material.
The bamboo and cane nurseries set up have already produced and sold
nearly 120,000 saplings, earning the community Rs 700,000 (about US$16,000)
in one year. |
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Several community-owned
bamboo and rattan plantations have been set up. Over 500,000 saplings
of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii and 200,000 Calamus sp. cane saplings
have already been planted on community land. These plantations have
had the salutary effect of weaning away the people from the forest-degrading
slash-and-burn cultivation. The fifty-odd joint forest management
(JFM) councils in the area and the state Forest Department have extended
full support to these initiatives. The plantations managed by the
local communities would soon be able to sell mature culms to generate
and sustain much-needed cash income. |
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An innovative approach
was used to assess the traditional handicraft skills of the community.
In May 2003, a design competition was organized where the communities
exhibited their best bamboo- and cane-based products. They were also
introduced to design and value-addition inputs as well as simple tools
that would help increase the value of their products, reduce drudgery
and increase productivity. The handicraft items produced by community
enterprises are test marketed and regular production started for the
export market. The artisanal SHGs have participated in several trade
fairs in the state and outside, and were able to garner orders for
domestic and export markets. |
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A
database of bamboo and cane craftspersons in the target villages
has been created, and 68 master craftspersons have so far received
identity cards from Development Commissioner (Handicrafts). This
identity card serves as an Artisan Credit Card and entitles the
holder to take loan from banks. A detailed catalogue of innovative
handicraft products has been produced to facilitate marketing and
export. |
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| The electricity supply
in the project area is erratic, inconsistent and not reliable—only
30% of the target villages are connected to the electricity grid,
and these too receive power only for 20% of the time. This creates
a problem for volume production using machinery. To address this,
TAMBAC has tested the suitability of bamboo biomass for electricity
generation. To ascertain the power yield, 500 kg of bamboo (Melocanna
baccifera) was sent to Netpro at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc),
Bangalore. The tests and analyses conducted by Netpro have shown that
1.2 kg of bamboo biomass can generate 1 kWh of electricity. Selection
of bamboo as the biomass to generate power is ideal, as bamboo produces
the maximum biomass per unit area and unit time and is abundantly
available in Tamenglong. A detailed project report was prepared and
was submitted to the Manipur Renewable Development Agency (MANIREDA)
for securing funding for the project. |
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| Another TAMBAC initiative
saw the planting of bamboo offsets and seedlings at the catchment
area of the Chalunglangbak spring on the Gadaih range that supply
drinking water to the inhabitants of Tamenglong District headquarter.
This was done with active support of several volunteers of Duigailong
Youth Club. Another planting was carried out by the inhabitants of
Old Tamenglong Village who planted over 1,000 bamboo saplings at the
main source of drinking water supply of the village. |
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| To demonstrate the
efficacy of using bamboo in strong and elegant building construction,
as well as to build the skill capacity of the local community, a demonstration
building-cum-training workshop was conducted by building a guest house
(plinth area 350 sq. ft) for Tamenglong Higher Secondary School. The
venture provided hands-on experience to local community in bamboo-based
building construction. The TAMBAC Building Enterprise formed soon
after the demonstration building won a contract for the bamboo-based
construction of the Tamenglong Deputy Commissioner’s office
(1,290 sq. ft), worth Rs 750,000. |
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| There are many more
miles to travel for TAMBAC. Among the activities planned for the immediate
future include providing new product designs, and devising new tools,
jigs and equipment that would enhance productivity as ease drudgery.
Setting up marketing linkages, setting up common facility centers
for both bamboo and cane, and regular training programs for capacity
building also feature among priority activities. Production of electricity
to power mechanized charcoal briquetting enterprises, as well as for
lighting, is another area of emphasis. TAMBAC will also step up the
activities of its construction enterprise, as bamboo-based housing
has immense scope in the country. |
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