Innovative bamboo & cane products

SHILLONG, APR 15: Meghalaya chief minister Mukul Sangma expressed a sense of satisfaction and joy at seeing the

innovative bamboo and cane products on display by number of craftsperson at the Shken. in  Bamboo & Cane Products Exhibition and 33rd district level industrial exhibition which began at the State Central Library on Friday morning.

The Meghalaya Commerce & Industries department in partnership with the Department of Design, IIT, Guwahati has come up with the project for innovative cane and bamboo products with upgraded designs and technology using the brand name Shken.in. Shken is a local Khasi word for bamboo.

The chief minister said that the next immediate step for the department and IIT, Guwahati must be to patent this innovation and technology, which is integrated to this whole exercise of partnership.

Inaugurating the exhibition in the presence of GAD, Transport minister HDR Lyngdoh, Urban Affairs minister M Ampareen Lyngdoh, parliamentary secretary Celestine Lyngdoh, chief secretary KS Kropha,  other state officials and officials of the department, besides the master crafts persons from various parts of the state, the chief minister said that this exhibition was unlike other exhibitions that has been held all these year.

The chief minister complimented by saying that the wonderful products put up by the crafts persons was  an outcome of a wonderful partnership model of leveraging upon the skills of the master craftsperson by taking advantage of the resources available in the own backyards – the bamboo and cane, often referred to as “green gold” or “wonder grass”.

Stating the magnitude of people’s involvement with bamboo which is a part and parcel of tribal way of life, he emphasized how with partnership one can integrate the knowledge of science, innovation, creativity and give shape to much more superior and wonderful products that can generate so much of interest.

He imagined the wonders that can happen when they are passed on to the potential partners who would like to link their livelihood with the outcome of such exercise.

He congratulated the department of Commerce & Industries and the team of IIT, Guwahati under the leadership of Prof Ravi Mokashi Punekar for the wonderful partnership and underscored the importance of building partnerships that can open up further opportunities for entrepreneurship to the people and at the same time can be instrumental in creating something exclusive – which is completely connected with the state and its people by leveraging upon these available resources.

Stating that there is no end to exploring more and more scope of innovation on bamboo, he said, “Let the people across the globe look at our high-end bamboo products, let them become the first choice of many people and we will target the high-end clientele”.

As the two-day exhibition included the technical session on diversification of bamboo & cane products, the chief minister said this kind of session should be extended to involve students drawn from various institutions and recommended the department to have such session, one in Tura and another in Shillong, exclusively for the young students.

He also recommended that the skill component of ADB-funded human capital development programme be integrated with this programme.  He suggested that this can also be extended to the youth who are giving up armed struggle and trying to come back to living to the mainstream.

Meghalaya Commerce & Industries department principal secretary PW Ingty and Director Mrs. MB Roy were among others who also spoke briefly on the occasion.-By Our Reporter