HT Bureau
GUWAHATI, May 20: Young Indians (Yi) Guwahati Chapter organised an Orientation Program on Cane & Bamboo Training at North East Cane & Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC) at 13th Mile, Byrnihat on Tuesday. 25 participants comprising artisans of villages under Rural Initiative and Yuva students of University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) and Assam Down Town University (ADTU) with an aim towards encouraging and empowering rural villages and young minds towards entrepreneurship. The cohort was welcomed by Prof Dr. Shailendra Chowdhary, managing director, North East Cane & Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC). He appreciated the efforts of Young Indians (Yi) Guwahati in taking such initiatives towards nation building activities and had several suggestions that we could consider.
The session was then carried forward by H. Priyokumar Singh, manager (Training) in presence of Young Indians (Yi) Guwahati Entrepreneurship vertical chair Brinda Beria, co- chair Pankaj Kankaria and few Yi Guwahati Chapter members where Singh spoke about bamboo cultivation and economic potential of bamboo in livelihood generation keeping in mind the fast-track changes in the global marketplace.
Commenting on the session Dr. Bidita Das, co-chair Young Indians (Yi) Guwahati Chapter said, “This is an initiative towards rural entrepreneurship. We want to promote entrepreneurship among the people of the state to build a sustainable business for the members of the rural community.”
This discussion was then followed by a visit to the workshop wherein the participants saw the workings of the machines, tools and processes starting from fumigation (bamboo treatment) to cutting, pressing, moulding and creating several products. The participants further explored various possibilities of working with bamboo for various other products like Bamboo pickle, bamboo charcoal etc.
The visit to the workshop was then concluded with an open floor discussion between various members of the community, students, mentors and team Young Indians (Yi). Singh also discussed charcoal and its various applications ranging from being a coal replacement to creating activated charcoal using it for water purification, air purification, etc. There were discussions on production of bamboo wine and use of dried bamboo leaves which can be used for mushroom cultivation.
Yi addressed various concerns of the villagers and students including their apprehensions about bank formalities to avail financial assistance from the banks, to availing subsidies. Some people were intrigued with different varieties of Bamboo and their optimum use. The event finally concluded the session with team Yi felicitating and thanking various dignitaries for their time, support and guidance and with a promise to take this engagement to the next steps.
