Baans. Moongil. Bidiru. Baambu. Mula. Veduru. Mat.
All words for the versatile bamboo in different languages of India.
From Palgarh, just about 100 kilometres from Mumbai, comes a story where this grass has transformed the lives of several hundred lives, for generations to come.
Hardly four years ago, this wasn’t the plan. However, the efforts of the tribal women and mentors of the Vikramgad Bamboo Udyog Producer Company Limited have changed the grammar of livelihood projects.
The story started in 2019 when Gaurav Shrivastav, a member of Keshav Srishti, an NGO, was given the responsibility of developing livelihoods in Palgarh district as part of their Gram Vikas program. The problem? Men were migrating in hordes to Mumbai and Gujarat as labour, often taking their families with them. As a consequence, the children were unable to receive proper education.
Gaurav started his work in Tetwali village. ‘It took me three to four meetings just to get the women to open up and say their names! We were in no hurry, though; we wanted lasting change,’ he says.
Gaurav and his team identified crafts using bamboo, called ‘Green Gold,’ as a resource they could use. Amidst skepticism, Gaurav organized a training program for 35 women, and at the end of it, organized an eco-village tour for people from Mumbai to visit and experience the village lifestyle, part of which was the bamboo enterprise. To the villagers’ surprise, they made Rs. 5,000 from the products! This was followed by a Rs. 52,500 prize from UMED – Maharashtra State Rural Livelihoods Mission, and the project took off.
On 3 January 2020, the project was initiated across nine villages and a month later, 300 artisans graduated. Soon, COVID hit, and everything came to a standstill. Many of the women awaited their husbands, who were stuck in Mumbai and Gujarat.
Around June 2020, two things emerged out of the Doklam standoff: an increase in interest in India-made products, and a return to more sustainable living. This was particularly felt when the rakhi season came up, and the demand for their rakhis shot up. The women fulfilled an order for 51,000 rakhis, their biggest order then. More orders followed with a partnership with The Better India. That year, the women sold goods worth Rs. 7.5 lakh.
‘They were crying on the phone when they spoke to me. They had never imagined they would be able to make this kind of money for themselves,’ says Gaurav.
Soon, they geared up for Diwali, creating foldable lamps for shipping. Since then, the cohort has not just expanded, but created more capabilities. A laser engraving machine makes corporate gifting easier; a design team explores new possibilities; and a new bamboo building showcases the possibilities of the material. With over 80 distinct products and counting, the enterprise is also replanting bamboo forests to ensure ecological balance.
Along with success, it was time to create an enterprise completely owned and managed by the artisans. In partnership with NABARD, the Vikramgad Bamboo Udyog Producer Company Limited (VBUPC), Maharashtra’s first Off-Farm Producers Organization (OFPO) was born with 200 shareholders, 175 of whom are women artisans.
But the most heartening news for Gaurav is not even the sales. Seven women artisans have gone back to school and received their Secondary School Certificate. ‘This is the happiest thing for me,’ he says.
But every year, around July, the villages come alive with the clatter of bamboo rakhis. The women put their heart and soul into making the product that lent them their identity: the humble rakhi. Club Artizen is proud to present our rakhi collection in partnership with the women of Palgarh.