By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Forest and Environment Department, Government of Meghalaya in collaboration with a Bhubaneswar based NGO Foto-n-Man Associates (FNMA) organized a ten day workshop on “Bamboo Structure and Furniture Designing” at Lady Hydari Park beginning July 20.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, VK Nautiyal, PCCF said that the workshop’s objective is to train local artisans in making bamboo structures which can be put to good use, such as artifacts etc.
besides constructing buildings for which certain training is required.
“FNMA is an NGO which lots of experiences in holding such workshops all over the country,” said Mr Nautiyal.
There are around 40 participants from Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills, West Khasi Hills besides few from Himachal Pradesh, Pune and Mumbai. Ghani Zaman (Team Leader), FNMA said they are a group of architects basically providing training on making bamboo structures. “We believe that the solution to the ecological imbalances in the northeast is to grow more bamboos and promote bamboo as building material.
A special group called Bambu-n-Man inside FNMA comprises of only bamboo specialist. We are encouraging special groups of people in the government and here the Forest and Environment Department asked us to help them in the workshop,” he said.
Mr Zaman, who had his education in Shillong is now associated with Pillo Mody College of Architecture, Cuttack and is also a photographer.
He said that the workshop is also assisted by Guwahati-based Konkona Narayan Dev, a bamboo structure designer and Maharashtra based Prerna Palaker, architect of ecology and natural resource management. Mr Zaman said there is a need to think for the future.
“Our main aim is to encourage like minded people promote the use of bamboo and to also use unemployed young people in the craft to counter the rapid concrete urbanization of the city,” he said.
The participants at the workshop were equally interested.
The participants raised pertinent question about the longevity of the structures and their durability etc. “We teach them about making of joints and how that can be everlasting; treating of bamboos with non-toxic materials so that structures can last up to eighty years. Besides bamboo structures which are resistant to cyclone up to 170 km/hour and which can resist earthquake up to 6 points on the Richter scale,” said Mr Zaman.
Participants said they got a great opportunity to learn from the expertise of the visiting participants and resource persons.
Out of the forty participants, there were four resource persons from Bambu-n-Man (FNMA), two resource persons from Himachal Pradesh and four from Pune and Mumbai.
At the inaugural function, Additional Chief Secretary PBO Warjri said that Meghalaya is rich in bamboo as it is easily available besides being cheap.
While lauding the efforts of the Forest and Environment Department for organizing the workshop, Mr Warjri said that this workshop would go a long way to educate the participants more about bamboo structure and designing, and in dispelling the doubts aboutbamboo not being durable. Warjri said that notion is gradually changing now after people have a better understanding about bamboo.
Informing that bamboo has been used by tribal societies since time immemorial for various purposes, Warjri he said the Forest and Environment Department should organize such workshops in different villages in the state so that people learn to leverage on bamboo as it will also generate employment for the local people in the state.
It may be mentioned that following the workshop, a gazebo – a shelter usually seen in parks with sheds – will be constructed by the participants at the venue of the workshop with the assistance of FNMA members.