Action Research Projects: Uttaranchal sub-project

Uttaranchal State in Northern India stretches from the Himalayas to the plains. The environment is fragile and prone to natural disasters. The people are poor with 38% of the population below the poverty line. Of 0.91 million families, 0.79 depend on farming or fisheries for their living. The available agricultural land is unable to sustain such pressures. Small and household businesses prevail and the State is packaging itself as an eco-tourist destination. Some landless communities such as the Rukia and Buksa already make a living from bamboo.

The project aims to:

• Develop sustainable raw material access for income generation and environmental protection.
• Enhance skills for managing, processing and marketing bamboo and bamboo products.
• Tap into existing markets and develop new markets for small business sustainability.
• Develop the enabling environment for sustainability of the activities.
  

Uttaranchal facts

Total afforested land - 3.46 m ha
Bamboo resources - 0.85 m ha.
Rattan resources - N/A
Target human resources - 0.91 million families
Estimated mean annual income - 38% below poverty line

Activities to date

Establishment of a design centre with training facilities
Nursery development
Plantation development
Introduction of new species
Introduction of 11,000 D. hamiltonii plantlets from TAMBAC and 460 kg of Melocanna baccifera seeds imported from TRIBAC
Setting up of project management office
Initiation of product library
Developing linkages with NGOs
Community interaction
Assessment of existing skills
Preliminary market survey
Identification of model sites
Initiation of resource assessment through GIS

Some forthcoming activities in 2004

Design training at the INBAR-CIBART-Government of India Bamboo Products Design Centre
Bamboo management and harvesting training
Introduction of tools
Tools and machinery training
Linking markets and producers
Infrastructure applications development with bamboo
Introduction of process flow methods
Test marketing of new products