Bamboo Laminate Furniture

Development of furniture production units would provide many poor rural communities in India’s bamboo-rich North Eastern States, with livelihoods and higher incomes, as bamboo can be grown and pre-processed directly at the village level. Up to 500 households, could be employed supplying small to medium-sized furniture making plants with pre-processed bamboo. In the future, there is also potential to transfer technology, both within India and to other developing Countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

At the Guwahati Technology Development Centre Bent-laminated bamboo furniture has been produced as the result of a public-private partnership between INBAR and Preetam Rajkhowa, a chemical engineer. Mr. Rajkhowa, with technical support from INBAR, designed the processing technology. INBAR, through its Global Marketing Initiative (GMI), provided the Technology Development Centre with a number of furniture designs to test the processing technology and gauge marketability of the finished products. Following an extensive period of prototype development, high quality, aesthetically pleasing furniture has been produced, using a high pressure chemical treatment process.

Commercial production is set to begin this year, with Mr. Rajkhowa providing funds for a production plant in Guwahati. Once the plant establishes a firm market base, it will provide employment opportunities to members of the local community, in particular bamboo farmers, who can provide raw materials to meet the plants supply demands. Further employment can also be provided at the village level, where bamboo can be pre-processed, thereby increasing its value. In the future, processing technology can will be transfered to other bamboo-rich developing regions.