Indus Tree Crafts Foundation - Natural fibers

Common name

Local names

Botanical name

Available region in India

Bamboo

Baans (Hindi)

Veduru (Telugu)

Biduru (Kannada)

Bambusa vulgaris

Largely in North-east and other states also

Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family. Although bamboo is a grass, many of the larger bamboos are very tree-like in appearance and they are often called "bamboo trees". The reason bamboos are so different from trees is they lack a vascular cambium layer and meristem cells at the top of the culm. The vascular cambium is the perpetually growing layer of a tree's trunk beneath the bark that makes it increase in diameter each year. The meristems make the tree grow taller.

Apart from these there are about 125 species of bamboo inhabit India. Bamboo can survive even semiarid conditions like, rainfalls in the range of 600 mm. to 2000 mm. per anum. It’s stem possess different shapes, sizes and colours. Some Himalayan bamboo have stem equal to a human finger in diameter and measure upto the human height on full growth. On the other extreme, Worra is a species of bamboo which at times measures 30 cms. in diameter and over 30 mts. in height. Usually bamboo is a hollow cylinder although there are some that grow in dryer parts where the hollow is not visible to a necked eye. The stem may be straight or crooked. A variety of bamboo found in North-east displays a serpentine curve.

India’s natural resource of bamboo is the largest in the world but its contribution to the world trade of products made from bamboo is abysmally small in relation to the demand. When one thinks of bamboo crafts one thinks of Japan, China, Taiwan or Thailand and only in passing of India. It is when one encounters the bamboo culture of the northeastern states of India that one realizes the vast repertory of forms, structures and techniques that live in the crafts of the people. This knowledge is applied to a diverse range of products made to satisfy day-to-day needs; large structures such as bridges, houses granaries and storage bins, smaller products like baskets, both large and small, for carrying or storing, devices for fishing, hunting, farming and weaving, toys smoking pipes, combs, hats, ornaments and musical instruments.

The physical and structural characteristics of bamboos vary and the craftsmen of the Northeast have over the years shown a deep understanding of these differences in the manner in which they use each species for a particular purpose. For example, if some the culms or stems are large in diameter and do not split easily these are converted into whole culm-containers for water or rice beer. Other species have culms that are thin-walled with long internodes. These are flattened into sheets and woven into large mats used as wall of houses.