“Bamboo stands out as a shining example of bringing people together under one roof,” says Kamesh Salam during the launching of his book Bamboo the Free Gold (value chain management and sustainable development in India)
Kamesh Salam, who is also the founder of World Bamboo Day observation, launched his book on Sunday at Crafts Complex located at Patsoi part 1, Imphal West. In connection with the launching of the book, an App called 'BAMTECH' was also launched.
During the event, vice-chancellor of Manipur Technical University Bhabeswar Tongbran said that in the state the technical centre for innovation, entrepreneur, incubation is lacking.
In the new education policy, the state government should include a disciplinary programme for innovation, incubation to create more entrepreneurs from among the youths, he said.
Appreciating the author for writing the book on Bamboo, Tongbram said it will let people know the importance of Bamboo and the use of bamboo.
Bamboos are a unique group of giant arborescent grasses in which the woody culms arise from underground rhizomes, Salam explained.
They are shrubs and have tree-like habitats, their culms are erect and sometimes climbing. Bamboos are characterized by woody, mostly hollow culms with internodes and branches at the culms’ nodes, he said. They are part of grass subfamily Bambusoidae, a tribe of the Gramineae and multiply mainly through vegetative propagation with gregarious flowering habits, he said.
The author said that the importance of bamboo in village life is well known and it has become part and parcel of the lives of the people in most of the parts of India. Bamboo products have created such socio-cultural influence on the lives of people that its usage can be seen from cradle to grave, he pointed out.
Ecological significance of bamboo is widely acceptable as Bamboo can act as an ideal solution to overcome the various problems created by deforestation and mitigate the impact of climate change, he mentioned.
Bamboo holds the potential to prevent erosion, conserve moisture, land rehabilitation and carbon sequestration. With the fast-growing concept of global ‘One World,’ bamboo stands out as a shining example of bringing people together under one roof, he said.
“My involvement in this sector is of more than 30 years, particularly in the development sector that includes primary processing, skill development and value chain management particularly with the communities,” he further said.
The launching programme was attended by founder of Bamboo Forum Sukumar Haobam; environmentalist Salam Rajesh; founder secretary of Crafts Society of Manipur, Sharangjit Lisham; principal designer Susanth of Intiative NID, Bangalore chairperson Vijai Singh Katiyar of Research and Development NID, Ahmedabad.
