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For Bharathi AS, from Wayanad, Kerala, making bamboo handicrafts is the means to provide better nutrition for herself. She suffers from sickle cell anemia and her income is used to pay for her meals and medicine. Hence, selling more such products means regular nutrition for her. Bharathi, (44) stays in Manikahu village in Wayanad Kerala. She is single and stays with her brother who has a wife and two kids. “My brother is a daily wage earner whereas I earn by making and selling bamboo items,” she says.

Earlier Bharathi would make these items occasionally but she took to this craft seriously 18 years back. “I found out that I was suffering from sickle cell anemia. My brother earns a meager income and I wanted to take care of my medicines and food. So, I learned this craft and got into this vocation full time,” she says.

Bharathi was trained by a local NGO to make more bamboo items like pen boxes, pencil boxes, Letterboxes, vases, etc. Today she works with them regularly. “We provide made-to-order items and are paid accordingly,” she says.

She earns anywhere between Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per month. However, the income is not regular as there are times when there are no orders. She also participates in government exhibitions to sell the products on behalf of the NGO. “We have our stalls and make money as per the sale of the products,” she says.

But these exhibitions are held just thrice a year, thus, affecting her income. This is detrimental to her health as she is required to have nutritious food. “I have to follow a diet due to my ailment. If I do not eat as per my diet, my illness worsens,” she says.

Her situation turned worse during the COVID lockdown in 2019. “There were no orders, no work, and no income. It was difficult to get nutritious food and my body would pain the whole day,” she says.

Hence, she was glad to participate in ASSOCHAM CoE’s skills training workshop for the tribal artisan held on March 1, 2021. “I am happy to get a chance to learn new products at this workshop. This will open up a new market for us to sell our items throughout the year,” she adds.

The Centre of Excellence (CoE) is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs and the apex industry body ASSOCHAM. Under the initiative, artisans from the tribal areas are given entrepreneurial training in capacity building and finding wider markets for their products to promote entrepreneurship in the tribal youths.

Bamboo Handicrafts is a traditional cottage industry in India. Bamboo crafts are produced by craftsmen mostly in rural / tribal India in which treated bamboo is used to make a wide variety of bamboo crafts and furniture. Kerala has a great tradition of making bamboo and associated products and crafts.

Bharathi also hopes that the government would hold regular exhibitions for people like her to have a regular income. “There are many people like me whose survival depends on these exhibitions. Hope the government opens up more avenues for us to sell our products,” she says.