The Bamboo and Rattan Sectors in Asia: an Analysis of ... - INBAR

amboo products. There are traditional processing technologies and evidence of
substantial markets outside the region for both raw materials and finished products.
Some occupational social groups have been practicing bamboo crafts as their main
source of livelihood for generations.
The PCS
The principal stakeholders in the system are:
● Private growers/collectors
● Forest user groups
● Local enterprises
● Outside enterprises
● Farmers
● Operational castes
● Crafts people
● Local traders
● Indian traders
● Urban business people
In most parts of the country, bamboo growing on private lands is restricted to
marginal lands, the banks of watercourses and other land unsuitable for agriculture.
However, in the study area, bamboo is considered to be a valuable component of
farming systems. Many farmers have small bamboo stands in their farms.
Bamboo in natural stands is found inter-mixed with various tropical semievergreen
and deciduous trees. In many places, bamboo stands are found to be
suffering from poor management and unsustainable harvesting pressure. A new type
of bamboo growers ---- community-based user groups who, under a new policy, have
been granted exclusive usufruct rights on state forest land ---- is also coming up in the
area. These groups have the potential to become important bamboo producers, as
their holdings are fairly large. Three bamboo forests in the study area are currently
being managed by community user groups. They have had good production increases
within a short period.
Bamboo is also cultivated as an agro-forestry species in farms, typically along
the margins of watercourses, and in marginal and unproductive lands, as well as in
backyards and in vacant lands near villages. Relatively few households are selfsufficient
in terms of food production. For example, in Kushaha-Laxminiya village as
many as 65% are unable to live on farming alone and rely on rope making, basket
making, tile making and wage labor to supplement their income. Bamboo cultivation
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