my momoralbe trip to wayanad

       
by Akshita Kothari
ITINERARY

My first trip from Srishti

I was really very excited because the description of the place and the bamboo craft sounded really very interesting. I was all set to just go and explore wayanad 

— We started on 15^th evening from n3 at 9:30 and went to the bus stop at Kalasipalayam, from were we took a bus to Kalpatta.

— We reached Kalpatta on the 16^th morning 5:45 and boarded a bus and reached MS SWAMI NATHAN RESEARCH FOUNDATION where we were supposed to stay. It was a very beautiful place, after we settled we went for a small walk around the place, saw a huge variety of trees, flowers and the we were all surrounded by greenery .

mountains.

— Then we started for the day and went to URAVU which was in Thrikkaipetta there we saw a presentation on what Uravu does and what products are been made, we also saw the different machines on which bamboo is processed, and went on a small trek were we saw a bamboo nursery and bamboo houses being made.In uravu we saw women working with bamboo and making lampshades ,it was good to see that they enjoyed what they did and were really good at their work. DSCN4978.JPG

—  On the17^th morning we had our breakfast and started for the day, we went to visit the clusters, which were NIRAVU, UNARVU, SNEHA and SOUBHAGYA. In which Niravu made photo frames out of bamboo sticks.  Unarvu made bamboo jewelry, Sneha made wall hanging, masks, photo frames, pen stands. And Soubhagya made things like spice box ,flasks , baskets etc.

In al of these clusters the women were really very skilled and  were just lacking a proper exposure.

— 18^th morning we started and after a long gypsy ride we reached Edakkal caves, and after a very long trek we reached the top ,at the entrance gate and saw the caves , I dint find it that interesting as the guide was a bit less interactive and the place should be a more interesting , so that people have fun looking at it keeping in mind the ancient beauty of it ,but anyways we had a lot of fun on our way back from the caves ,  secretly eating the precut sour fruits. Then we went to have lunch and after that headed towards the museum which was in Kalpatta , after that the last and the most refreshing spot for the day we went to the water fall in Soojipara and had a lot of fun .It was nice of the caretakers who actually took care of certain things like helped people to cross the slippery path in the waterfall  .One thing which should be taken care of is that the inclision of washrooms and changing rooms so that there is no dirt spread in side the waterfall , and also to take care of the women or girls who don’t enter the waterfall because of there not being a proper changing room . Then we started on our way back, after a very long day to the swami Nathan foundation.

— 19^th morning was very refreshing as we went for a biodiversity trek, and achieved quite a good height and also learned about a few medicinal plants and herbs, then we came back had our lunch and headed towards a school KANAVU ., I really liked the way they took upp the method of gurukul , and also was happy to see that the children there could also dream like free birds and choose their own line , but because of not been registered under government they had lack of funds and so could not come up to certain things.

— 20^th our last day, today was the hands on experience day were we had to make something out of bamboo putting in our own design ,we were given three sectors i,.e handicraft , weaving and sculpture . and I selected weaving as I was willing to make a lantern . we started to work as a team and first made a rough design on paper and discussed how to go about it , there was a lady guide who told us that the design was practically possible and so we started to make it . We learned many teqniques so as to how to handle bamboo as a material and while we were working, all of a sudden I remembered the assignment which was given to me by Narendra and it was all about portraying the material exactly the opposite of its properties , example make metal look as liquid , and so was bamboo , it was a really flexible material and had many positive things which could be discovered while working with it .We ended the day with something productive made by us, and was a really good experience.

— The language was a big problem anywhere and everywhere we went, but we had Kaushika with us, which made it way simpler for us to go about it.

HOW DOES AN NGO WORK ??

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is a citizen-based association that operates independently of government, usually to deliver resources or serve some social or political purpose.

Established in 1966 Uravu started its journey as a joint venture for social well being and sustainable development. URAVU is a NGO working for the upliftment of rural area by providing skill and training in bamboo craft and promotes social entrepreneurship based on value addition of local natural resources. The main focus is on developing bamboo-processing skills among rural women through training programs and introduction of appropriate tools, technologies and processes. The organization is a boon to the deprived local artisans. Uravu also undertakes several projects to protect bamboo as well as other natural resources. A bamboo nursery run by Uravu supplies planting materials of various species to local farmers and conducts mass planting programs. Uravu also promotes farmers' self-help-groups, floriculture groups etc.

Uravu also organizes a bamboo festival every year, in which they exhibit all their bamboo products and this should be actually be nicely advertised on a large scale so that people know about it , so that they have higher prospects , which would help them grow slowly.

NATURAL RESOURCE

MANAGEMENT

Bamboo is found abundantly in Wayanad and Uravu and encourages the traditional technology and craftsmanship of the tribes in creating a whole range of products using bamboo. There are about 136 species of bamboo .Their livelihood is completely dependent on bamboo since it is the base material, and so they should refurbish the same so that coming generations can use bamboo and the cycle moves on. The uravu people also make bags out of bamboo and jute , in which bamboo is grown in town but jute is bought from outside and so jute can be partially replaced by banana stem as they also have plenty of banana trees.

ECONOMICS

Bamboo is Biodegradable and so is globally acceptable and if this can be advertised in a proper manner, the importance of the material and its products will increase and so will the production. I think that they should also export bamboo products to other countries that are concerned about the concept of GO GREEN. The people of Uravu have got plenty of skill but at the same time they lack the exposure of the outside world that once attained by them will open doors to success and economic development. A method of getting this exposure could be sending a few of the children to other states and countries for educational purposes as when they will come back they will bring with them the ideas and styles from around the world. The expense of the education will be treated as an investment and not a waste.

This step will bring in the outside market because such a environment friendly product has so much future prospects, and I am sure people would like to buy example as now people go in particular to china to buy furniture, then why not Uravu.

ISSUES

Starting with Uravu I think, Uravu even after making  such awesome bamboo handicraft and bamboo bags and stuff it is not that useful as it has not got a proper promotion for its products and has no advertisements at a big scale ,now looking at other side of the coin i.e about what kind of products does Uravu make i.e pens , photo-frames , pen stand and these kind of stuff is fine and decent enough to buy but Uravu being so good at bamboo craft and after having a good work force can also look into home appliances and furniture as it could make a difference , and people may come to buy bamboo furniture . The main thing what I think is that Uravu should realize the actual benefit of bamboo and should make that benefit as their plus point and apply it in making product accordingly such as board games, they can start a different unit for toys which are probably long lasting and can also be disposed off. For example they can also make bamboo chess board, and it would even look interesting.

Now talking about the clusters, when I visited Soubhagya the cluster which made jewelry , I made a warli art on one of the pendent and they really liked it and said that this is what the market likes and they told me to give them some more designs on paper but I personally knew that the designs weren’t that great , but due to lack of exposure they dint see much before it .