Basket full of Happiness

Picture a lazy Saturday evening. Add boredom to it and one gets the perfect cause to take a stroll to the nearby ‘haat’.

The place is a sight to behold. There are multiple vendors for numerous items – ranging from vegetables to spices to earthen pots to rugs to handicrafts. Moving about blithely, one can’t help but notice this woman, who is weaving, chatting away to glory at the same time, without even looking at it, a tapestry like pattern of these long bamboo strips and then her helper would shape it like a basket and finish the weaving for the pattern to hold the shape and stay put. You will find a stack of a couple such articles/baskets at one corner of all shapes and sizes.

When asked how she gets this done, about the bamboo strips, their plantation, availability etc., the ladies would patiently answer each of the queries as you absorb everything they tell. Turns out it was yet another achievement to the credit of the Forest Department of Gujarat.  One might want to buy one small basket before you head home.

Mr. A. K. Saxena, CCF, Gujarat Forest Department, Vadodara has been kind enough to share details and more information complete with a case study that had been done on the Bamboo Article Activity. These workers are from Uchvan district of Baria forest division which is a small tribal village.  The study explained that this is a skill that has been handed forward to generations over a period of time. There is a Special Help Group (SHG) by the name of Jay Sant Kabir involved in helping these villagers by arranging for the capital money to start their business. 

Savitriben Harijan with other skill workers

Savitriben Harijan expresses her happiness on behalf of all members, "With the help of the Forest Department, we got the motivation and momentum in our work. We feel the strength of unity which has developed our self-confidence."

With the help of the Forest Department each member receives a grant of Rs. 30,000 with half the money as revolving fund and the remaining half as the loan amount. The SHG also helps the members continue profitably by giving them training on the selection of bamboo, use of various tools and then market the produce. This has enabled an additional income of Rs. 1000 monthly for each member of the SHG.