Bamboo slicing the Naga way, in Arunachal Pradesh

From the archive record

Bamboo is a vital element of India's North Eastern region which comprises of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. It is home to 60 per cent of the country's bamboo resources but only ten per cent of it is accessible. Bamboo doesn't need specially treated land as it can grow in areas where mining activity has left the land barren. But infrastructure needs to be provided for transportation, either by way of roads or canals. According to some estimates, India has 30 per cent of the world's bamboo resources, but contributes only four percent share of the global market. This is mainly because of low productivity. Bamboo is no longer seen as a poor man's timber, it is growing to be the most promising substitute for wood and there is great scope for