User talk:Ak47anil

Konkan Bamboo and Cane Development Centre – KONBAC' In 2002, a group of young women and men in the Konkan region of Maharashtra realized that bamboo was a resource of the people and more specifically a resource for the poor. They realized that bamboo had a short growth cycle with self-regeneration properties, which made it highly renewable. Almost all parts of the plant were usable for varied purposes; it was hardy, light, and flexible, thus making it an extremely good substitute for wood. Most importantly, bamboo improved the environment, acting as an atmospheric and soil purifier, while combating climate change.

Since bamboo was habitually planted locally for peripheral fencing, there was an abundance of bamboo on government and private forest land, as well as on private plantations. However, bamboo on forest land could not be harvested due to non-conducive forest policies, while bamboo from private forests and farms was either used in small quantities for temporary homestead, or sent to cities without value addition.

Therefore, the team started experimenting with small bamboo products and crafts. These attempts were made through Konkan Nisarg Manch (KoNiM), an NGO formed under the Society Act 1947, which was working on collection and processing of other NTFP products. During 2004, a team from the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), an Intergovernmental Organisation, visited the area and facilitated the establishment of the Konkan Bamboo and Cane Development Centre (KONBAC), a Section 25 not-for-profit company. KONBAC became one of INBAR’s Action Research Sites (ARS) focused on development of bamboo resources and products.

KONBAC received intensive technical s up po rt from INBAR, as well as some small grants, to keep them operational. KONBAC was also provided with a plant and machinery along with capacity building and skill development by agencies, such as the National Mission for Bamboo Application (NMBA), the National Bamboo Mission (NBM), District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), DC-Handicrafts, and NABARD.

Most of this funding was related to training and capacity building of the community, but was insufficient to drive trade in a market driven approach that would actually benefit the poor through production. KONBAC was constrained to a project mode, which lead to stagnation during gaps in project funding. The majority of the team’s time was spent on writing project proposals. Projects and related grant funds came, but were inadequate to fund expansive operations.

Constraints aside, KONBAC grew in expertise, gaining recognition from the Private Sector. Hindustan Construction Company Ltd (HCC), one of India’s leading infrastructure development companies, contracted KONBAC to set up a fully-owned bamboo furniture manufacturing subsidiary, LAVASA Bamboo Crafts, at LAVASA City, a private hill station near Pune.

KONBAC set up, operated, and technically supported this unit to cater to the demand for bamboo furniture and interior accessories within Lavasa City.

The Centre for Bamboo Resource and Technology (CIBART)- the Indian wing of INBAR- also contracted with Konbac to setup a large unit in Gujarat on behalf of the Government of Gujarat.

KONBAC’s tie up with prestigious projects like LAVASA CITY and CIBART along with increasing enquiries from the eco-friendly hospitality sector clearly reflected the acceptance of its capability, competencies, and expertise to produce high quality bamboo furniture and infrastructure. Among numerous activities undertaken by KONBAC its area of specialisation lay in organising local communities and target groups and training them in bamboo processing and production. KONBAC has trained and reached out to over 3000 poor households in their area of operation.

KONBAC gained vast experience in bamboo plantation and has been awarded the prestigious Vanashree award in 2010 by Govt. of Maharashtra for motivating and training farmers in bamboo plantation as well as managing these plantations.

Despite these successes, the organization being a not-for-profit enterprise and dependent on grants found it difficult to adopt a market-driven approach which was necessary to engage and retain professional human resources, develop its infrastructure, invest in advanced plants and machinery, provide sustainable livelihoods to artisans they had trained, and, most importantly, build the capability to execute the numerous orders that were coming their way.

In early 2009, the management of KONBAC and INBAR decided to set up a for-profit institution while retaining a social mandate. This would attract capital investment, and professional management necessary to capture the national and international market for bamboo products.

This move ensures sustainability, by moving away from a project-based to a social enterprise model, which provides sustainable livelihoods to thousands of family at the bottom of the pyramid. The company ideologically impacts the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit.