Bamboo furniture at a Jharcraft store in rospa Tower, Ranchi. (Bhola Prasad)

Jharcraft is going the roti, kapda and makaan way in its inimitable style — silk for kapda and bamboo for makaan to get roti for lakhs of rural artisans.

The state cooperative, making waves worldwide for its tussar weaves, is now teaming up with renowned Guwahati architects to build low-cost bamboo homes. A two-month training programme for selected artisans will start from Wednesday in the capital.

As the cost of conventional construction materials — concrete, steel, stone chips, among others — keep escalating, sturdy homes become unaffordable for low-income groups, particularly in villages. Bamboo — called the poor man’s timber — that is readily available in the state can be an affordable alternative, feels Jharcraft.

“We used bamboo to create artefacts and furniture, in which our artisans did very well. However, housing is a new concept for us. We have handpicked about 20 artisans for the first lot of training, who will become master trainers for others. We will look at various kinds of low-cost homes built with processed bamboo,” said Jharcraft managing director Dhirendra Kumar.

Kumar, who called bamboo “both pocket-friendly and eco-friendly”, said he was also looking into the possibility of making low-cost rural toilets instead of the concrete structure of the Sulabh Shauchalayas.

“A bamboo toilet room will cost Rs 6,000 to build. In comparison, a conventional toilet room costs around Rs 41,000. The government can construct seven toilets for the same amount of money. This is what we will tell the state after we arm ourselves with technical know-how,” said Kumar.

Other structures on their radar are cocoon storage houses, common facility centres, rearing and work sheds.

Two Guwahati-based architects — Mausum Das, an independent expert, and Kamlesh Salam, founder and executive director of Southeast Asia Bamboo Foundation — will train artisans to create pre-fabricated bamboo structures.

Initially, the training was to take place at Chakulia in East Singhbhum, but it has been shifted to Ranchi for “better monitoring”. Artisans from Chakulia, Ichagarh, Hazaribagh and Dumka will be trained at Jharkhand Resham Vikas Sansthan.

Jharcraft had started mulling the possibility of using bamboo as a construction material two years ago at its Chakulia common facility centre, when its artisans started making knick-knacks and furniture.

“It was then that we thought, why not build bamboo homes? We even tried to do so ourselves. But we lacked expertise, which this intensive training programme conducted by Das and Salam will provide,” said Kumar.

So is bamboo Jharcraft’s new silk? “We are extremely bullish about bamboo. It is a durable, affordable and sustainable construction material. Homes for all will no longer be a dream,” said Jharcraft’s managing director.

Will bamboo homes become a sustainable trend in the near future ?

Tell ttkhand@abpmail.com