Under the National Bamboo Mission, a bamboo plantation campaign has taken place in the state of Chhattisgarh – the 10th largest state in India. According to officials, Chhattisgarh will be now in a position to produce 5 million bamboos per annum. Chhattisgarh has major bamboo cultivation in Bastar region with tribals engaged in both production and thereafter value addition. 

The Narayanpur Bamboo Project, affiliated to the National Bamboo Mission, is a joint venture of the Department of Rural Development and the Chhattisgarh Handicraft Development Board. Located within a sprawling campus, the Bamboo Project includes worksheds with state-of-the-art machinery and accommodation for artisans working in bamboo. In a sprawling campus, the Bamboo Project housed worksheds with state-of-the-art machinery and accommodation for artisans.

It has a seasoning and drying machine, so that the furniture and decorative items produced were of the highest quality. The Narayanpur Bamboo Project also conducts regular skill upgradation workshops within their campus. The state government has aimed to use the forest produce for commercial use.

“There is a huge potential in the national and international market for the artifacts prepared from bamboo,” Chief Minister Raman Singh said, while addressing a review meeting of forest department. The state government would draw an action plan to trap the potential and encourage villagers for bamboo cultivation that would increase their income, he added.