In a bid to popularise and promote bamboo as super construction material, a mobile app on bamboo housing and construction called BAMTECH was launched on Thursday by Arunachal Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein at Civil Secretariat here.
Mein said that the usage of bamboo for housing and other construction has been part of local culture in the state.
“The application which holds essential features with information regarding the usage of bamboo for housing, construction, the making of furniture and manufacture of quality products will hugely benefit the local youths, artisans and entrepreneurs of the state to explore opportunities in the commercialisation of bamboo,” he added.
“Our state is the biggest repository of bamboo resources in the North East with 74 species of bamboo and 15,000 sq km of bamboo coverage. We must find a solution for its full utilisation and should not let bamboo be limited to local usage,” he said.
The founder and CEO of South Asia Bamboo Foundation (SABF), Kamesh Salam highlighted the functions of the application. He said that the advantage of the app is to promote bamboo housing under PMAY (Prime Minister’s Awaas Yojna), home-stay housing, tourist cottages among others. He also provided information on the proper use of bamboo starting from the treatment to the latest modern technology.
“Bamboo could be the sustainable material and solution to India’s plan to construct 3 crore houses by 2022,” he said.
To create a niche for bamboo in eco-tourism in the country where Arunachal Pradesh will take the lead, a workshop cum training on ‘Building with Bamboo’ will be organised at Namsai from October 24 to November 2. The programme will be organised by the state government jointly with SABF and Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMPTC), and conducted by renowned bamboo designer and expert on bamboo housing, Jorg Stamm a German national from Columbia.
Stamm has made many beautiful structures in the world including the Green School at Bali, Indonesia. More than 40 participants from state and other parts of India, SAARC nations, Bhutan and Sri Lanka are expected to attend the workshop cum training program at Namsai.
BAMTECH was developed by SABFn under the sponsorship of BMTC under the Ministry of Urban Housing and Urban Affairs.
Apart from the app, the SABF also spelt out plans for more economic development programme in the region including biofuel.
Minister Tax and Excise Jarkar Gamlin, Minister Education, Skill Development, Honchun Ngandam, and MLA Namsai C.Z. Namchoom also shared their views for successful utilisation of bamboo technology in the state.
Among others, Commissioner Planning and Finance, Kaling Tayeng, secretaries and officers of various departments attended the launch of the mobile application.