SHILLONG, JUNE 10- A bamboo technology ‘mother park’ will be set up in the North East to exploit the immense but untapped potential of the bamboo sector in the region. A memorandum of understand-ing(MoU) has been signed between the NEC-sponsored Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre(CTBC) and the Building Materials Technology Promotion Council(BMTPC), Ministry of Urban Development , Government of India to set up the mother park, NEC sources here said.
As per the MoU, the two organisations will work together to achieve the objective of promotion and sustainable development of bamboo resources of the North-eastern States. It was agreed that they would jointly set up the mother park with state-of-the art machines and tools to make it the hub for demonstration of new technologies in the bamboo sector.
They would also work together to create awareness among the people of the region and other parts of the country on the application of new technologies with a view to encourage prospective entrepreneurs, manufacturers and users etc. It was also agreed that the CTBC and BMTPC would jointly organize training programmes, demonstration projects and workshops and seminars in order to popularize the technologies among the new and existing entrepreneurs. They further agreed to set up bamboo mat production centres in various parts of the region.
BMTPC has agreed to arrange display of bamboo-based products for application in housing construction in HUDCO’s ‘Building Centres’ and also through exhibitions and workshops.It will also act as the certifying organization under its “Performance Appraisal Certification Scheme” for the bamboo-based building products.
As part of the action plan drawn up, the Bamboo Technology Mother Park will facilitate both primary and secondary processing of bamboo under one roof. It will also develop human resources in the field of processing of bamboo in order to add more value to products. The action plan also seeks to position CBTC and BMTPC as the pioneers and leaders in the sector of technology supplier, not only for handicrafts but also for the replacement of wood by bamboo. They will also work together to identify newer applications of ‘Muli’ bamboo (Melocanna baccifers) which will undergo gregarious flowering, on a commercial basis. BBL.