Neomicrocalamus, locally known as Yula, is a wild bamboo species used to produce various handicrafts. It has ecological, economical and bio-cultural values in Bhutan especially for the production of handicrafts which supports the rural communities. While it is widely grown at Khangma under Yurung Geowg in Pema Gatshel, people have not produced anything out of it. So to make people aware of its benefits, the Division of Forest Office is conducting a month-long training in Bangchung weaving in the village with support from the Helvetas office.
The training is focused on developing the socio-economic empowerment of youth and women of the community forest members. 17 members of Khangma Sengchilo Dra-nyam Phendey Community Forest are taking part in the training which is scheduled to complete by the end of this month.
“We don’t know how to weave. We are learning in the course of the training. We are very happy about this opportunity. We don’t want to give up on the knowledge and skills we will acquire after the training. It will make us self-sufficient. We are also told that if we face any market problem, our trainer will help us in marketing. So, we are thinking to take a step further,” said Melay Wangzin, one of the participants.
“It will help us improve our livelihoods and support us in our other expenditures. This is just the beginning, we want to make it a success in the future. We are informed that our trainer will come and collect our products and help us market them,” added Phuntso Wangdi, another participant.
The bamboo strips are boiled in dye water for almost an hour with different colours for the colourful pattern. After that, the strips are washed properly to prevent the colours from sticking on hands while weaving.
“It doesn’t seem that hard. We understand while he teaches us. It’s just like weaving the pattern. We can copy and weave it from other Bangchungs now. We realize that till now we have been wasting our resources in the forest. We couldn’t produce anything out of it. Now we will make use of it and make earnings too,” added Melay Wangzin.
“We didn’t have a budget and we couldn’t collect from the members as we are all farmers. We are hoping to try our best from now onwards. We couldn’t get a trainer in the past. And a lack of such training has made us lose on so many opportunities,” added Phuntsho Wangdi.
Bamboos are mostly managed and utilised by the rural communities in Kheng regions and Kangpara in Trashigang to earn their livelihoods.
Thinley Dorji, Pema Gatshel
