Bamboo and Building Industry Seminar

Seminar 'Bamboo and Building Industry' has given us necessary impetus to take further the work we have initiated in bringing bamboo-based building systems in the mainstream of construction industry.

It is due to the efforts and support provided by the NS Raghavan center for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL), at IIM-Bangalore that this task was made easier and enjoyable.

It is for the center and prof. Kalyani Gandhi that we could put forth the issue of sustainable building systems and role of bamboo in future of building industry from the platform and podium of the premier business institute of management in world like IIM-Bangalore.

The platform such as this ensures that business community and key stake-holders in the mainstream building industry will take a note of the emerging trends of bamboo based building systems. Professionals and organizations tend to listen and understand you with patience if you talk from this platform.

Seminar went on well. Speakers provided us with insights and perspectives of this sector from various viewpoints.

Ashwin Mahesh, founder-director of Mapunity was kind enough to agree to moderate the discussion during the course of the seminar. As it always happens there was a last minute hitch, Er. Vilas Gore, who was coming from Mumbai could not make it to the venue as the flight was cancelled.

Seminar as was planned happened in three segments, first segment 'Market Prospects' was very well put forth by Mr. C Hariharan, CEO, BCIL. Arguably the largest Sustainable Building Entreprise in India today.

He provided an all round perspective on what future lies for the sustainable and green building systems, and what are the avenues one can explore. He provided inputs from the experiences of what BCIL has been offering and doing for last 10 years or so.

There was a brief but interesting discussion that followed his presentation. Ashwin kicked off the discussion by putting a very critical question that haunts all the sustainable and green 'systems' of the day, that is how do you scale up? what deters and blocks the 'scale-up' nature of the sustainable technologies.


Ar. Jaigopal then provided a broad overview of the projects that his office has carried out along with Vilas Gore using bamboo for building applications. His work gave a vast range of various applications for which bamboo can be used from a fence to be used as composite wall panel or flooring system.

The next session, after a small tea-break was basically to throw light on various business-possibilities that bamboo offers for entrepreneurs to look at.

During this session we had representatives from some interesting and national level organizations who presented a vast range of applications that were already into market for the people and consumers to be used. It gave a glimpse of various products and systems that are already into offering using bamboo.

Dr. Gopalan gave a fascinating talk on the huge work on bamboo-composites being carried out by RV-TIFAC composite park headed by Dr. Gopalan himself. The range of products and applications using bamboo based composite materials like boards, panels and sheets gave a new perspective of how bamboo can be used.

Mr. Ajay Kumar, who represented National Mission on Bamboo Applications, a premier body set up by Government of India under the aegis of Dept. of Science and Technology, gave an overview of the work undertaken by NMBA in the area of structural applications of bamboo, specially what is largely known as engineered bamboo. They have been very active in developing and providing solutions in the pre-fabricated and easy-to-assemble building units.

Ar. George Joel, who represented CIBART - KONBAC, presented one of the works recently completed for MSTDC (State tourism development corporation). KONBAC is an organization set up and promoted by INBAR, International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, a multi-lateral organization with headquarters in China.

The Resort, basicaly developed along the lines of a Boat-houes, uses bamboo as primary building materials and its formation into interesting structural formations.

A small note for concluding remarks was presented by himself along with acknowledgments.

As a part of concluding remark, we announced that we shall initiate a network, what we call 'Friends of Bamboo', for all of those who are interested in bamboo and its applications in building industry. As a initiation of this network, we gave away a sapling of bamboo plant each to all those who were interested and asked them to water the plant twice a week and spend 10 minutes every week on thinking about bamboo and how it can used.