profile_photo
kamesh
SALAM
Bamboo
Crusader
Kamesh Salam, the Founder and Executive Director, South Asia Bamboo Foundation, former president, World Bamboo Organisation, founder of World Bamboo Day, and Co Founder of Bamboo Global Summit is on visit of Goa to from January 15 and would deliver a talk on Bamboo, the green Gold at the Surendrabab Timblo auditorium of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries, on Monday, January 18 at 3.30pm
Nandkumar M Kamat is a doctorate in microbiology, a scientist and science writer


BY DR. NANDKUMAR M KAMAT



There is an Asian saying: “A man is born in a bamboo cradle and goes away in a bamboo coffin. Everything in between is possible with bamboo!” A list of one thousand products is available on http://www.guaduabamboo. com/uses/products-made-from-bamboo. Bamboo, a non wood forest product, is considered Green Gold.

Kamesh Salam, the Founder and Executive Director, South Asia Bamboo Foundation, former president, World Bamboo Organisation, founder of World Bamboo Day, and Co Founder of Bamboo Global Summit is on visit of Goa to from January 15 and would deliver a talk on Bamboo, the green Gold at the Surendrabab Timblo auditorium of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industries, on Monday, January 18 at 3.30pm. This interaction is organized by Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB) to educate people on bamboo biodiversity and its propagation in Goa. Bamboo is an indispensable part of landscape of Western Ghats and Goa and integral part of Goa’s culture.

Ancient village communities in Goa carefully planted thick bamboo groves as bioshields to break the energy of winds and to provide useful building materials. Village artisans made mattresses, baskets, containers and many useful things from bamboo. Flutes made from Bamboo were very popular as ethnomusicological blow instruments in Goa. In archery and hunting bows and arrows made from bamboo were employed. Angling and sport fishing also used fishing rods made from bamboo. Bamboos were employed for biofencing, as scaffolds, for erecting pandals. Many mud houses incorporated bamboos as reinforcement. Bamboos are also used as indoor ornamental species and for beautiful landscaping. Tender bamboo shoots “quills” harvested during monsoon were consumed plentifully. Food historian K T Achaya mentions use of tender bamboo leaves as edible item in ‘Ramayana’ and extract of green bamboo stems by Jain monks. The people in Kurga/Kodagu produce Baimblay a bamboo shoot dish. Bamboo rice or grains of Bamboo are used to produce ‘rajannaakki’ a royal dish. Cultivation of bamboo does not need much expenditure and it can come

up on any type of soil. Bamboo called Green Gold and non wood forest product of future has huge potential in Goa especially in urban forestry, agroforestry, landscaping for ecotourism, ecofriendly architecture and backward integration for bamboo based industries. Therefore we need to welcome the initiative of GSBB to invite Kamesh Salam, a skilled Bamboo management Consultant with 25 years experience in the bamboo sector. He has tremendous experience in bamboo processing, skill development, capacity building, planning. Kamesh is a machinery and development strategies expert. He has rich experience at management level with the community in development work in the bamboo and rattan processing and manufacturing industries. From 2008 to 2010, Kamesh was president of World Bamboo Organization, (WBO) based at Boston, USA, an NPO to facilitate the exchange of Information from around the world on the environmental, socioeconomic, biological and cultural aspects of bamboo. From 2004 for seven years he had served as Director of Cane and Bamboo Technology Center, (CBTC), India while also acting as technical coordinator, Bamboo Technology Support Group for National Bamboo Mission for North East India, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal for the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operation, Government of India. Kamesh contributed handsomely as Member, National Apex/Steering Committee of National Bamboo Mission Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India for five years and offered consultancy to UNIDO in Ghana, Timor Leste, Ethiopia, and Uganda. He was Consultant to Royal Government of Bhutan. Government of India gave him opportunity to promote Bamboo in North East and FICCI nominated him on North East Advisory Committee. Kamesh needs to be credited for organization of VIII World Bamboo Congress 2009 at Bangkok, Thailand. He promoted the idea of “World Bamboo Day Celebrations” on September 18 since 2009. He organized Global Bamboo Summit at 10th World Bamboo Congress at Damyang, south Korea. UNIDO appreciated his relentless work to champion Bamboo and supported BAMFEST and BAMTECH in North East India and SE Asia and Africa As demonstrated by Bamboo and Cane
craftsmen from North Eastern states of India, there is huge potential for Bamboo in handicrafts.
Kamesh worked as Member of All India Handicraft Board of Ministry of Textiles, Govt. of India and on Board of Director, North East Handicrafts and Handloom Dev Corpn. Ltd. (NEHHDC). He was tasked with preparation of master plans on Bamboo development for National Bamboo Mission of India besides for Government of Mizoram, Nagaland, Manipur, Republic of Timor Leste, Royal Government of Bhutan and other clients. He understood the need for attracting more investment in Bamboo sector and organized an Investment meet on South Asia on Bamboo during the IX World Bamboo Congress at Antwerp, Belgium in 2012. He came out with an illustrated book ‘GREEN GOLD’ as chief editor for National Bamboo Mission and contributed effectively to promote bamboo with more than 200 publications. He has been involved in organization of Bamboo Policy Workshops in Kochi, Kerala and Bhopal, MP in past two years. It can be seen from his accomplishments that here is an expert which state like Goa which respects, uses and relishes Bamboo needs as a dependable guide.

GSBB has sent invitations to community biodiversity committees established in several villages. These committees should not remain on paper. The tribals of Goa have a lot of knowledge about traditional uses of Bamboo. Therefore the department of tribal welfare and semi government agencies likes Goa Forest Development Corporation need to focus on tribal areas to promote cultivation of many useful species of Bamboo under the guidance of Kamesh Salam.

Goa can also benefit additionally as Bamboo acts as a huge carbon sink to mitigate global warming. If more than ten thousand hectares of land areas including khazan embankments, eroded hill slopes, perimetre of industrial estates, mining areas are brought under large scale Bamboo cultivation then the Green Gold can create many new and sustainable job opportunities in Goa. State government, NGOs, farmers, mining companies, hoteliers and corporate sector of Goa should fully utilize the knowledge and expertise of Green Gold crusader Kamesh Salam.