Wood has been used for centuries as a common material in construction of buildings and other structures. Similarly Bamboo has a long and well established tradition for being used as a construction material throughout the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. With the rising global concern, bamboo is a critical resource as it is very efficient in sequestering carbon and helps in reduction of Green House gas emissions.
In the modern context when forest cover is fast depleting and availability of wood is increasingly becoming scarce, the research and development undertaken in past few decades have established and amply demonstrated that bamboo could be a viable substitute of wood and several other traditional materials for housing and building construction sector and several infrastructure works. Its use through industrial processing have shown a high potential for production of composite materials and components which are cost-effective and can be successfully utilized for structural and non-structural applications in construction of housing and buildings. Main characteristic features, which make bamboo as a potential building material are its high tensile strength and very good weight to strength ratio. It can withstand upto 3656 Kg/cm2 of pressure. It can be easily worked upon by simple tools and machines. The strength-weight ratio of bamboo also supports its use as a highly resilient material against forces created by high velocity winds and earthquakes. Above all bamboo is renewable raw material resource from agro-forestry and if properly treated and industrially processed, components made by bamboo can have a reasonable life of 30 to 40 years. Though natural durability of bamboo varies according to species and the types of treatments. Varied uses and applications in building construction have established bamboo as an environment-friendly, energy-efficient and cost-effective construction material. The commonly used species in construction are Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa bambos, Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus giganteous, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus asper, etc. Bamboo, a highly versatile resource and widely available, is being used as an engineering material for construction of houses and other buildings. Some of the application areas of bamboo inbuilding construction are Door Shutters, Flooring, Shuttering and Scaffolding and Roofing Sheets etc. A number of small and medium sized demonstration structures have already been constructed during past few years. These have shown very good performance in different climates. In order to propagate use of bamboo in housing andbuilding construction for wider application, awareness and confidence building amongst professionals and householders is required. This calls for organized actions on prototyping, demonstration, standardization aimed at improving acceptance levels and promoting appropriate construction practices.
The Government recognizes housing sector as a medium to generate more employment by strengthening production activities of environment-friendly and cost-effective building materials. As the housing and building construction industry is one of the largest consumers for natural mineral resources and forests, it is increasingly realized that innovative building materials and construction technologies which offer potential for environmental protection, employment generation, economy in construction and energy conservation, need to be encouraged as best options to meet the rising demand of housing in different regions of the country. Nearly 60 percent of the country’s area being prone to natural disasters like earthquakes, cyclones, floods etc, the Government Policy also lays emphasis on promoting design and construction of disaster resistant technologies for housing. Construction techniques using bamboo as main material have been found very suitable for earthquake resistant housing.
Building materials accounts for nearly 60 to 65% of the cost of house construction. With the constant rise in the cost of traditional building materials and with the poor affordability of large segments of our population the cost of an adequate house is increasingly going beyond the affordable limits of more than 30-35% of our population lying in the lower income segments. This calls for wide spread technology dissemination and availability at decentralized locations of cost-effective building materials and construction techniques.
Bamboo being a highly versatile resource and widely available needs to be adopted as an engineering material for construction of houses and other buildings. In order to propagate these for wider application, awareness and confidence building amongst professionals and householders is required. This calls for organised action on prototyping, demonstration, standardization aimed at improving acceptance levels and promoting appropriate construction practices. One of the key objectives of the National Mission on Bamboo is to promote value added products which are being commercially and industrially produced. Demonstration projects based on bambooapplications will help in creating high visibility for use of bamboo as a material for housing construction. Once the demand is built up, investment from entrepreneurs will automatically flow to enhance availability of bamboo based materials and components.
Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) under Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, is actively involved in developing bamboo based technologies and to promote these technologies in the North-Eastern Region and other bamboo growing areas, by setting up of Bamboo Mat Production Centers for processing of bamboo, encouraging commercial production of bamboo based products, construction of demonstration houses etc. The Council is also engaged in providing training to the local artisans in processing of bamboo.
The BMTPC in collaboration with Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (IPIRTI), Bangalore, have jointly developed a technology for manufacturing of Bamboo Mat Corrugated Sheet (BMCS) which is durable, strong, water-proof, and decay-insect-fire resistant. The commercial production has been started at Byrnihat, Meghalaya. The product has been accepted by the consumers and is becoming increasing popular as a roofing option in the north east part of the country. It is estimated that in full capacity this unit will generate livelihood for nearly 7000 women/ men (through mat weaving) in rural regions where bamboo is abundantly grown.
BMTPC has undertaken construction of 10 demonstration structures, each, using bamboo based technologies in Mizoram and Tripura. These include houses, OPD buildings, Library buildings, Picnic huts, Schools, etc. The cost of construction is considerably reduced by 25% to 30% using bamboo based technologies for different types of structures as compared to conventional construction. During constructing various types of structures local contractors, masons, artisans were provided training on use of bamboo in building construction. The specifications used are:
• Treated bamboo columns and beams,
• Ferrocement walls on bamboo grid reinforcement,
• Treated bamboo trusses, rafters and purlins,
• Bamboo mat board in wooden frames for door shutters,
• Bamboo mat corrugated roofing sheets,
• Locally available wood for door & window frames
• IPS flooring, etc.
BMTPC, in cooperation with Cane & Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC), Guwahati and State Governments, is establishing two Bamboo Mat Production Centres each in the States of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya. The main objectives of Bamboo Mat Production Centres are to provide uninterrupted supply of bamboo mats to the manufacturing units of bamboo based building components for increasing the productivity, quality, to provide training in mat production process and to create employment opportunities in the North Eastern region. In the first phase, the Council is setting up Bamboo Mat Product Centres at Kowaifung, Tripura; Sairang and Bualpui, Mizoram and Sokhar Nongtluh Village, Meghalaya. The Council has already completed establishment of Bamboo Mat Production Centres at Kowaifung, Tripura and Sairang, Mizoram. The Council in cooperation with CBTC is also providing training on bamboo mat production to the artisans from each Bamboo Mat Production Centres. The production capacity of each production centre will be 300 mats per day. It is estimated that the each Centre will be able to produce the mat at the rate of Rs.35 per mat and would be able to sell at the rate of Rs.45 per mat. This will provide employment generation of nearly 150 women/men per day i.e. 45,000 women/ men days per year per Centre. Besides the above, the Centres can also generate income by supplying bamboo sticks made out of bamboo waste, to the artisans for making handicraft items. The mats produced by Bamboo Mat Production Centresare likely to be utilized by various manufacturers who are producing Bamboo Mat Corrugated Roofing Sheets, Bamboo Mat Boards etc.
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