The beauty of bamboo

Bamboo furniture with its rustic charm is a sustainable alternative to composite wood furniture

By Rachana Ramesh

While the wood pecker crafts things out of wood, the artisans at Bamboopecker craft things out of bamboo. “That’s what inspired our logo. If you notice, the lines in our logo are staggered to represent bamboo” , says Suman Roddam, director of Bamboopecker. Through innovation and design, the label provides sustainable alternatives to products used in everyday lives -- from glamorous lighting pieces to comfy sofas.

The shop, located at St Marks Circle, sells day-to-day products used in the areas of kitchen and dining, home and garden, personal care, and even fashion. They also customise spaces, be it the foundation of a home or the construction of a rooftop -- all in bamboo.

“Let’s try something with bamboo”, that’s how Bamboopecker started, says Roddam. Parameswaran K Iyer, the founder, noticed a demand for bamboo and was mesmerised by the designs and the diverse applications bamboo has. He then got in touch with Susanth CS (who heads the bamboo initiative at the National Institute of Design), who guided him to make one piece of furniture -- a bamboo chair. The initiative with the addition of more artisans expanded. In 2012, they hit a roadblock and for the next three years, Parameswaran just conducted talks and workshops about the importance of bamboo and sustainability. “

In 2013 , I joined . Parameswaran had a small network of artisans who he knew and could bank on. I teamed up with him as we have the same outlook,” says Suman. An engineer by profession, Suman helped in bringing a technological edge into the world of artisans. “The final crafting is done by hand while the material preparation is done by the machine which cuts down the time”, he added.

The urban market works on strict deadlines and Roddam believes technological increments are very much necessary. At Bamboopecker, they strive to reduce manufacturing times by marrying design and machinery, helping artisans to produce more in a shorter time. Machinery also helps to employ the unskilled at villages and decouples handmade from processing.

“It’s not business-centric but is artisan-centric. It essentially means that our main goal is to bridge the gap between the artisans and the community or urban market”, says Roddam.

Bamboopecker became home to artisans with the start of their studio built by natural materials -- bamboo, maida, mud, and more. “We did it to set an example, not only for our artisans but also for our customers. If they want to build any structure, they can actually come, see, and understand how the concept of sustainability can be incorporated into their homes”, says he. This working studio is also used to train new artisans in turn helping build the craft community.

They source items from artisans in Orissa, West Bengal, all of the seven sisters up in the Northeast, Kerala , and Tamil Nadu.“They don’t like to move out of their comfort zones. We went to their homes, stayed for weeks, understood their culture, their materials and then pitched the incorporation of a new design that the urban market has not witnessed”, says Roddam.

It has taken them five years to get comfortable using traditional methods to make new crafts. Their string lights are the newest introduction from this particular venture. “Sometimes you marry two artisans together. One is good with bamboo, the other with murals, you can bring them together to make beautiful keychains”, says he.

Bamboo pecker does not have an in-house designer. With the help of designers and interns, the Bamboopecker churns out new designs. They have also collaborated with Shanthamani Muddaiah, a well-known sculptor, and have built bamboo structures based on her design.

Kamakshi Vellore, their retail head, says people buy sustainability and that the common norm of sustainability being pricey is not true. “I have seen the prices decrease through the years, it’s also a current strategy we are working on”, says she.