In a quiet nook of Dhekerghat, North-West Jorhat, the rhythmic sounds of chisels and hammers inform a narrative of resilience. Right here, amongst piles of bamboo poles stacked neatly exterior a modest workshop, goals are being formed into greater than furnishings. They’re being carved into livelihoods, dignity, and world recognition.

On the coronary heart of all of it is Prabhat Saikia, a craftsman turned changemaker, whose journey from a village workshop to the world stage reveals what occurs when ardour meets perseverance.

At a time when unemployment stays one in all Assam’s biggest challenges, Saikia has not solely created alternatives for himself but in addition opened doorways for others to thrive. That is the story of 1 man’s imaginative and prescient to take Assam’s conventional bamboo craft from native markets to worldwide acclaim — and of the voices which have walked alongside him.

Planting the seeds of a dream

The yr was 2006 when Saikia first leapt into the unsure world of entrepreneurship. With modest means however boundless dedication, he launched a small bamboo and cane handicraft unit underneath a improvement programme of the Block Improvement Workplace in North-West Jorhat.

“I used to be fascinated by the magnificence of bamboo,” recollects Saikia. “It was in all places round us, but typically neglected. I wished to indicate that bamboo might be greater than on a regular basis utility — it might be artistry, magnificence, even structure.”

However turning that fascination right into a sustainable enterprise was removed from simple. The primary few years have been marked by struggles. Orders have been sporadic, sources restricted, and the thought of bamboo furnishings appeared too area of interest.

But Saikia refused to surrender. By 2008, he restructured the workshop and renamed it Mrs Saikia Bamboo Business — a tribute to his household’s help and his personal perception in contemporary beginnings.

Persistence paid off. By 2011–12, the identify “Saikia” had develop into acquainted throughout Assam. His finely crafted bamboo furnishings earned recognition for its mix of custom and sturdiness. What began in a village workshop was slowly changing into a model.

The massive problem: constructing past furnishings

Success didn’t make him complacent. Saikia started to think about how bamboo might be utilized in architectural areas, not simply houses. Eco-resorts, cottages, even large-scale constructions — all this, he believed, was doable with the proper innovation.

One hurdle stood in the best way: sturdiness. “Bamboo, by nature, is perishable,” says Saikia. “If it isn’t handled correctly, it won’t final. That was the most important problem.”

Decided to beat it, he collaborated with the Rainforest Analysis Institute, Jorhat, the place he educated in remedy methods. He experimented with modifications till he developed a course of that might guarantee long-lasting merchandise.

This innovation was a turning level. Bamboo was not fragile — it was robust sufficient to construct houses.

Recognition quickly adopted. From the Gandhi Shilpi Award in Manipur to the Luit Poriya Lifetime Award, and even a Particular Artist Recognition from the Chief Minister of Assam, Saikia’s artistry was celebrated throughout India.

By 2018, he was licensed as a grasp coachunderneath the Handicrafts Improvement Fee, cementing his position as each craftsman and mentor.

Creating livelihoods for artisans

In his workshop, round twenty younger artisans sit bent over worktables, chiselling, weaving, and sanding bamboo into elegant shapes. For them, this area is greater than a office. It’s a probability to construct livelihoods in their very own villages reasonably than migrate to cities in the hunt for unsure jobs.

“Earlier than I joined right here, I used to be unemployed for months,” shares Raju, who has been working with Saikia for 4 years. “In our space, getting a gradual earnings is troublesome until you progress to the cities. However right here, I can earn, study, and keep near my household.”

For Raju, the workshop can also be a classroom. “Saikia sir teaches us not simply tips on how to reduce or form bamboo, however tips on how to assume in another way. He says bamboo might be something we think about — furnishings, homes, even export materials. That conjures up us to see worth in one thing we grew up taking without any consideration.”

Raju factors proudly to a completed chair prepared for dispatch. “Once we hear that our work goes to Delhi or overseas, it appears like our personal fingers are travelling the world.”

Crossing borders with craft

Saikia’s work has now travelled far past Assam. Lately, he was invited as chief coach at a global bamboo workshop in Diktel District, Nepal, underneath the “Bamboo Mission” in collaboration with China and the Netherlands.

For practically two months, he educated artisans from throughout international locations, sharing methods honed in Jorhat’s small lanes.

He returned to Nepal once more this June to steer one other workshop, additional reinforcing his repute as a global coach. But even within the midst of this recognition, Saikia stays grounded.

“Assam is the largest producer of bamboo in India,” he factors out. “We provide bamboo to so many industries throughout the nation. And nonetheless, we’re far behind locations like China and even Nepal with regards to bamboo-based industries. The issue will not be potential. The issue is help and expertise.”

Saikia believes that with institutional backing, Assam might develop into a hub for bamboo-based enterprises, creating hundreds of jobs. “A well-crafted bamboo product right this moment can fetch wherever between Rs 5,000 and Rs 8,000. That’s the form of alternative our youth deserve.”

Heritage become fashionable dwelling

Whereas Saikia and his employees create, others be sure that their craft reaches new markets. Anil Sharma, a distributor who recurrently handles consignments of bamboo furnishings and ornamental items from Saikia’s workshop, has seen demand develop.

“Once I first began working with Prabhat, I puzzled if bamboo furnishings would promote in city markets. Individuals considered it as rural or non permanent,” Sharma explains. “However the high quality of his work modified minds. The designs are fashionable, sturdy, and eco-friendly. Clients in Guwahati, Delhi, and Bengaluru at the moment are asking for them.”

For distributors like Sharma, the attraction lies in authenticity. “Consumers need merchandise that inform a narrative. Once I say these items come from artisans in Jorhat, crafted with handled bamboo, individuals are instantly . It’s not simply furnishings; it’s heritage become fashionable dwelling.”

He believes the worldwide publicity is simply the start. “If Nepal and China see worth in what Saikia teaches, there isn’t any purpose why Europe or America won’t. Bamboo is the way forward for sustainable dwelling, and other people like Prabhat are exhibiting India the best way.”

A collective journey

The success of Saikia’s enterprise doesn’t belong to him alone. It belongs equally to the artisans who discover pleasure of their craft and to the distributors who carry their work into houses throughout India. It’s a collective journey the place every voice provides power.

Wanting again, Saikia displays: “To start with, there have been days once I doubted myself. Orders weren’t coming in, and cash was tight. However I reminded myself why I began — to indicate the world what Assam’s bamboo might develop into. That stored me going.”

In the present day, his workshop in Dhekerghat is proof that goals rooted in custom can flourish globally. Heritage, when nurtured with innovation, can develop into a supply of livelihoods and recognition for complete communities.

The highway forward

For Assam, the place lakhs of educated youth wrestle to seek out secure employment, Saikia’s journey carries a message of hope. Bamboo, a useful resource that grows abundantly within the state, might be remodeled right into a thriving business that preserves tradition whereas addressing unemployment.

The artisans in Saikia’s workshop already embody that future. Every chair, desk, or ornamental piece they produce isn’t just a product however an emblem of resilience, creativity, and alternative. Distributors carry these symbols into city markets, whereas worldwide workshops carry them throughout borders.

As Saikia says, “Bamboo has all the time been a part of our lives right here. The problem is to see it not simply as grass however as gold. If we deal with it proper, promote it proper, it could possibly change lives.”

From a humble workshop in Jorhat to worldwide platforms in Nepal, from struggling beginnings to changing into a grasp coach, Saikia’s story is one in all imaginative and prescient realised by relentless effort. It is usually the story of younger artisans discovering work of their villages and distributors taking Assam’s heritage to new audiences.

Within the rhythmic sound of bamboo being formed in Dhekerghat lies a robust reality: native goals, when pursued with braveness, can resonate on world phases. And in each product leaving Saikia’s workshop, there isn’t just bamboo, however a chunk of Assam’s soul.

Why Bamboo is an environmental powerhouse 

• Bamboo isn’t simply robust and versatile — it delivers highly effective ecological benefits.

• It grows extraordinarily quick, with many species maturing in 3–5 years, making it a a lot faster renewable useful resource than hardwood timber.

• Its dense root system helps maintain soil collectively, lowering erosion and stabilising landscapes, particularly in erosion-prone areas like Assam.

• A examine in Uncover Forests (Uttarakhand) discovered that bamboo plantations assist restore degraded land because of their fast progress, low water wants, excessive biomass yield, and carbon sequestration potential.

• Bamboo is an wonderful carbon sink, absorbing CO₂ at a excessive charge and storing it in each above-ground biomass and root techniques.

• Analysis in ScienceDirect reveals woody bamboo species can sequester 6–13 Mg C per hectare per yr, with complete biomass carbon storage starting from 30–121 Mg C per hectare.

Edited by Vidya Gowri Venkatesh

Sources: 

‘Managing woody bamboos for carbon farming and carbon buying and selling‘: by Arun Jyoti Nath, Printed on 9 March 2015.

‘Exploring bamboo’s potential in financial returns and degraded land restoration in Uttarakhand, India‘: by Shikha Uniyal Gairola, Printed on 13 June 2025.