Bamboo in the rural life of hill tracts of the Western Ghats

Abstract

Bamboos arc an important component ol (he locusts of the Western tihats, ami muat have played a significant role in the life of people since time immemorial. The earliest uses for people in the hunting-gathering stage must have included the construction of hunting implements and shelter, and use of shoots und seeds as food. When agriculture was taken up, bamboo began to play tin important role in the construction of various agricultural implements, grain storage bins and the more elaborate houses of the farming communities. The use of bamboo by the farming communities is illustrated by a detailed survey of an Uttaia Kannada village. The pastorals depend on bamboo as fodder especially in the summer when the grass dries up In the simpler tribal and pastoral communities bamboo is worked by ail members However, in the more complex agricultural society some communities devote themselves entirely to bamboo working In years of seeding, seed collection may provide subsistence to many rural communities The modern use of bamboo in industry dates from the last half century Fiior to that bamboo was considered a weed by foresters; now that it is a valuable commodity, its availability for the local population has steeply declined due to over exploitation This poses considerable hardships to the rural population. Key Words: Bamboo, Western Glials, Basket-weavers, Paper mills