Konkan Bamboo and Cane Development Centre (KONBAC) Verified listing

KONBAC is an independent non-profit CIBART majority owned organization which has developed into a self-sustaining institutional ecosystem and has a fully developed facility for designing, prototyping and producing premium bamboo products for Indian and international markets. It has in place mechanisms to link poor bamboo producers to larger lucrative markets and has already emerged as a model that is being emulated elsewhere in India and overseas. It has established several facilities/areas of expertise (both infrastructure based and human resource) within the organization…more

Konkan produces over 15 lakh tons of bamboo and more than 15,000 artisans work in the bamboo sector. KONBAC provides rural communities with training in cultivation, production processing and design, enterprise development, and marketing. KONBAC works from a Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Kudal, Maharashtra, equipped with high-pressure treatment and bamboo pre-processing facilities.

KONBAC produces round pole bamboo furniture, and is actively involved in constructing bamboo eco-resorts resorts in India and the Maldives. KONBAC has a dedicated facility in its CFC to mechanically process raw materials made to market specifications, ensuring quality in handicrafts. Artisans save time and are able to produce larger quantities of handcrafted goods. These activities have mainly benefited women; many are first-time earners.

KONBAC has used bamboo for cottages, gazebos, tree houses and other structures in Western India. The growing demand for eco-tourist villages and eco-friendly products rural communities with livelihoods and economic opportunities in its Kudal CFC to process and pre-fabricate construction kits locally to service the nearby resort and hotel market. The dedicated Construction Unit (CU) is also a training centre for members of the local community. Currently kits for a structures of 1,70,000 sq ft is being fabricated. Hundreds of local women, who produce internal mat fittings for bamboo structures also are beneficiaries.

The Kudal Centre is considered the most successful bamboo processing community initiative in India and can be adaptively replicated in different parts of the country.