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Ankit Kumar Changawala from Veer Narmad South Gujarat College, just lately patented a chair crafted from Bambusa bamboo, a domestically considerable number of South Gujarat, to advertise the usage of bamboo in furnishings making.
Within the wealthy tapestry of South Gujarat, bamboo stands out as one of many area’s prides. The world is famend for its manufacturing of Bambusa Bamboo, a local species valued for its power and sturdiness. The tribals of the area take nice satisfaction of their bamboo produce.
This number of bamboo is sturdy and ideally suited for changing into furnishings. Nonetheless, not many have absolutely harnessed the fabric’s potential.
Talking concerning the plant with The Higher India, Professor Ankit Kumar Changawala states, “Bamboo is the long run.”
Ankit is likely one of the few people who’ve made efforts to utilise the fabric to its fullest extent, just lately acquiring a patent for a bamboo chair.
“The chair is sturdy, sturdy, and might last as long as 20 years. It’s the first bamboo chair to be patented in India,” he informs.
Sustainability meets design
Raised in Surat, Ankit had all the time needed to pursue design, however he lacked course.
“I used to be pursuing a diploma in civil engineering, thinking it’d assist me in designing issues. Nonetheless, throughout the course, I realised it was not one thing I needed to pursue. It was my professor’s brother, an inside designer, whose work impressed me and made me realise my true ardour,” says Ankit.
Confused about the way to pursue his curiosity, he determined to enrol in an inside design course at Veer Narmad South Gujarat College (VNSGU).
Presently, he serves as an assistant professor on the identical college. “Educating made me realise how a lot I get pleasure from it. I discovered my true calling in each designing and educating college students about it,” he says.
When requested about his introduction to bamboo and his thought of a bamboo chair, he recollects, “I used to be given the chance to attend a workshop in 2019 in Manipur. The World Bamboo Workshop was the primary symposium in India targeted on bamboo and its makes use of.”
The symposium profoundly modified Ankit’s notion of bamboo. Beforehand, there was merely considerable vegetation within the area. “I might see its untapped potential and the way it was being wasted. Moreover, I found a group of bamboo artisans whose craft was fading,” he explains.
“The Kotwaliyas within the area are famend for his or her ability, however sadly, their artwork was being uncared for and dying,” he provides.
Ankit additionally started educating his college students about the advantages of utilizing Bambusa bamboo.
“Whereas I used to be within the course of of teaching extra individuals and reaching out to craftsmen, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, disrupting the whole lot,” he says.
Throughout this era, Ankit encountered craftsmen struggling as a result of decline in tourism. “I discovered that the youthful generations of those craftsmen had been reluctant to proceed the custom as they noticed no future in bamboo,” he shares.
For Ankit, demonstrating the immense potential of bamboo grew to become essential. “I didn’t need them to desert their craft and migrate to cities in the hunt for jobs. So, I made a decision to create daily-use furnishings with trendy designs to enchantment to city customers,” he explains.
In 2021, Ankit, together with a number of college students and 4 native craftsmen, launched into creating sustainable but trendy designs.
Sturdy, Sustainable and Fashionable
Step one for Ankit was to grasp the bamboo. “As designers, we work with measurements however these conventional craftsmen have their very own manner of working. We realised how the wooden in bamboo in direction of the decrease finish was stronger and thicker than the higher finish,” he says.
To make the craftsmen snug and win their confidence, Ankit took his designs to their workshops. “I needed to make them really feel snug and work as a workforce. They had been at their finest type after they had been utilizing their very own conventional machines and supplies. I used to go to their workshops as a way to work on the chair,” he says.
Speaking about Bambusa bamboo, he says, “I selected Bambusa as a result of it has an amazing load-bearing capability. It’s long-lasting and durable sufficient for use for a very long time. The knots within the selection are very shut making it very sturdy.”
Moreover, the variability can also be abundantly obtainable within the space. “There are lots of corporations making furnishings from bamboo imported from completely different nations. In the event you log on and attempt to discover a easy piece of furnishings made out of bamboo, it will likely be fairly costly. The reason being easy — as a result of they don’t seem to be utilizing Indian bamboo,” he says.
Ankit provides that he used a local selection as a result of he needed to maintain the price of the chair inexpensive and low-cost.
“There is no such thing as a level in making a product that the lots can’t afford. It defeats the whole sustainability angle behind the product,” he says. “Gujarat authorities has additionally launched loads of schemes for the farmers to encourage them to develop the plant,” he says.
As for the price of funding the mission, he says, “I did it out of my very own pocket. I knew if I had gone out on the lookout for funding then this is able to not have occurred. Traders would lack confidence within the thought because it was new again then,” he says.
It took Ankit practically two years to finish the design and make the chair.
“In 2023, I made a decision to go forward and get the chair patented. The primary purpose behind it was to showcase the potential of native bamboo species to the world. As soon as my design acquired patented, it generated a dialog amongst individuals concerning the potential of bamboo,” he says.
Talking concerning the chair, Ankit explains, “The polish on the chair is completed utilizing pure oils. It could possibly endure weights of greater than 150 kg, and the furnishings has additionally been handled to guard towards any type of bugs. The lifetime of the chair is as much as 20 years,” he says.
Ankit doesn’t wish to commercialise the chair. “I’ve obtained quite a few inquiries about whether or not I’m promoting these chairs. Nonetheless, my objective will not be revenue or loss. My purpose is to boost consciousness and supply coaching,” he says.
“Presently, I’m engaged on a proposal to current to my college to provoke a program the place people can come and learn to make chairs and collaborate with me to create extra furnishings. This strategy will permit me to coach craftsmen in producing sustainable but trendy furnishings,” he explains.
To view Ankit’s patent, go to this hyperlink.
In the event you want to get in contact with Ankit, You’ll be able to attain him at 9879262737.
(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All photos credit score: Ankit)
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