Uravu Green Office a crowd-puller at Kerala Bamboo Festival

KOCHI: If you are looking to turn your house and office space eco-friendly, the stalls at the 15th Kerala Bamboo Festival at Ernakulathappan ground in Kochi will help to a great extent. Bamboo rice, ornaments, decorative goods, kitchen equipment and furniture made of bamboo are on display at the festival.

Wayanad-based bamboo products making unit, Uravu, has come out with a ‘Green Office’ concept at the festival. All the equipment required for setting up an office are made of bamboo and they are attracting crowds. “The equipment list includes pens, pencils, pen stands, files, table calendars and laptop stands. Similarly, office furniture made of bamboo, including table, chair, stand, are also on display. A model Green Office has also been set up at the festival,” stated a release from the organisers.

Similarly, a vertical garden has also been set up by Uravu. Uravu is functioning at a small village named Thrikkaipetta in Wayanad district. It was started for the development of the village and its residents. Ninety percent of the workforce comprises women of the hamlet. Uravu also has a bamboo nursery and an art gallery made of bamboo. It is also providing bamboo products online.

The 15th Kerala Bamboo Festival, which displays an array of bamboo products from artisans spread across 10 states, began on Friday. Around 162 stalls exhibiting handicrafts are part of the festival.
As many as 200 artisans making handicrafts, 15 handicraft companies from Kerala are taking part in the event. Artisans from Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Assam, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are also attending the exhibition. Similarly, bamboo research agencies are part of the festival. 

The varieties of bamboo that can be grown on the home premises and farms with a cost ranging from R 25 to R1,000 are attracting crowds. 

A workshop attended by experts in bamboo-related industries will be held at the Centre Hotel in Kochi on December 10 and 11. National Bamboo Mission director Alka Bharghav will inaugurate the workshop.
To promote bamboo products, the state government has been conducting bamboo festival in December at Kochi since 2005. The stalls will open at 11 am and close at 9 pm. The festival will conclude on December 11.