Chingam used to be a month of roaring sales till last year, but the pandemic has left thousands of traditional bamboo workers in the State, most of them women, in dire straits.
The industry itself is reeling under the unprecedented challenge with difficulties in sourcing reed and marketing the products due to COVID-19 related restrictions.
“We make household products like reed baskets and winnowing boards, but the virus has left no marketing window open for us. Usually, our wares have high demand during the season of Pooram and Onam, but this year most festivals were cancelled. We have been struggling for the past few months and at present it is nearly impossible for us to sell our products or procure raw material,” says Sreevally from Thrissur, a traditional bamboo worker for the last two decades.
The bamboo industry in Kerala has a largely female workforce. Kerala State Bamboo Corporation Ltd produces a range of value-added products and these women weave the reed mats (panambu) that are used for making plywood.
“The pandemic has rendered the women, 70% of whom are over the age of 60, jobless. The staff strength of one of our units fell from 70 to 18, as elderly women are now not allowed to work. Since they can’t come due to the restrictions, our production has hit an all-time low and both the parties have been affected,” says K.J. Jacob, chairman, Kerala State Bamboo Corporation Ltd.
Another issue faced by the sector is scarcity of reed as Bamboo Corporation, the only body authorised to supply the raw material, couldn’t harvest enough quantity to meet the demand.
With restrictions on movement and some areas falling into containment zone, there has been a deep dip in the volume. “Our products are sold easily, but the shortage of raw material and manpower has brought the industry to a standstill. We could collect minimal reed during this season that has been dispatched to traditional workers at different places,” adds Mr. Jacob.
According to Santhosh Kumar N., secretary of Green Gold Society (GGS), a collective of bamboo workers, over one lakh persons across the State depend on the industry for their livelihood. “Apart from those who make bamboo wares and reed mats, there are several artisans who design handicrafts along with those who work in construction. But 90% of them are not registered workers that leaves them outside all welfare schemes of the government,” he says.
Most of the workers belong to underprivileged communities who rely upon on local markets and door-to-door sales. “They are the worst-hit section and their issues remain unaddressed,” he adds.
