Ankit Kumar Changawala from Veer Narmad South Gujarat College, just lately patented a chair crafted from Bambusa bamboo, a regionally ample 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 pleasure of their bamboo produce.

This number of bamboo is sturdy and splendid for changing into furnishings. Nevertheless, 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 among 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, robust, 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 path.

“I used to be pursuing a diploma in civil engineering, thinking it’d assist me in designing issues. Nevertheless, 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 pursue his curiosity, he determined to enrol in an inside design course at Veer Narmad South Gujarat College (VNSGU).

At present, he serves as an assistant professor on the identical college. “Educating made me realise how a lot I take pleasure in 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 concept 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 ample 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 talent, 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 training 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 realized that the youthful generations of those craftsmen have 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 looking for jobs. So, I made a decision to create daily-use furnishings with fashionable designs to enchantment to city shoppers,” he explains.

In 2021, Ankit, together with a number of college students and 4 native craftsmen, launched into creating sustainable but fashionable designs.

Sturdy, Sustainable and Trendy

Step one for Ankit was to grasp the bamboo. “As designers, we work with measurements however these conventional craftsmen have their very own means 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 group. They have been at their finest kind after they have been utilizing their very own conventional machines and supplies. I used to go to their workshops so as to work on the chair,” he says.

Speaking about Bambusa bamboo, he says, “I selected Bambusa as a result of it has an incredible 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 robust.”

Moreover, the variability can also be abundantly out there within the space. “There are various corporations making furnishings from bamboo imported from totally different international locations. If you happen to go browsing and attempt to discover a easy piece of furnishings made out of bamboo, will probably 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 reasonably priced and low-cost.

“There isn’t any level in making a product that the lots can’t afford. It defeats your entire 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 undertaking, 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 could not have occurred. Traders would lack confidence within the concept because it was new again then,” he says.

It took Ankit almost 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 may possibly endure weights of greater than 150 kg, and the furnishings has additionally been handled to guard in opposition to any form of bugs. The lifetime of the chair is as much as 20 years,” he says.

Ankit doesn’t need to commercialise the chair. “I’ve obtained quite a few inquiries about whether or not I’m promoting these chairs. Nevertheless, my objective shouldn’t be revenue or loss. My goal is to lift consciousness and supply coaching,” he says. 

“At present, I’m engaged on a proposal to current to my college to provoke a program the place people can come and discover ways to make chairs and collaborate with me to create extra furnishings. This method will permit me to coach craftsmen in producing sustainable but fashionable furnishings,” he explains.

To view Ankit’s patent, go to this hyperlink.

If you happen to want to get in contact with Ankit, You may attain him at 9879262737.

(Edited by Padmashree Pande; All footage credit score: Ankit)