Tripura Bamboo Mission (TBM)

The Government of Tripura has introduced the Tripura Bamboo Mission to afford a dynamic and robust platform to the tribal and rural community of Tripura who depends on the bamboo sector for their livelihood. The Mission was created under the Department of Industries and Commerce to focus more on bamboo resource availability in the state. In this article, we look at the Tripura Bamboo Mission in detail.

Objectives of TBM

The objectives of the TBM are as follows:

To sustain the growth reached in the bamboo sector and increase the current turnover to 200 crores.
Build the bamboo sector as a major livelihood provider and provide employment opportunities to 20,000 poor producers in the industry.

Intervention

The Mission has come up with the strategy document for all the sub-sector of bamboo with the required investment and turnover potential.
The project is being implemented in a Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL& FS) Clusters, and a cluster development approach with the integration of institution building, technological linkage, market facilitation and credit facilitation with resource up-gradation is made.
This project is implemented mainly for the benefits of women and the people who comprise of the poorest sections of the population in the state.
IL and FS clusters have deployed a multi-skilled team in Tripura and have built a network of partners and domain experts to undertake the implementation.

Project Implementation

The Mission focuses on skill training of the artisans, farmers and entrepreneurs involved in the bamboo sector based on the need of the trainee. The activities engaged under the project are unique with an integrated approach during pre-training, training and post-training phases.

Pre-Training Phase

Identification of the Product: The TBM team identifies the product based on the feedback and market demand. Identification of the Skill Gap: During the mobilisation of artisans, the skill gaps of each of the artisans are being mapped and grouped for training on a specific skill. Mobilisation of the Artisans into Producer Groups: The artisans who are interested in skill training are excepted to form one group of their own. Each artisan producer group should hold a bank account, required books and records, working shed and some working capital to undertake the production. Backward and Forward Marketing Agreement: Each producer group has a contract with some of the leading entrepreneurs for marketing the products formally. Training of Trainers: All the cluster managers, cluster coordinators along with master trainers from the respective clusters are being trained regularly.

Training Phase

Imparting of Training: The training provided by TBM is divided into two categories such as domain skill and soft skill. The domain skill training is mostly customised to meet the need of the local artisans, entrepreneurs and the products that are to be produced and marketed. The soft skill training includes book maintenance, accounting, group management, leadership training, marketing, behavioural training, health safety and hygiene at the workplace.

Post-training Phase

Hand Holding the Trained Group: All the groups covered under the training are monitored every week in terms their production, book maintenance, quality control and supply order executed. Execution of Market orders: The TBM trade facilitation cell provides marketing linkage to the entire producer groups regularly.

Impact

Skill training to over 43000 persons in different aspect of handicraft and resource generation is performed. Over 60 producer groups (SHGs, Societies) are promoted through TMB. Promotion of bamboo plantation in private lands in with support from MGNREGA, JICA etc. is made over last 4 years covering around 1700 farmers. TBM has so far exceeded in not only consolidating the bamboo sector in Tripura but has also initiated several activities for value addition and scaling up of the production to realise the market potential of the industry.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Tripura Bamboo Mission: Empowering Rural Communities.

The Tripura Bamboo Mission (TBM) is an initiative by the Government of Tripura to provide a robust platform for the tribal and rural communities who depend on the bamboo sector for their livelihood. The mission aims to sustain and grow the bamboo industry in the state.

The key objectives of the TBM are to increase the current turnover of the bamboo sector to 200 crores and provide employment opportunities to 20,000 poor producers in the industry. Additionally, it aims to build the bamboo sector as a major livelihood provider.

The TBM project is being implemented in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS) Clusters. It follows a cluster development approach with the integration of institution building, technological linkage, market facilitation, and credit facilitation with resource up-gradation.

The TBM project is primarily designed to benefit women and the poorest sections of the population in the state, who are involved in the bamboo sector.

The TBM project involves three main phases: pre-training, training, and post-training. These phases cover activities such as identification of products and skill gaps, mobilization of artisans, skill training, hand-holding, and execution of market orders.

The TBM provides skill training to artisans, farmers, and entrepreneurs involved in the bamboo sector. The training is divided into domain skill training, which is customized to meet the specific needs of the local artisans and products, and soft skill training, which includes book maintenance, accounting, group management, and marketing.

The TBM has a trade facilitation cell that provides regular marketing linkages to the producer groups formed under the mission. It also facilitates backward and forward marketing agreements between the producer groups and leading entrepreneurs.

The TBM has provided skill training to over 43,000 individuals in different aspects of handicrafts and resource generation. It has promoted over 60 producer groups and supported bamboo plantation in private lands, covering around 1,700 farmers.

The TBM supports bamboo plantation in private lands by providing support from schemes such as MGNREGA and JICA. Over the last four years, around 1,700 farmers have been covered under this initiative.

The TBM follows an integrated approach towards promoting the bamboo sector in Tripura. It focuses on skill development, institution building, technological linkages, market facilitation, credit facilitation, and resource up-gradation, involving all stakeholders in the bamboo value chain.