People Online Support Tripura Artisans’ Bamboo Bottles To Help Livelihood Of Tribals

For quite a few months now, the Indian government has been pushing citizens to become ‘atmanirbhar’ or self-reliant. One of the ways in which we can become self-reliant is by supporting and promoting local brands selling every-day products. This will not just help certain Indian businesses to flourish but will also help us in adopting a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle.

For example, Tripura’s artisans have come together to make eco-friendly and sustainable hand-crafted bamboo water bottles. The initiative is to help tribals living in Tripura to become economically independent, reports The Hindu.

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Tripura is famous for its bamboo crafts. The state grows 28% of the country’s annual bamboo. The bottles mentioned are only made out of locally available materials.

The initiative is the brainchild of Indian Forest Service official Prasad Rao Vaddarapu. Revealing how the bottles are made, he said that the bamboo acts as an encasement. The inside of the bottle is lined by copper, steel, or glass, depending upon the customer’s requirement.

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“Drinking water from bamboo that is treated to last longer is not advisable. Water or other liquid when directly stored in them leads to bad odour and fungi build-up that might be toxic for the body,” Officer Rao told the Indian Express.

Aldrin Majumder, Chief of Pegasus Corporation which is responsible for the marketing and sales of the product said, “The process of manufacturing is completely organic. Instead of bleaching powder and other chemicals usually used to treat bamboo, it uses neem, turmeric and other herbal items to treat the product. We are promoting copper containers in them since copper is traditionally known to have many medicinal benefits.”

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Many are promoting the product online after Indian Forest Services Officer Parveen Kaswan’s tweet went viral.

Even actress Raveena Tondon took to Twitter to announce her support towards the initiative:

People on the internet are filled with support towards Tripura’s bamboo artisans. Here’s what they said:

Many people had doubts about whether using bamboo products was at all eco-friendly as its production leads to the cutting of several plants. However, many informed that bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world.

I think it is time for us to readopt our older ways of living and use every-day items which are not just sustainable and eco-friendly. Things like fast-fashion and cheap plastic products have led to an immense accumulation of waste on the planet leading to acute pollution. The best way forward is to be more responsible regarding our purchases, lifestyle choices, and to support our local businesses.

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