The market for eco-friendly products is on the rise, be it apparel or jewelry. Making, using and disposing of products in the most sustainable way and using sustainable materials have gained popularity and acceptance in society and markets across the globe. ‘Eco-friendly products’, made from sustainable materials like bamboo, clay, terracotta, handloom and eco-beads, are a rage among fashionistas, and gaining popularity both in the domestic and international market. Bamboo is known as “Green Gold” and it has got tremendous potential in creating sustainable economies around it. Odisha as a state is endowed with many natural resources, and bamboo is one such renewable natural resource that has got tremendous potential for creating livelihood for millions of people in rural and tribal areas.

Slogans like ‘Vocal for Local’, Make in Odisha, Make in India, Self-reliance and Sustainability are adding further strength in creating livelihood opportunities for people living in rural areas by using locally available resources. Rayagada is predominantly a tribal district with approximately 58% of its population being tribal. To their fortune, different varieties of bamboo are found in the District, which can be used to create marketable niche products like bamboo-based jewelry, bamboo-based home décor products, bamboo-based mementos, gifts and souvenirs.

With sustainability becoming the new mantra, bamboo-based handmade jewelry and home-decor products can be a zero-waste eco-friendly category that can offer employment and livelihood opportunities to thousands of young people in rural areas. With appropriate training in skills, design, material, infrastructure and market linkage there is a possibility of creating a completely unique, new and sustainable economy around bamboo. Rayagada as a District has got enormous scope for such interventions.

• The participants will be trained in different areas of specialization in a batch of 25 each like bamboo-based jewelry making, bamboo-based home décor products, bamboo-based gifts, mementos and souvenir making by blending other eco-friendly materials to create niche products for domestic and international markets. At the end of the project, each participant is expected to make at least 10 different products on their own, which will be showcased, at the end of each project for 25 girls/women.
• At the end of the project, the participants can work either as a collective as a cluster, or individually to develop bamboo-based sustainable costume jewelry or home décor and other utility products for domestic and international markets.