Oinam Naobi (44) of Kwakeithel Awang Thiyam Leikai is a bamboo craftsperson who carves a niche in making indigenous handicraft products, modern bamboo furniture and bamboo constructions. Natural bamboo chair, sofa set, pen stand, flower base, basket, store base for fermented fish and decorative tea container, bamboo bicycle and bamboo bed etc are some of his finest craft works displayed at Manipur Sangai Festival 2015.
The Artisan makes bamboo craft under the brand “Leiteng-Wa”, an emerging brand in the market of bamboo craft. Artisan Naobi said that bamboo variety locally known as Khokwa, Maribob, Unan are used in making the various decorative items. He buys bamboos at Rs 200 to 400 from the nearby villages. He said that the world is facing the impact of climate change due to rampant cutting down of trees, timber woods for the purpose of making furniture, construction of houses.
Bamboo can be used as any other wood and help in fighting deforestation and soil erosion. The life cycle of a bamboo is about four years while timber woods takes more than 20 years in getting full maturity. Ecology can be protected if bamboo is widely used instead of timber woods. Moreover, bamboo absorbs maximum carbon dioxide than trees.
