Turning the Tide

(This article was published in "The Sunday Indian", 19 January-25 January 2009)

Turning the Tide
Guwahati's Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre designs a bamboo house that could save millions during floods and earthquakes

 

Barely a stone's throw away from Guwahati city that houses the capital complex of Assam, Panikaithi's Muhammad Azibur Rahman has found a way of dealing with the state's floods: he crosses the highway with his family as the swirling waters of the Brahmaputra gobbles up his little bamboo hut; for those horrible months he then lives on the other side of the highway in a broken down tent, pieced together with rags. If the water on the other side should rise, however, he then perches himself and his family on the highway itself, living his days and nights in even more horrible poverty. That to him is quite the cycle of life before winter comes and the waters recede and he can see his fields appear once again from the heart of the once turbulent river. He then starts from scratch, building his hut that the river has by then turned into a den of hissing snakes. That is near Guwahati. Now, hundreds of kilometres upstream too, where the Brahmaputra is a raging sea, Uday Pegu of Dhakuakhana has had it much worse, having had to watch two of his family washed away even as the river demolished his rickety "sang bongola", a bamboo house traditionally built by his people (the Misings) on a bamboo platform to keep their homes safe from the waters that they had learnt to battle down the ages.

Things, however, are beginning to change with the ever-handy bamboo of these hills and plains now coming in even handier as the Cane and Bamboo Technology Centre (CBTC) in Guwahati innovates Pegu's age-old tradition – that of using bamboo to keep a population, quite literally, above the floods. At hand is a new bamboo house that comes with an "80-year life" guarantee and costs just upwards of Rs 35,000 to build. And there's luxury to add if one so wishes: the air-conditioned version of the house costs Rs 3 lakh. But most of all, this is a house that could help keep safe millions of people who have hitherto been at the mercy of floods which routinely wash away their lives, homes and families. In areas such as the Northeast – particularly known for being prone to seismic disturbances – the houses, given their low weight and structure, could be a good shelter against earthquakes too.

Bamboo has a natural affinity towards water; it can grow several inches in a day and is usually kept in water to keep it fresh. CBTC's chemical treatment now enhances the plant's life far beyond what Pegu's residents could have imagined.

 

"A combination of creosote and diesel which is used to treat the bamboos before they are used, guarantees their extended life," says Anjal Goswami, CBTC's deputy manager and chief architect. The idea of such a house found its roots in a group led by Kamesh Salam, CBTC Director and a man originally from Manipur. "We first got together people from various north-eastern regions to study the way they have been building their bamboo houses." Added to that, of course, was the modern technical edge that resulted in the creation of these state-of-the-art structures. A joint project of the North Eastern Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Department of Science and Technology of the central government and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, it is a ray of hope for many.

As expected, the house is currently a rage with various departments which were at a loss when it came to dealing with floods ravaging so many parts of the country. "We have already received orders to construct 5,000 such houses in tsunami affected Tamil Nadu," says Salam. "Bihar wants 500 such huts for their floodplains." The Department of Posts, meanwhile has placed an order of 1.25 lakh rural post offices in vulnerable villages across the country. "Apart from being developed with resources that are readily available in this region, the house also lends the feel-good of living with nature," says Salam. A showcase for the Centre is a 2,000 sq ft amphitheatre constructed for the tourist village at Kisama in Nagaland.

Once set up, the house can even be made double storeyed, replete with the trappings of any modern, environment-friendly construction. What is an added bonus – and a crucial one on that – is the fact that the house can be dismantled and put together at ease, something that could have life-saving implications in disaster-stricken areas. The basic construction has provisions to allow for its walls to be plastered, and fitted with modern amenities. Embellishments, for those who can afford, are available in the form of wooden and cane parts that can then be added. Given its use in times of natural calamities, the Centre has looped in the army too, with its personnel now trained in the construction of such houses. The only sore thumb: the government of Assam – the state which bears the brunt of the annual ritual of floods causing the death of thousands, and ironically, where the new bamboo houses have been conceived – is yet to show interest.

Back in Dhakuakhana, thus, Pegu still waits for his little hut of safety as does Azibur, who now is busy tending to his small field at Panikhaiti, dreading in his sleep the floods that will come again next year – all of which could be changed with CBTC's innovation.

Pankaj Barthakur