Fellowship Programme on BambooEncouraging Professionals and Rural Youth towards Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Greening of Corridors, Scientific Research and Promoting Skill Development and Livelihood Opportunities.

Green Highways and Bamboo for Sustainable Environment

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing and highest yielding sustainable and renewable resource. It plays a significant role in sustainable environment as well as sustainable development of the country. It sequesters carbon dioxide and is carbon neutral. It produces 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of tree. It is also an excellent soil erosion inhibitor. Bamboo is a natural raw material with immense potential to transform

the country’s rural and tribal economy through livelihood generation. It is a versatile material and has numerous uses including fuelwood, food, decorative item, clothes, construction material, etc.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways promulgated the Green Highways (Plantations, Transplantations, Beautification & Maintenance) Policy 2015 for developing green corridors along the national highways contributing towards better environment and meeting India’s CoP 21 Summit commitment by greening and carbon sequestration. Bamboo has potential to contribute significantly in developing carbon neutral roads through its high carbon sequestration capabilities and use in highway construction works. In the Green Highways Projects, bamboo is a preferred plant species for plantation due to its high carbon sequestration capacity. Besides this, bamboo can help in generation of livelihood for youth and local community. It has been used as a means of livelihood by local communities from a long time. This can be broad-based further by initiating production of new bamboo products and services with the help of research, skill enhancement and information dissemination.

I am happy to know that Green Highways Division, NHAI and Earthwatch Institute India have jointly initiated a fellowship programme focussing on “Bamboo and Ecological Sustainability”. I am sure this fellowship will help in restoring the indigenous knowledge, awareness generation and skilling the local community for making wide range of bamboo products and collaborating with market for livelihood generation. I am glad to note that the fellowship programme aims to support young professionals, researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs and community workers.

I congratulate GHD, NHAI and Earthwatch Institute India in taking up promotion of bamboo and its products through this fellowship programme and providing opportunity for research, innovation, awareness generation, skilling and entrepreneurship for use of bamboo contributing towards environmental sustainability and carbon neutral roads.

About The Fellowship

Bamboo is a versatile group of plants that provides ecological, economic and livelihood security to the people. It plays a significant role in creating a sustainable environment with reducing pollution and more carbon sequestration. In India, Bamboo covers 13.96 million hectare area with 137 species.

Government of India aims to increase the area under bamboo plantation in non-forest Government and private lands to supplement farm income and contribute towards resilience to climate change as well as availability of quality raw material requirement of industries. Promoting product development keeping in view market demand, by supporting R&D, entrepreneurship & business models at micro, small and medium levels and feed bigger industry and also promote skill development, capacity building, awareness generation for development of bamboo sector from production to market demand. (Source: National Bamboo mission)

To further strengthen the efforts towards social entrepreneurship, skill development and research in regard to the bamboo sector, we are initiating a Fellowship Programme to engage with academia, researchers, entrepreneurs, rural youth, artisans, trainers and professionals working with community members. The fellowship programme will help to identify and promote rural youth for local vernacular architecture in bamboo construction, promote skill development, capacity building, awareness for development of bamboo sector from production to market demand and livelihood opportunities for rural communities involved in product making from bamboo.

Message

Nitin GadkariHonourable Minister of Road Transport, Highways &

Shipping and Water Resources, Government of India

Objectives of the Fellowship Programme:• Support young professionals and rural youth engaged in research, entrepreneurship, community projects, environment

conservation, sustainable agriculture and climate action programmes who bring in innovative ideas and work towards

developing inspiring case studies / success stories for wider dissemination for supporting the objectives of the National

Bamboo Mission.

• Persuadethefellowstobuildawarenessonpotentialofthebambooplantation;developskillsofthecommunitymembers

formakingbambooproducts;enhancethescopeofmarketingandpromotedigitalande-commerceplatforms/networksto

enhance livelihood opportunities.

• Encourage the Fellows to engage with institutions working on research and innovation in the fields of bamboo based

entrepreneurship.

Eligibility and Selection• Applicantshouldhavepriorexperienceofworkingontheissuesrelevanttothefellowship,visionforthefutureandinnovative

ideas to develop the work further.

• Applicantshouldbebelowtheageof40yearsandworkingasbambooentrepreneur/researchersforlastthreeyears.

• Applicantshouldbewillingtoworkinruralareasastheprojectlocationforthefellowshipshallpreferablybelocatedinrural

areas.

• TheFellowshipwillbeawardedtoanindividual.

• Applicant can be a freelancer or working with an institution. Applicant has to secure permission from their respective

institution for accepting the fellowship.

Fellowship DurationDuration of the fellowship programme will be one year starting from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020.

Financial Assistance• TheFellowshipwillofferafinancialsupportofRs.1,00,000(RupeesOnelakh)toeachfellow.

• TheFellowcanusethefellowshipfundsfor(butnot limitedto)skilldevelopment/ trainingofartisans,entrepreneurship

development, supporting alternative and sustainable livelihood initiatives, developing educational and outreach programmes

for sharing innovative ideas and success stories.

• TheFellowwillsubmittheproposalforthescopeofutilisationofthefellowshipfortheintendedactivities.

Scope of the Fellowship• ScopeofFellowshipincludes–Construction/Structures/Plantation/Furniture/Equipments/Machinery/Innovations/

Institutional tie-ups in Bamboo Sector.

• DeliverablesforFellowsinclude

a. Documentationofthebamboouseinvariousproducts;

b. Documentationofthelocalarchitectureandindigenousknowledgeonbamboo;

c. ToT&Creativity–applications;

d. Innovationsinbambooconstructionandbambooproductdesigning;

e. Product registration on digital and e-commerce platforms

Bamboo - Major Species for Roadside Plantations and High Carbon Sequestration

Raghuvansh Saxena CEO

Earthwatch Institute India

AK BhattacharyaHead

Green Highways Division National Highways Authority of India

India is blessed with rich bamboo resources. Bamboo

is one of the most iconic plants. Bamboo is a versatile,

renewable and environment-friendly material. The

FellowshipProgrammeon‘Bamboo– Innovation,Social

Entrepreneurship, Greening of Corridors, Research

and Skill Development’ is a collaborative initiative of the

Green Highways Division, National Highways Authority

of India and Earthwatch Institute India. This unique

initiative will bring together multi-discipline professionals,

researchers, scientists, citizen scientists, rural youth, social

entrepreneurs, conservation professionals and educators

to promote innovations and solutions.

The Fellowship Programme presents a unique opportunity

to promote the importance of public engagement in

understanding the importance of bamboo. The opportunity

of working with the Green Highways Division, National

Highways Authority of India is an enriching experience.

Bamboo is an important species for roadside plantation

along the highways. Earthwatch Institute India is a premier

scientific research, educational and skill development

institution in the field of environment, energy and

sustainable development.

We are looking forward to working with the Green Highways

Division, NHAI to develop a unique and powerful fellowship

programme on bamboo, connecting with innovative

thinkers and practitioners.

Bamboo is one of the widely grown species in India. It is a highly

versatile species. It is not only a great contributor in creating

sustainable environment but also a source of sustenance for

people especially rural and tribal community with its varied

uses. It is being used for shelter, food, handicrafts, furniture,

road & bridge construction, clothes, medicine, paper, etc.

There is need to further increase the knowledge on production

and utilization of bamboo with the help of new research as well

as restoration of traditional knowledge which will help further

in sustainable development of the society. This fellowship is a

step further in this direction. The fellowship will support youth

and rural community members in their endeavour to bring in

new and innovative ideas for promoting the use of bamboo in

day to day life of people.

Bamboo, the most environmental species on this earth, has

lots to offer to the entrepreneurs. On the face, it is just a tall,

green stalk of shoot reaching for the skies. However, when

one observes it closely, it has precious lessons, particularly

for an entrepreneur: Bend to survive, but don’t break; Empty?

Not quite; Spring to action; Grow, keep growing; Create value;

Being like the bamboo, can do wonders for an entrepreneur!

It is my delight to jointly initiate the fellowship programme

on Bamboo Entrepreneurship for National Highways along

with Earthwatch Institute India. I hope the fellowship will be a

success and the innovative ideas of entrepreneurship explored

under the fellowship will be further scaled up.

Bamboo & Sustainable Development

Shelter Security/ Building Industry

Livelihood Security/Textile & Craft Industry

Food Security/ Food Industry

Skill Development/Employment Opportunities

Energy Security/ Bio-Energy Industry

Ecological Security/Road-Side Plantation

Pulp & Paper Industry

Furniture Industry

Convergence of Bamboo with Sustainable Development Goals

Bamboo-the only 100% species-both Grass & Tree

Characteristics Agriculture (Annual Crops) Bamboo Forestry

Growing

1 Farmed grass, spreads like a grass Yes Yes No

2 Plantation tree, does not spread No Yes Yes

Bamboo is both an annual & a perennial

3 Annual growth Yes Yes No

4 Perennial growth No Yes Yes

Biomass & Charcoal Production

5 Produces harvestable biomass annually Yes Yes No

6 Produces Wood & Charcoal No Yes Yes

Land Tenure

7 Mainly on private lands Yes Yes No

8 Mainly on public lands No Yes Yes

Harvest Periodicity

9 Annual harvest Yes Yes No

10 Multi-year harvest (rotation) No Yes Yes

Growth Habit

11 Grows in topsoil, not below 75cm Yes Yes No

12 Forms part of the forest canopy No Yes Yes

Percent “Yes” 50% 100% 50%

Source: Dr R Ramarao, International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR)

Areas of Intervention under this fellowshipi. Social Entrepreneurship - The fellows with interest in entrepreneurship, business and marketing could visit relevant

business institutions or attend short training programmes.

ii. Skill Development - The fellows with interest in skill development of artisans and community members could visit

relevant training and skill development centres and design institutions.

iii. Bamboo Plantation - Engage rural community members and young entrepreneurs to increase the availability of quality

planting material and also for bamboo plantation.

iv. Innovative Research - The fellows with interest in research could visit scientific & research laboratories working on

bamboo.

v. Conservation and Climate Action: The fellows with interest in environment conservation and climate action related

work related to bamboo could visit institutions working on various aspects including understanding the environmental

impacts of bamboo conservation and scientifically calculating carbon footprints.

vi. Any other area / activity, which the fellow convinces the committee that the same will contribute to the bamboo based

entrepreneurship.

Other Features of the Fellowship

• The fellowship programme will focus on individuals working on innovative ideas and techniques to promote bamboo

initiatives.

• The fellowshipwouldalignwith theobjectivesofNationalBambooMission,SkillDevelopment,Make inRural Indiaand

Sustainable Development Goals.

• Fellowswillengagewithcitizensandcommunitymembers toshare theirworkusing‘ExperientialLearning’and‘Citizen

Science’ approach and will share the benefits of the initiative to society at large.

• Aspartof the fellowshipprogramme, the fellowswillwork forproperdocumentationof the theirwork,casestudiesand

success stories for wider outreach. This will also be uploaded on various institutional websites for providing them with a

platform for connecting with a network of like-minded professionals for collaboration.

• Fellowswillbeencouragedtoengagewithresearchinstitutions,entrepreneurs,artistswhoaredevelopinganddisseminating

techniques and technologies on bamboo and bamboo related products using traditional wisdom and modern scientific

knowledge.

• Anetworkingworkshopwillbeorganisedduringthefellowshipprogrammeforbringingtogetherthefellowstocreateaforum

for experiential learning and sharing of ideas to develop collaborations.

How to Apply

May apply through the Website links of:

Green Highways Division

– National Highways Authority of India (NHAI)www.nationalgreenhighway.org

and

Earthwatch Institute India www.EarthwatchIndia.org

Please email for any query to Surbhi at ssharma@earthwatch.org.in / info@earthwatch.org.in

Thanks to Green Highways Division, National Highways Authority of India for providing photographs for the flyer.

Photo & Text Acknowledgement: Photo archive from Green Highways Division, National Highways Authority of India, National Bamboo Mission, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Hitjyoti Sharma, Vriti, Surbhi, Sumit Verma, Bihar Development Trust, JP Maithani, AAGAAS Federation, and archive of Earthwatch Institute India.

Disclaimer: This publication is for the purpose of free distribution only and is presented solely for informational purposes. Though, every effort has been made to make it as accurate as possible, the information compiled from various sources in the flyer should serve only as a general guide and not as ultimate source of subject information. Earthwatch Institute India, Green Highways Division and NHAI, contributing individuals and supporting agencies of this initiative shall have no liability or responsibility to any person or entity regarding any loss or damage incurred, or alleged to have incurred, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this flyer and do not necessarily reflect their official policy or position.

Indigenous Bamboo Product, Baihar – Balaghat

This folder is printed on IRIS Paper sourced from

FSC Certified manufacturers

Linking Bamboo with National Green Highways Mission for Sustainable Development

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH),

Government of India has promulgated Green Highways

(Plantations, Transplantations, Beautification and Maintenance)

Policy–2015on29th September 2015 to develop green corridors

along National Highways for sustainable environment and

inclusive growth. The policy envisions “development of eco-friendly

National Highways with participation of the communities, farmers,

NGOs, private sector, institutions, government agencies and the

Forest Departments for economic growth and development in a

sustainable manner.”

Under the aegis of the Policy, development of green corridors is

proposed along developed and upcoming National Highways in

the width available in existing Right of Way (ROW) in the form of

median and avenue plantations.

Roadside plantations have immense potential to enhance the

green cover of nation and generate employment opportunities

for rural community. Green Highways Division - under

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been entrusted

with the task of planning, implementation and monitoring roadside

plantations along one lakh km network of National Highways which

would in turn generate one lakh direct employment opportunity in

plantations sector in next ten years.

The vision of Green Highways for Sustainable Environment &

Inclusive Growth is “to develop eco-friendly National Highways

with participation of the community, farmers, NGOs, private sector,

institutions, government agencies and the Forest Department for

economic growth and development in a sustainable manner.”

Green Highway Division National Highway Authority of India

Mission for next ten years

• 10 crore tree plantations along NHs.

• Green Corridor Development along NHs.

• Sequestering approx 12 Lakh MT of Carbon.

• 1 Lakh Direct Employment Generation.

• Setting Center for Innovation in Green Pathways.

Earthwatch Institute India

Earthwatch Institute India (EWI) is a premier Scientific Research,

Educational and Skill Development institution working in the

field of Environment, Sustainable Development, Energy, Water,

Urban Ecology, Sustainable Agriculture, Sustainable Forests

and Eco-System Services with considerable experience

of working with world class. EWI field projects provide

transformational learning experience with skill development

opportunities that promotes sustainable actions.

EWI works with scientists, technologists, educators, innovators,

entrepreneurs and subject experts to implement various

projects and programmes. EWI Projects and Programmes have

provided engagement opportunities for students, teachers,

executives and multi-discipline professionals.

The community based and skill development programmes

have provided engagement opportunities for village community

members, farmers, youth and self-help groups on low cost

energy and environment friendly solutions and diverse range

of knowledge gain, skills and motivation needed to take

responsibility for the environment.

Our unique model of citizen science, experiential learning

and engagement was showcased at Convention on Biological

Diversity (CBD) Conference of the Parties (COP) 11 at

Hyderabad and also at 100th Session of National Science

Congress at Kolkata and at 105th Session of National Science

Congress at Manipur. The Institute focuses on applied research

that aligns with our national priorities, where we can most

effectively make a significant difference.

EWI works with academic and research institutions, centres

of excellence, government and non-government organisations,

corporations in developing projects and programmes.

Our programmes are aligned with National Missions and

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our aim is to maintain

high standards of research and learning in all our projects,

broadly guided by national priorities, and our basic philosophy

of supporting strong science and experiential learning through

skill development.

Knowledge Partners

Green Highways Division, NHAI3rd Floor, NHAI Extension (MTNL) Building,Sector-19, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110 075Phone-011-28042449www.nationalgreenhighway.org

Earthwatch Institute IndiaAugustaPoint(Level4)Golf Course Road, Sector 53, Gurgaon 122002Phone-0124-4354248www.EarthwatchIndia.org

Innovations in Green Corridor planning Bamboo Fencing