If there is good money to be made, what prevents an urban entrepreneur from
putting the project together? The underclass (?) could be brought in as
partners. The good example of Amul exists, Amul started on a modest scale.
I am still missing some vital information that is hard to get without being
there on the test pad. Lack of government assistance cannot prevent a venture
that has the potential of raking money.
Dilip
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Mukulda probably could answer the questions better than anyone else.
*** I agree. But I also have a guess:
In rural Assam, the knowledge and resources to start something
as modest as this does not exist.
Actually I will venture to guess it does not exist amongst the vast
under-classes in urban Assam either.
At 7:27 AM -0800 3/7/07, Dilip/Dil Deka wrote:
The photographs did not make it through. Please post them at Fickr. I
have a genuine question, not a criticism. If raw material, design, skill, labor
and market are all available, why does one have to wait for GOI to fund and
launch the project? What prevents an entrepreneur from getting a bank loan to
start a modest scale unit? If there is a market and the profit margin is good,
won't a bank provide the funds quickly? What am I missing? Is it possible that
the venture will be successful or even be able to compete with other similar
products, only with government subsidy? Mukulda probably could answer the
questions better than anyone else. Dilip
==============================================================
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Nothing can make MORE SENSE than this proposal. It does not require great
skills, does not require sophisticated machinery or tools, does not require
huge capital expenditures, does not require large factory structures, does not
even need an un-inturrpted power/energy supply. All it requires is design
ingenuity, which is available , waiting to be exploited.
It demonstrates once again the paralysis of Indian governance, one that has
usurped the role of protector and provider to all, while failing miserably at
every step.
I don't know if the photographs went thru to the list. If netters tell me,
and if they did no go thru, I will post them at Flick'r for all to see.
Pictures tell the story far better than words ever will.
cm
At 4:59 PM +0530 3/7/07, mc mahant wrote:
My 1990 declaration in BOODHBAR(Late Parag Daas')that "Assam's future will be
through Saah,Baanh,Maah,Ghaanh" got widely debated and overpublished/Underacted
through the formation of "National Bamboo Mission"(NBM).
Located at Delhi, NBM's bevy of beauties went worldwide attending seminars
,employing Consultants , importing Taiwan/China/Japan machinery - now wasting
at many NBM backed Units.
Lately Bodoland Delegation was in China chaperoned by(you guessed it)NBM 's
many consultants.
At one time -some 8 years back NEDFi's --Dr. Jayanta Madhab + our Dear Manoj
Das went with Secret Service Delegates to China--also on related Mission Bamboo.
I thought nothing would happen TILL........!
But ever optimistic Manoj goaded me to give one more try. I presented a plan
to Dr.JM-this time as Assam Govt's New Employment Generating Minister(de Facto)
to RE- kickstart OXOM Bamboo.
"Begin by marketing my Wonderbed/Wonder Chair kits India-wide where they
will make their Steel frames with tiny investments Districtwise, and bind
Oxom-originated BambooKits to frames and sell to local 1 lakh Janata. Everybody
would have gained. 10000 such assemly points would shape up.
Saved trees, import by India for Petro-Plastics would have fallen - small
low-Tech Distributed Industry all over India would have boomed.
By the way--the Minister who is supposed to develop the NE and to increase
Employment all-over India is the same Mani Shankar Aiyar.
JM kept quiet. So I told Manoj--"Ask your NEDFi boss to bell the
cat--otherwise National Bamboo Mission will be another farce"
Poor Manoj has his limits. He did pass on. K.HAZARIKA did a little move.When
I asked -What's up-he said in true Indianese"We should make a small start".
And:" NeDFi cannot be in the Entreprenuer's seat".
That is the State of the Art today!
Like SEZ's, India is waiting for a brave Knight with lots of Dollars to come
in and take charge-of everything-including Governing.
Note:, barring seasonal Tea ,thousands of Trucks/Rail wagons return empty to
all-over -- daily.
Kits can go any way. Furniture cannot. Freight of 1 WonderChair would
beRs500/-+. But MRP should be 200/-!!That is why KITS is a must.
MM
---------------------------------
From: Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Dilip/Dil Deka <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Rajib Das <[EMAIL
PROTECTED]>,assam@assamnet.org
Subject: Re: [Assam] Engineered Bamboo Furniture
Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2007 14:23:41 -0600
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li {padding-top:0;padding-bottom:0;}
First off, you got it mixed up again:
Rajib was NOT speaking about manufactured goods. He was talking about the
raw material : bamboo.
> Also I wouldn't be surprised if today's transportation cost from Assam to
>Delhi is higher than that between China and Delhi due to all the gate fees and
>goonda fees one pays in Assam.
*** So it is the MIDDLEMEN . Goonda-tax / gate charges are NOT charged by the
growers if I am not mistaken. Then WHO is it? And where is the benevolent
Indian governance -- is it not supposed to PREVENT that?
Oh, I see now! It must be the ULFA!!!
Are you serious?
At 12:16 PM -0800 3/5/07, Dilip/Dil Deka wrote:
OMG!
There is no government control in domestic furniture business and it is a
free market in India at least in furniture.
The furniture dealer in Delhi knows only profit, he does not care about
politics between Assam and India. He sells the products for which he can make
the maximum profit - based on quality of the product, ready availability and
reliable supply. The product may come from China or from Assam, he doesn't care
and doesn't have to.
The middlemen between him and the bamboo grower work on the same principle -
supply a product and make money. At the end if he can't sell because he is
charging too much money due to greed, he is the one who is losing the market.
So, who is the middleman in the chain who is charging too much and spoiling the
whole show? The furniture manufacturer? The wholesaler? The transporter? I
suspect it is the manufacturer because he doesn't have the machinery his
counterparts in East Asia have. Also I wouldn't be surprised if today's
transportation cost from Assam to Delhi is higher than that between China and
Delhi due to all the gate fees and goonda fees one pays in Assam.
Dilip
===============================================================
Chan Mahanta <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I don't know. Low import prices could be due to dumping or a ploy to
build market-share or there could be a number of other reasons. High
prices of bamboo MUST be due to Indian middle-men's mark-ups. Surely
bamboo producers get pea-nuts, around Rs. 10 in upper Assam if I am
not mistaken,for a normal sized mature bamboo. I am no expert. You
are the guys who should know.
If SE Asian countries' bamboo producers are selling bamboo for export at say
Rs. X per piece, with transportation cost ( must be a whole lot more
than from the NE), that HIGHER import duty and dealers' profit added;
still selling it at a price at Dilli lower than those from the NE,
then the value of X must be less than zero ( being donated or heavily
subsidized ). That being unlikely, the answer must be:
A: That Indian middle-men making a killing, while robbing
the producers blind.
OR
B: The whole story is another Indian myth, concocted to demonize
the NE, no doubt to shore up the other myth---that the place
has nothing of value to India, like so many of our assamnetters
argue to support their claim that Assam or the NE cannot survive
without Indian handouts/dole.
What do you think or believe?
At 9:39 AM -0800 3/5/07, Rajib Das wrote:
>Actually what I heard was that the cheaper prices were
>despite higher import duties on raw materials. And
>that there was better reliability of supply and
>quality.
>
>Any guesses why free market efficiencies are not
>coming to the picture?
>
>
>
>
>--- Chan Mahanta wrote:
>
>> I don't know Rajib. Why, if it is so?
>>
>> Do SE Asian countries export bamboo to Dilli?
>>
>> If so, that would be yet another case of blatant
>> discrimination and >> exploitation of the NE: Thru Dilli's protectionist
>> policies of import
>> restrictions of essential commodities to deprive the
>> consumers of the
>> NE of competitive pricing for quality goods, while
>> rewarding its
>> business classes elsewhere in the country by
>> allowing entry of cheap
>> raw material from outside and thus depriving its own
>> of its market
>> share.
>>
>> As an MBA dedicated to the free market economy and
>> as a
>> desi-patriot, how does that grab you :-)?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> At 6:32 PM -0800 3/4/07, Rajib Das wrote:
>> >For a workshop in Delhi, why is bamboo costlier to
>> buy
>> >from Assam today than importing from the south east
>> >asian countries?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >--- Dilip/Dil Deka wrote:
>> >
>> >> O'Mahanta,
>> >> I think I read your mind. That is exactly what
>> I
>> >> was thinking. Can the lumber stock be made in
>> Assam
>> >> from the bamboos widely available in Assam - for
>> >> example zati or Bholuka banh in kamrup? What
>> >> preservatives are needed and are they readily
>> >> available? The bamboo has to be cut at the right
>> >> time, it has to be stored at a certain
>> temperature,
>> >> need the right preservatives, need the right
>> >> shrinkage, need the right machines to process
>> the
>> >> stock and what else?
>> >> Would we need know-how from China, Taiwan or
>> >> Japan? If so, who and what prevents us from
>> getting
>> >> it?
>> >>
>> >> Bamboo is becoming expensive in Assam also, a
>> sign
>> >> of globalization I guess. Still if there is a
>> margin
>> >> in the end product, cost of raw material should
>> not
>> >> be a problem.
>> >>
>> >> See there is a prospect for the unemployed in
>> >> Namti. :-)
>> >> O'Deka
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Chan Mahanta wrote:
>> >> Thanks Ram.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Actually I was not thinking of importing to
>> USA at
>> >> all. Nor was I considering the finished goods.
>> Those
>> >> could be made by skilled carpenters and
>> builders. It
>> >> is the engineered lumber stock, made and sold to
>> end
>> >> users for whatever
>> >> purpose they can imagine. It could be a fine
>> >> product for use locally, considering that good
>> >> quality timber, if available, is like gold.
> > >>
>> >>
>> >> But I am looking into it. Will see where it
>> might
>> >> lead.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> c-da
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> At 12:54 PM -0600 3/4/07, Ram Sarangapani
>> wrote:
>> >> C'da, These are just fantastic. Love the
>> >> coffee tables. It must have been a lot of hard
>> work.
>> >> With reference to marjeting of bamboo
>> products,
>> >> years ago (I think around 1995 or so), a friend
>> of
>> >> mine from Guwahati wanted to market plywood
>> (with
>> >> compressed bamboo filling: ie two plywood sheets
>> and
>> >> inside would be this bamboo compressed pulp -
>> the
>> >> best I can describe). I took the samples (he
>> had
>> >> sent) to some of the local Houston people in the
>> >> construction business. Several of them were very
>> >> interested. There were several problems: (1)
>> the
>> >> price was way too high. (2) the resin that was
>> used
>> >> was a substance the would not pass US import
>> >> regulations (Not a fire retardant)
>> >> It didn't go thru, of course, but for those
>> >> interested in exporting bamboo products, these
>> are
>> >> some things I experienced first hand, and may
>> come
>> >> in handy. Further, for finished products,
>> some
>> >> of the places to try would be like Pier 1
>> Imports
>> >> (stores like that). As most people already know
>> >> supplies must be consistent and uniform, and
>> often
>> >> such stores may want varying quanties, sometimes
>> in
>> >> a hurry. One big problem for a many products
>> >> from India in the finish. Compare products from
>> >> China or Taiwan, Indian products may be
>> functional,
>> >> but definitely lack the finish. Your table
>> on
>> >> the other hand loked fabulous. --Ram On
>> 3/4/07,
>> >> Chan Mahanta wrote:
>> >> http://flickr.com/photos/cmahanta-stl/ >> >>
>> >> 3 Images of Mboo ( copyrighted name) Cofee Table
>> >> from the workshop of
>> > > yours truly.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> I just completed a coffee table that I made from
>> >> left over bamboo
>> >> floor boards, which are engineered from strips
>> of
>> >> glued and laminated
>> >> bamboo. I machined off the grooved bottom
>> surface of
>> >> the 5/8" thick
>> >> floor boards with a recently acquired 13" power
>> >> planer to a thickness
>> >> of 1/2", glued the two together to make an one
>> inch
>> >> thick board,
>> >> ripped off the tongues and grooves on a radial
>> arm
>> >> saw, planed the
>> >> thin edges off by clamping together several
>> boards
>> >> and voila: I had
>> >> 1" thick X 3.5" wide engineered bamboo lumber to
>> >> build furniture with.
>> >>
>> >> The bottom shelf is made from 3/4" thick medium
>> >> density fiber-board (
>> >> MDF) finished with bamboo veneered wall covering
>> (
>> >> expensive @ $
>>
>=== message truncated ===
>
>
>
>
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