Baansuli

Baansuli empowers tribal bamboo artisans of Dang in Gujarat to create authentic artefacts including jewellery, rachis and home décor items from locall Read morey sourced Manvel bamboo. It aims to reduce their migration to cities in search of employment due to the land becoming uncultivable in post monsoon, water scarce, Dang region. It plans to recruit more artisans into Its initiative and improve their living standards by providing necessary tools and equipment to create marketable pieces of art. Currently Baansuli produces 9000+ products every year. Over 20 tribal artisans have joined the effort and stopped migrating to nearby cities to work. In the process, they have greatly improved their skill set to achieve the highest quality, while adopting and innovating to new designs and patterns. The tribals are adopting new technological skills through the use of smartphones and the internet to explore new designs and communicate. This has improved the moral amongst the women and men, uplifting their confidence and contributing to their household income. Its line-up of eco-friendly bamboo products include rakhis, diwali decorations, souvenirs, utility products and also diverse items like planters, bamboo bottles, laptop stands, hangers, dreamcatchers and coasters. It manages an online website which displays the products and people can order them online besides catering to orders from 5 star-resorts, souvenir shops, retailers, distributers and emporiums. It been felicitated with many awards and recognitions for its initiatives including: • 3M CII Young Innovator Challenge Award under rural category, 2018 • Top 18 Social Innovator at PIC NCSI Pune, 2018 • Best start up award under sustainable livelihood category by Ministry of Rural Development and NIRD Hyderabad, 2019 • Forbes 30 under 30 Asia social impact, 2021