KOCHI: Maya Salimkumar didn’t know much about bamboo, until a few friends introduced her to its wonders. And that proved to be all the prodding she required. On her family’s small plot of ancestral land in Poothotta, that had remained untouched for more than 30 years, she came up with an exquisite bamboo farm over the next three years.
“The idea hit when we visited some friends who were growing bamboo on the yards of their homes. That is when I realised that I could use the 50 cents of unused ancestral land for the purpose. Since I love nature and anything related to it, I agreed straight up to grow bamboo and planted the first stumps,” recounts Maya.
The 100 stumps of Thyrsostachys oliveri variety were planted in a September during rains and have grown into a lush plantation on her land by the river.
“After planting, we did nothing except for the occasional weeding. After a year, when the nearly five-foot-tall trees started to dry up in the summer, I was concerned. But with the first rains came new leaves and shoots. This is clearly a very low-maintenance hobby that is both economically viable and creates good space for leisure,” the housewife from Vyttila adds.
Maya and her husband Salimkumar, created the farm with the help of K C John, who heads World of Bamboo in Palakkad, who first asked them to plant bamboo as a solution to reduce dust in their house premises.
Bamboo farming involves only a one-time investment. Once harvested, new shoots will emerge from the same base. Maya now expects to yield a minimum of up to Rs 3 to 4 lakh from her plantation.