Phase IV of UNIDO-backed Sri Lanka bamboo training starts next week

 Local artisans in hands-on training session in UNIDO’s bamboo workshop

• UNIDO-Ind. Ministry project pioneers in’tl expertise to local sector
• All 3 previous sessions were successful
• Indian bamboo experts to take SL artisans to the next level 

After UNIDO’s successful training sessions in bamboo-based production for Sri Lankan artisans, the next phase of the pioneering series is now scheduled to start next week. 

The latest round in the pioneering UNIDO series of trainings, called Prototyping, will be unveiled in Colombo on Wednesday 16 October. This series is part of Bamboo Processing Sri Lanka (BPSL) project of UNIDO. BPSL project aims at developing Sri Lanka’s bamboo supply chain and production industry.

The previous bamboo product and furniture making training for Sri Lankan artisans by UNIDO took place in July 2019. UNIDO’s BPSL project is funded by Global Environment Facility (GEF) and is run in collaboration with Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Resettlement of Protracted Displaced Persons, Cooperative Development, Skills Development and Vocational Training. 

UNIDO, in collaboration with the Industrial Development Board (IDB), has launched the bamboo training series in Sri Lanka in early 2019. The objective was to build local capacities and transfer the necessary knowledge needed to work with bamboo, develop its sector, and create an eco-friendly practice in bamboo processing.  

The bamboo items and furniture creation workshops were conducted thereafter in July 2019. They focused on building an industrial approach to bamboo product and furniture making, where trainees learned the skills of preservation while launching a value-added product to the market. Following these successful workshops, UNIDO and IDB have decided to continue building local capacities by advancing to the next step. 

The next step – the fourth session that commences next week (16 October) – focuses entirely on ‘Bamboo Product and Furniture Making/Prototype’ where the skills of the artisans on bamboo furniture making will be upgraded greatly, culminating in the creation of a designated furniture line by participants. The training session to be held at IDB will conclude on 25 October. 

The participants will be the successful course members who have completed the Phase III training on bamboo craft techniques and furniture making. As in the previous training session, on 16 October too, the training will be guided by URAVU India (Indigenous Science and Technology Study Centre – India). 

The July 2019 UNIDO workshop provided an in-depth preparation in design for international projects in creative industries, where design is considered as a key driver of economic and social development.