Kathmandu, May 2 (Agency) A large number of Nepalese young from families of weavers have joined the march to India in search of employment due to restrictions on chopping bamboo, affecting the earnings of those who have traditionally relied on the craft. A serious shortage of the Himalayan bamboo has left weavers in a Nepal village worried about the extinction of their craft as the Khaptad National Park has placed curbs on cutting bamboo, fearing that bamboo will go extinct at the rate it is being chopped, a newspaper reported on Monday. Youth from the communities, who previously used to do their traditional work, are now leaving for India in search of employment, the report added. Thadadhunga in Thalara Rural Municipality-5 is home to Parki and Sarki communities.
Almost every individual of about 30 and eight families respectively is a weaver, according to The Kathmandu Post. The weavers have for generations used the bamboo grown inside the park to make their products which sell well both within the country and abroad. It was six years ago that the park restricted the community from cutting bamboo to avoid excess harvesting. The effects are being felt acutely now. The park now allows the felling of bamboo once a year for 10 days, which the weavers say does not give them enough raw materials for an entire year. “On a good day, we used to make at least Rs 2,000 selling bamboo wares,” Ram Parki was quoted as saying. “But for the last six years, we haven’t been able to make much money owing to the shortage of raw materials.” Villagers said that everyone above the age of 10 knows the craft but cannot make use of it due to the shortage of bamboo, the report said. They fear that with the children burdened with the responsibility of earning money, the tradition of passing over the skill to the younger generation might also be threatened. “The frequent felling of bamboo endangers the species but if the government introduces a sustainable approach to keeping the bamboo species from going extinct, the park can work towards a solution that will also benefit the local community,” said Himalaya Kathayat of Gadabaj Range Post in Khaptad National Park.