STRUCTURAL DRIVERS OF LIVELIHOOD EMPOWERMENT IN BAMBOO CARPENTRY: ANALYSIS OF ASSAM AND TRIPURA UNDER ATMANIRBHAR BHARAT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29121/ShodhPrabandhan.v3.i3.2026.140Keywords:
National Bamboo Mission, Atma Nirbhar Bharat, Bamboo MarketingAbstract
This policy research paper examines transformative potential of bamboo carpentry as a vehicle for sustainable rural occupation empowerment in the Indian states of Assam and Tripura, which are allied in India’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat vision.
Bamboo cultivation in those states are high as compared with other states. There is progressive policy frameworks such as the National Bamboo Mission in Central level and state-specific bamboo policies. However, the sector stays mostly unorganized, with the artisans facing structural blocks that include infrastructural deficits, middlemen exploitation, financial exclusion and technological gaps.
In this context, this study has been undertaken with the aim of identifying and assessing the key determinants of socio-economic empowerment among bamboo artisans in states of Assam and Tripura with a sample of 321 artisan selected based on the snow-ball sampling method. This study employs the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling framework to evaluate the impact of three exogenous latent variables such as Policy Support (PS), Infrastructure Access (IA) and Market Connectivity (MC). The results indicates that Infrastructure Access is the primary predictor of empowerment and Digital Literacy significantly mediates the relationship between Market Connectivity and Livelihood Empowerment.
We strongly recommend that the transition from a unorganized bamboo sector to a value-added industry and it requires targeted policy interventions focused on decentralized infrastructure, digital inclusion and enhanced market linkages. By addressing these structural drivers, bamboo carpentry can evolve from “poor man’s timber” to “Green Gold” in line with the Atma Nirbhar Bharat objectives of the Government of India.
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