The Bamboo Habba 2024, a festival celebrating the versatility and sustainability of bamboo, with several key workshops, including plantation, product design, building design and construction, began on September 14 at Centre for Green Building Material and Technology (CGBMT), at Dyavarahalli, on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The event ends on September 24.

World Bamboo Day is celebrated on September 18. The festival highlights India’s pioneering role in bamboo production and its environmental advantages.

The festival showcases bamboo’s potential in sustainable development through a series of workshops, bamboo music, fashion show (the costumes also included the element of bamboo), exhibitions, and interactive sessions with experts. Attendees would explore how bamboo can be utilised in modern architecture and its role in mitigating global warming.

Office ambience created out of bamboo by architect Neelam Manjunath who spearheads the Bamboo City project, which aims to tackle urban air and water pollution through nature-based solutions, with bamboo serving as a central material in construction. | Photo Credit: File photo

Prof. Neelam Manjunath, founder, chairperson and CEO of CGBMT, spearheaded the initiative owing to her passionate commitment to spreading bamboo culture. “This event is a step towards promoting a sustainable lifestyle and fostering an understanding of our rich bamboo culture,” she remarked.

The Bamboo City project, spearheaded by architect Neelam Manjunath, aims to tackle urban air and water pollution through nature-based solutions, with bamboo serving as a central material in construction.

Neelam Manjunath’s framework seeks to transform at least 11 Indian cities and 101 cities globally to be carbon neutral and regenerative over the next decade. Bengaluru will serve as the pilot city acting as a testing ground for these innovations.