活动名称：木艺木趣国际研讨会暨展览会
时间地点：2011年10月20日，印度班加罗尔J N Tata多功能礼堂
演讲嘉宾：V Ramakantha
演讲题目：A road map for strengthening solid wood based handicraft sector of Manipur, India

摘要：Manipur, a northeastern state of India, bordering Myanmar is nestled in the folds of Eastern Himalaya and sustains a large proportion of the rich biodiversity of the Indo Burma biodiversity hotspot. Manipur has a rich cultural heritage which includes an ancient and thriving art and craft industry. The fine craftsmen of Manipur had developed insights into the quality of wood, and as of now, apart from every household having a handloom, the State boasts of more than 4,00,000 of artisans involved in handicrafts, the highest in North East India. Apart from the cane and bamboo sector, solid wood carving constitutes a major component of handicraft industry in the state. A large number of solid wood species such as Melanorrhoea usitata, Phoebe chinensis, Dipterocarpus turbinatus and D. tuberculatus that are preferred by the artisans are restricted in distribution to Indo - Myanmar border area and hence representative in the Indian context. However, in the recent past, supply of such traditional timbers has dwindled to a great extent owing to rampant deforestation happening due to slash and burn type of cultivation and other factors. According a report of the forest department, a total of 173 km2 area of forest vanished within a span of two years between 2003 and 2005. This paper looks at the solid wood based handicraft industries both in the valley and hills of Manipur, the species used exclusively, and assessment of the demand supply situation and its impact on the handicraft sector. Considering the fact that there is paucity of research data, the paper apart from documenting the existing information, explores the possibility of strengthening the handicraft sector.

V Ramakantha, Government of Manipur.