実施事業

Establishment of the training centre for the promotion of the bamboo industry in Myanmar (Year 3)

Japan NGO Partnership Grant Aid for FY2025

Targeted social issues:

In Myanmar, various bamboo products ranging from daily necessities to handicrafts are produced all over the country and many people are engaged in them. However, many of these products are not very profitable, as they are only made into low-priced baskets and mats for the intra-village, regional, and domestic markets. Bamboo products have potential as an entry into international markets and as a key item for poverty alleviation in rural areas, but technical training opportunities for producers are scarce, sporadic, and under-utilized.

Asia Crafts Link's Action:

In cooperation with MRBEA (Myanmar Rattan and Bamboo Entrepreneurs Association), which has plenty of experience of providing training for bamboo producers in collaboration with international organisations and the local government, we will build the Bamboo Industry Training Centre in Taikkyi Township, Yangon Region. This project will provide operational support so that the Centre can provide useful information and technical training tailored to the level of producers, from beginners to experts, and will also raise human resources so that MRBEA can continue to operate sustainably after the project is completed.

Achievements and plans

In FY2023, the first year of the project, among the plans for the training centre, training facilities such as research & workshop building (R&W), staff accommodation, kitchen & dining hall, and other basic infrastructures were developed. In addition, technical training for the local people who would become local instructors in the future was started by installing a Japanese-made “bamboo strip drawing machine” in the R&W and dispatching Japanese experts for a short time.

In FY2024, the second year of the project, we constructed accommodations for trainees at the training centre to enable efficient training activities, fully launched training for local instructors and producers, and broadened the scope of our activities by strengthening ties with markets.  Furthermore, by promoting training about bamboo forest management techniques and afforestation , we aimed to strengthen the system for a sustainable supply of resources.

In FY2025, the third year of the project, we will construct an exhibition and conference building and lecture hall at the training centre, which are necessary for market development, and install solar power generation facilities and micro-hydropower generation facilities to reduce operating costs by using natural energy.  In parallel, we will provide refresher training for local instructors, training for new instructor candidates, product development training by Japanese experts and producer training with content improved from the first and second years.  We will also nurture the bamboo forests that have already been planted and plant new ones, aiming to improve their ability to continuously manage bamboo forests.

【Location】Taikkyi Township, Yangon Region, Myanmar

【Field】Bamboo industry development

【Period】1 September, 2025 - 31 August, 2026 (3rd year / 3 years)

【Grant】Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Projects, FY2025 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

【Project Objective】

- All facilities of the training center will be completed, allowing comprehensive training in a planned manner covering material production, production technology and market development.  (Year 3)

- The Bamboo Industry Training Center will be operated by the local people, and producers in Myanmar will be able to produce bamboo products with higher quality and more efficiently. (3 years)

【Overall Goal】To promote regional development and sustainable development in Myanmar through the promotion of the bamboo industry.

【Estimated beneficiaries】

(Direct) 1,000 bamboo product producers in Myanmar,

(Indirect) Approximately 60,000 people involved in the bamboo industry in Myanmar

【For SDGs】

Goal 4, Goal 8, Goal 12, Goal 15

【Main Activities】

- Establishment of the Bamboo Industry Training Centre

- Technical training for producers and Training of Trainers (ToT)

- Promotion of sustainable management of bamboo forest