Rediscovering the virtues of bamboo, an ancient plant

Bamboo (called ‘baans’ in Hindi, and ‘moongil’ in Tamil) is an ancient plant that grows fast in wet soil in broad sunlight. It is well known to people in Asia and Latin America, where communities use bamboo plants for a variety of purposes. The food scientist and historian K.T. Achaya, in his book A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, notes that Jain monks and forest exiles used bamboo stems and leaves for food, since ancient times in India. 

Bamboo trees across the country are best planted and grown in tropical and humid conditions, with good sunlight exposure and soil rich in organic matter. The States where bamboo trees flourish are Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A recent paper titled ‘From Forest to future: A sustainable perspective on bamboo’s nexus with biodiversity, indigenous knowledge, ecological resilience, and current status in Northeast India’, by Singh et al. in the journal Trees, Forests and People, reported that bamboo-based industries, using indigenous knowledge, can be strengthened scientifically and by policy interventions through setting up bamboo research centres to enhance local knowledge.

Bamboo finds new uses where sustainability is the goal, for example in place of plastics for disposable cutlery. In Numaligarh in Assam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a bio-refinery slated to produce 50,000 MT of ethanol from bamboo last year. Its website mentions many products made in India from bamboo, including clothing, baskets, mats, chairs, tables, shelves, roofing and flooring, musical instruments (flutes and drums), and incense sticks. Some States have set up bamboo research institutes to develop bamboo-made products.

In a major push to the bamboo sector, the Central government launched the National Bamboo Mission 2025 to expand bamboo cultivation, strengthen industry linkages, and reduce import dependence. The initiative aims to increase bamboo plantations on non-forest lands such as farms, homesteads, community lands, and irrigation canal borders, thus enhancing farmers’ incomes and ensuring a steady raw material supply for industries. In addition, there is export of bamboo and its materials such as full-length glass mirrors, cotton textiles and bamboo jewellery to the US, Denmark, and Nigeria. Globally, India ranks among the top three exporters of bamboo and its products (the others are China and Vietnam), with an income of several million dollars. Several states, including Maharashtra, Kerala, and Assam, have also set up bamboo research and technology institutes and sell bamboo products such as textiles, building needs, and food products.

Nutritional value

In a November 2025 paper in Advances in Bamboo Science, scientists indicated that they were rethinking bamboo as a powerful new superfood. The scientists were from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, and in the study they pointed out the nutritional benefits of including bamboo shoots, leaves, and seeds in diets. They reported that adding these bamboo materials could provide essential amino acids, vitamins A, B6, and E, and regulate blood sugar and lipid levels. These are good against diabetes and heart disease. The scientists also conducted a systematic multi-country analysis of the health outcomes of consuming bamboo, revealing that bamboo-based foods are also high in antioxidants and offer probiotic benefits. 

While rural populations benefit by consuming bamboo foods, how can we urbanites do so? We can purchase by courier service and through online market vendors and other distributors that sell bamboo-made foods and other products.