Design Resource
Cane Furniture - Sandur, Karnataka
Craft of Making Cane Products
by
Prof. Bibhudutta Baral, Divyadarshan C. S. and Manmi Dutta
Introduction
Cane is the term used for the material, which is harvested by peeling the outer skin of the rattan stem. Rattan is the word given to denote six hundred categories of palms. Rattan has slender stems with a vine like structure, growing over other floras. The various types of rattan ranges from few centimeters upto a diameter of 5 cm and 7cm. Cane falls under the categories of tall, perennial grasses with flexible wood textures from the plant family Poaceae, which is available throughout the world. The various qualities of cane from suppleness, strength to its durability and bendable properties has made cane useful for many purposes. Cane is used all around the world for weaving various objects namely, furniture’s, baskets, walking sticks and many more. The method of weaving of cane into various products including furniture’s is a process that can only be practiced only by skilled artisans. The raw rattan is generally managed into strands of cane to be used as materials in making of the furniture’s. Rattan is considered a very useful material mainly because of its resemblance to wood and also for its lightweight. The rattan stalks are harvested and the thorns along with joints are detached and the bark is alienated from the core. The bark of the rattan is used in producing thin strips of cane, which is woven together to produce the furniture’s and other objects. Canes are often of cylindrical structure with an even thickness of yellow to brown colour, which are enclosed in leaf covers. The raw material used for weaving the furniture is called cane, the product, which is obtained, is known as caned furniture and the process of weaving the canes into furniture is named caning. From ancient era, human beings to create baskets, which later evolved and developed into making of the furniture, have exploited cane.
Rattan is cultivated in few states of India namely, Assam, Karnataka, West Bengal, Kerala etc. Rattan is mostly cultivated in forests as it is much stress-free to harvest, transport and involves simple tools to harvest. Cane is cultivated in abundance throughout the state. One such state, Sandur of Karnataka, India practices the weaving of cane into furniture with the help of a Sandur Kushala kala Kendra. Sandur a town of Bellary district of Karnataka lies south from Hospet at a distance of 33 kms. Sandur was earlier a princely state which was ruled by Ghorpade the royal family of Marathas. Sandur Kushala kala Kendra is a non-profit organization set up in the year 1984 in Sandur for the welfare of the people. Shri M.Y.Ghorpade sponsors Sandur Kushala kala Kendra. The Kushala kala Kendra helps in employing the villagers all man and women and also works towards bringing international recognition to the traditional crafts of the place. The Kendra supplies all the raw materials required for the making of the crafts to the craftsmen and even provide training for local people. At present there are more than five hundred craftsmen working in Sandur Kushala kala Kendra. The Kendra also provides marketing provision to ensure the demand of the produced crafts. These crafts are very demanding all over the world and are extensively sell over domestic and international markets. This organization also deals with various other crafts like stone sculptures, embroidery, Khadi, Karnataka Kasuti etc. These crafts are extremely valued for their uniqueness in both international and domestic markets. Many products designed and weaved by the craftsmen are mainly exported to foreign countries.
