Assam’s Bamboo Jewellery Draws Attention at TEFLA’s National Conference in Mumbai; Guwahati Entrepreneur Meghali Das Presents Sustainable Alternative to Gold and Diamonds

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 1: Bamboo jewellery handcrafted by rural women in Assam emerged as one of the most visited stalls at the national agriculture, bioenergy and commodity conference organised by Tefla’s in Mumbai. The stall, set up by Guwahati-based journalist and entrepreneur Meghali Das under her brand Bamboo Fashion, drew delegates, industrialists, policymakers and foreign guests throughout the conference.

Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma and Rajasthan Governor Haribhau Bagade visited the stall and examined the collection closely. Pasha Patel, Chairman of the Maharashtra State Agricultural Price Commission and Executive Chairman of the Chief Minister’s Environment and Sustainable Development Task Force, supported the initiative and helped bring it to the national platform in Mumbai.

Alongside her work in media and as a social worker, Meghali Das began experimenting with bamboo jewellery around 2016–17 after training through the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship and programmes linked to NID and NIFT. During the Covid lockdown, she turned her experiments into an organised enterprise. On 23 February 2026, she opened the Bamboo Fashion showroom and the North East Bamboo Jewellery Designing Institute & Research Centre at Rukmininagar, Guwahati, in the presence of officers from the Office of the DC (Handicrafts), the North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council (NECBDC) and the Assam State Bamboo Mission. The brand describes it as Northeast India’s first bamboo jewellery brand and showroom.

The collection includes more than 250 designs, from earrings, necklaces, rings, bracelets and bangles to brooches for men inspired by the traditional Assamese jaapi. The jewellery is made from locally sourced bamboo and natural forest seeds, is chemical-free and extremely lightweight, and is treated with natural polish to resist fungus and humidity. Prices start at ₹50, with intricate pieces going up to ₹5,000.

The initiative is built on rural livelihoods. Meghali Das has trained more than 1,000 women so far, with a core group of 25 to 30 women in active production, working from their homes. Under a buy-back model, Bamboo Fashion purchases the finished jewellery directly from the women, ensuring assured income. She has also trained women inmates of Guwahati Central Jail to help them build a path to self-reliance.

Positioning bamboo jewellery as an alternative to gold and diamond jewellery, whose supply chains are linked to mining, mercury pollution and labour exploitation, Meghali Das said, “With gold and silver, all you see is the shine. No one shows you the mining and environmental damage behind it. Bamboo jewellery does no harm. It is completely safe, pollution-free, nature’s true ‘green gold’.”

Bamboo, one of the fastest-growing plants on earth, regenerates after harvest, needs little water, prevents soil erosion and absorbs carbon as it grows, making it a strong base for sustainable fashion and value addition for farmers and rural artisans.

About Bamboo Fashion

Bamboo Fashion and the North East Bamboo Jewellery Designing Institute & Research Centre, Guwahati, design and produce handcrafted bamboo jewellery and train rural women in bamboo jewellery making, linking traditional Assamese craft with modern, sustainable design.

Contact

Meghali Das, Founder
Bamboo Fashion & North East Bamboo Jewellery Designing Institute & Research Centre
H. No. 27, Namghar Path-1, Rukmini Nagar, Guwahati – 781006, Assam
Phone: +91 98640 54060