In an age where plastic goods flood rural markets and youth migrate to cities in search of better lives, one elderly farmer in Assam’s Kokrajhar district has kept the traditional bamboo craftsmanship alive.

Seventy-six-year-old Rajen Minj, a respected elder from the Adivasi community in Dalgaon village, is on a mission to revive and pass on traditional knowledge that once formed the backbone of rural livelihoods. What began as a personal effort to preserve his community’s heritage has now grown into a village-wide movement, thanks to the support and persistence of Caritas India’s FARM Northeast program.

For generations, the Bodo and Adivasi communities in Assam have relied on indigenous wisdom to shape their daily lives. Using bamboo, cane, and wood, they crafted ploughs, yokes, fish traps, winnowers, and baskets tools essential not only for survival but also for cultural identity. But with urban migration, changing lifestyles, and mass-produced items flooding rural shops, these skills have been rapidly vanishing.

Mr. Rajen armed with memory, skill, and the will to teach is one of the last artisan left. Recognising his expertise and influence, the FARM Northeast project, implemented by Caritas India’s partner Bongaigaon Gana Seva Society (BGSS), identified him as a local resource person. Through this initiative, he has become a community trainer, a bearer of lost arts, and a bridge between generations.

With handholding support and financial assistance from the FARM Northeast program, Mr. Rajen has already conducted three workshops in his village, training 15 young people in the art of making indigenous tools. From fish traps to farm tools, these handcrafted items are now reappearing in the fields and homes of Dalgaon, not as relics, but as relevant and resilient alternatives to modern plastic substitutes.

“The youth are interested again,” says Mr. Minj with a smile. “They see that what our ancestors used was not only practical but sustainable. These things come from the forest and return to the earth.”

He often invites learners into his home, offering technical instruction, stories, songs, and the values that make up Adivasi identity. His effort is more than skill transfer, it is cultural preservation wrapped in empowerment.

The FARM Northeast program, supported by Caritas India, has been instrumental in catalysing this revival. The program strengthens communities by promoting ecological farming, traditional knowledge, and sustainable livelihoods across Northeast India. It celebrates farmers not just as producers but as custodians of wisdom. Empowering lead farmers like Rajen Minj anchors community resilience in tradition.

Caritas India’s FARM Northeast program focuses not on what people lack but on what they already possess. Whether it’s bamboo skills, ancestral farming techniques, or indigenous knowledge systems, the program nurtures these strengths and links them to broader development goals.

Mr. Rajen’s story is a shining example of how progress and tradition can coexist. In Dalgaon, the past is no longer forgotten; it is being carved, woven, and passed on, one bamboo strip at a time.