It is said that necessity is the mother of all inventions. Nowhere does this adage seems more apt than in a small village in Nalbari district of Assam in India. Driven by poverty and an indomitable spirit to master all odds, Dodhi Pathak a resident of the district, embarked on a journey of innovation that has made his life easy, helped fellow residents and brought him national recognition.
Pathak was born in a poor family and commuting for him was a daily struggle. He wanted to buy a bicycle, but when he went to the market he realized that even a second hand model was beyond his reach. Undeterred, he returned home and started thinking of ways to overcome his problem of commuting. He hit upon a novel idea of making a bicycle with the help of abundantly available raw material – bamboo. A trained artisan and a baul singer, Pathak began his heroic effort with the enthusiasm of an entrepreneur.
The journey wasn’t easy as he had no idea about the design and construction specifications of a bicycle. However, with grit and determination and many disappointments later, he was able to create a main frame where even the handle, piston, sprocket and chain were also made of bamboo. Though the cycle was sturdy it wasn’t comfortable as the seat itself was made of bamboo and had no cushion. Even the shock absorbing ability was severely limited. The bicycle was used by Pathak mainly to commute within the rural areas, and he seldom took it on metalled roads.
However, it was a brave new attempt and experts concluded that if some metal components like free wheels and chains were introduced, and shock absorbers and seat covers were improved it could become a good alternative to the present all-metal bicycle.
Pathak’s innovation also opened a door for a possibility to create a new production line of bamboo-made bicycles in the North eastern region as well as in those areas of the country where bamboo was available in abundance. His prototype, if accepted by venture capitalists or traditional bicycle makers, could also open doors for employment for the uneducated and technically less skilled youth as local artisans could be employed to make the new bicycles.
Another good thing about this innovation is its bio degradability, and posed no problem of scrap and its disposal. It also brought down the need for the amount of iron and steel needed today to make a bicycle.
The bamboo bicycle isn’t the only product in Pathak’s innovation arsenal; When he was injured in an accident and lost three front teeth, he didn’t have money to put a polymer-based teeth made by the dentist. He came back home and started looking for answers within the bamboo grove. He found that a locally available species of bamboo called ‘mokal’ had white roots and was sturdy enough to be used as raw material in making artificial teeth. Not only did he make artificial teeth for himself, but today it takes him just and half an hour to carve out an incisor, canine or molars for those in need. Front teeth cost Rs 30, while molars cost Rs 50. This artisan-turned-local dentist claims that he has been able to bring a perfect smile on the faces of more than four thousand clients. The bamboo tooth lasts ten years and is strong enough to chew chicken and mutton. The first one made for his own use is still in working conditions even after a decade. These teeth can be fixed permanently or can work as a denture.
His bamboo tooth was such an innovative idea that the National Innovation Foundation in Ahmedabad rewarded him with Rs 25,000, and chose him as one of the 21 national grassroots innovators who have had no formal education. The Foundation has also extended its help to Dodhi Pathak to expand his dental business.
He has been involved in making many products from bamboo. Using it as his source of inspiration, he has been able to take his artisanship to a new level. Adversity, too, has been a great motivator. Apart from these two well-known innovations, Dodhi Pathak has also made a portable hand pump made entirely of bamboo. The hand pump can be used to extract ground water or can be taken to a pond to pump out the surface water.
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