From narrating the stories behind Sikkim’s famous tourist sites to replacing plastic with handcrafted bamboo products, Indra Kari Subba has built a remarkable path in the Himalayan state’s push for a greener future. He has become one of the few voices proving that tourism and sustainability can grow together, while creating income for those with limited opportunities.
Sikkim has more than twenty native bamboo species and a long tradition of bamboo craftsmanship. Subba recognised this early and worked to turn untapped potential into livelihoods for women, young school dropouts and others searching for steady work. Born in Thingling Khechuperi village in Gyalshing district, around one hundred and sixteen kilometres from Gangtok, he first became a tourist guide during college because of financial problems at home. His father struggled to support the family and guiding visitors was the quickest way to earn.
In 2013, two years after completing his postgraduate degree in humanities, Subba joined a forty five day training programme by the Sikkim forest department that taught bamboo and wood craft skills. Though he continued guiding tourists for two more years, the training stayed with him and gradually shaped a new plan. He brought together about a dozen other trainees from his village, many of whom were unemployed, and set up Khechuperi Bamboo House.
He says the initial goal was simple: make sure government training did not go to waste. Even if bamboo business failed, tourism would still provide income, but slowly the craft began to grow. Subba started engaging young dropouts and women from marginalised families, and gradually expanded production. Today his unit makes furniture, baskets, vases, souvenirs and daily use items like tea cups and coffee mugs. Both locals and visiting tourists form a steady customer base.
Because almost every household in his village has bamboo plants, raw material costs were low. The real challenge was building a market. Subba solved this by putting up a roadside shed where tourists could view and buy products. Interest increased, and a market developed. He then began organising training sessions across the state and is now training eighty people at two locations. Two of his trainees have already started their own units and are training others. One of them, Arjun Rai, dropped out of school in Class 8 and struggled to support his family before joining Subba’s project.
Around forty artisans now work at Khechuperi Bamboo House and receive daily wages of nine hundred rupees for skilled work, six hundred to six hundred and fifty rupees for semi skilled jobs, and four hundred to four hundred and fifty rupees for helpers. Many women also craft products from home and receive payment for each item. Subba sells across Sikkim through self help groups, shops and business partners. Social media has brought customers from outside the state as well.
His network of stalls at major events has widened visibility. He recorded brisk sales at Mahakumbh and the annual tribal festival held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. His products were recent attractions at the thirteenth International Tourism Mart for the Northeast in Gangtok. During G20 meetings in the state in 2023, the government selected two of his products as official gifts for delegates. Subba sold five thousand bamboo items, earning two and a half lakh rupees in business.
Demand has continued from government departments, especially for eco friendly mementoes. At a tribal festival marking fifty years of Sikkim’s statehood, Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang visited Subba’s stall and urged citizens to avoid plastic. For Subba, this was a moment that reinforced his mission. What began as a means to support his family through tourism has become a model for sustainable livelihood, showing that bamboo handicrafts can help preserve Sikkim’s natural heritage and strengthen its green economy.