This Hyderabad couple make houses out of bamboo and plastic

By making houses mainly using bamboo and recycled plastic, the couple is not only promoting sustainable living but also providing employment to several marginal communities

Hyderabad: Polybags, chips packets, plastic bottles, worn-out vehicle tires— every waste product can be recycled and turned into stunning houses, footpaths, bus stops and other useful structures at Bamboo House India.

Co-founded by the bamboo-couple Prashant Lingam and Aruna Lingam, the organization has recycled over 15,000 tons of plastic waste in the last seven years.

By making houses mainly using bamboo and recycled plastic, the couple is not only promoting sustainable living but also providing employment to several marginal communities.

The Hyderabad-based couple found Bamboo House India in 2006. Despite enduring several harsh challenges and life-altering experiences for around eight years, the couple got their first breakthrough in 2014. Seventeen years later, the organization is now breathing a new life into the urban landscape of not only Hyderabad but the entire country.

“Initially no one was buying our idea and we had to remain workless. By the end of 2012, we were in a debt of Rs 60 lakh,” Prashant shares.

However, their fortunes changed when they were approached by a school principal who has been looking to build a bamboo structure on the penthouse. Prashant and his team convinced the principal to give them a chance and living and breathing bamboo, they successfully completed the project.

The company hasn’t looked back since then, and Prashant says that they completed over 150 projects in the two years that followed. In 2016, the company ventured into another initiative called ‘Recycle India’. The idea was to recycle scrap and make it furniture.

Houses made from bamboo or recycled plastic materials by Bamboo House India are thoughtfully equipped with essential amenities such as electricity, internet access, and other features to ensure a comfortable and modern living experience.

According to Prashant, more than 500 bamboo houses have been built over the last seven years around India. “It takes 30-45 days to build a bamboo house depending on the size, design and location of the project. The bamboo is shipped from Nort-East and the house can last for over 30 years,” he said.

The organization has also successfully completed various projects for several big corporates while the government projects included setting up footpaths, dustbins, shops, kiosks, public toilets, schools and hospitals using recycled plastic waste.