Meghalaya has
the bamboo.
Now we need
the designs.
A 6-month immersive residency where designers, architects, engineers, and makers work alongside bamboo artisans and enterprises in Meghalaya. 15 residents. Real work. Real impact.
2026 — Foundation Lab begins in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra
Designers, architects & engineers selected
Months of residential field immersion
2026 — Application closes
The material is here.
The design hasn't arrived yet.
Meghalaya is one of India's richest bamboo landscapes — over 40 species, deep artisanal knowledge, an existing construction culture. Yet the products, markets, and margins have stayed largely unchanged for years.
The challenge is not a lack of skill or material. It is the absence of sustained access to design thinking, innovation, and market-oriented product development.
"One good design can increase household income across an entire district — with no intermediary."
— Bamboo Concept NoteDesign Access
Bamboo makers have strong production skills but limited access to designers, architects, and engineers for contemporary product development.
Climate-Smart Markets
Design-led innovation can unlock high-value markets in sustainable construction, hospitality, and retail.
Preservation of Knowledge
Generational bamboo craft knowledge remains largely undocumented and risks being lost forever.
Resilient Construction
Bamboo systems offer low-carbon alternatives to steel and cement — enabling localised, adaptable construction ecosystems.
Green Livelihoods
The bamboo economy can generate livelihoods across harvesting, treatment, fabrication, construction, and design.
Place-Based Development
Design rooted in Meghalaya's identity and ecology — locally sourced materials, regional craftsmanship, cultural context.
Four pillars. One shared ambition.
Every element of the programme is built around making, not classroom lecturing. Real enterprises. Real materials. Real outcomes.
Field Immersion
Residents work directly with bamboo enterprises, artisan clusters, and practitioners across Meghalaya through the Meghalaya Bamboo Mission network. You will spend significant time in remote field locations and rural bamboo clusters.
Collaborative Prototyping & Mentorship
Ideas are collectively built, tested, and refined through hands-on experimentation — supported by foundational mentorship and ongoing guidance from practitioners, led by Mr Sanjeev Karpe and anchored by SELCO Foundation.
Context-Based Learning
Residents engage directly with local material systems, production practices, and cultural knowledge embedded within Meghalaya's bamboo ecosystem. This is not a classroom simulation.
Open Knowledge & Shared Outcomes
All prototypes, processes, and learnings contribute to an open-source design catalogue — drawings, making guides, material specs, cost estimates — accessible to makers, craftspeople, and communities everywhere.
Not a classroom simulation.
Real systems. Real enterprises.
From sketches to structures. You'll build things that actually get used.
This is a full-time, physically demanding residency. You will work on real systems with real enterprises — prototyping, building, documenting, and collaborating on-ground in Meghalaya for 6 months.
Foundation Lab
Residential orientation in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. Bamboo as material system. Species, treatment, fabrication basics. Forming teams. Meeting the ecosystem.
Field Immersion & Cluster Work
Embedded with bamboo enterprises and artisan clusters. Designing alongside makers. Working with real production constraints, real clients, real markets.
Hands-on Prototyping
Build furniture, structures, products, and craft applications. Iterate fast. Fabricate with bamboo artisans. Test in real conditions.
Real Design Outputs
Livelihood units, furniture prototypes, interior applications, craft designs. Not speculative renders — things that can be built and replicated across India.
Mentorship & Reviews
Regular sessions with practitioners, technical experts, and industry partners. A mid-review in December. A public design showcase in February 2027.
Open-Source Documentation
Production drawings, making guides, Bill of Materials, photography. Published openly. Bamboo makers anywhere can find a design and build it.
Designers, architects, engineers —
working alongside Meghalaya's makers.
Prior bamboo or making experience is required. We look for creative or technical depth, a genuine curiosity about materials, and the resilience to thrive in a demanding field environment.
Architects
Built WorkSpatial thinkers who want to design and build structures that are actually constructed — in bamboo, in the field, with local builders.
Product & Furniture Designers
Market-ReadyDesigners ready to develop furniture and products that are market-ready, replicable, and made by hand alongside Meghalaya's artisans.
Civil & Structural Engineers
Technical DepthEngineers who want to apply technical skills to real-world bamboo construction — joints, structures, standards, load-bearing systems.
Makers & Builders
Hands-OnPeople who love to build things with their hands — fabricators, craft practitioners, material experimenters who are comfortable in workshop settings.
Sustainability Practitioners
Climate FocusThose working at the intersection of materials, climate, and community — ready to embed design in the real economy of a place.
Advanced Students
Emerging TalentFinal-year or recently graduated students from design, architecture, and engineering disciplines across India — with strong portfolio and creative ambition.
The one non-negotiable
requirement
This programme demands full commitment. It is not a remote experience, a short workshop, or a side project. It is a life-changing 6 months.
- Willing to live in Meghalaya for approximately 6 months
- Comfortable working in remote locations and bamboo clusters
- Ready for physically demanding prototyping and build work
- Open to learning from artisans, fabricators, and enterprise ecosystems
- Committed to open-source documentation and collective outcomes
Not another speculative
studio project. From sketches to structures.
Six months of embedded, on-ground work with bamboo enterprises and artisans across Meghalaya.
This is the portfolio-defining work that studio time cannot replicate. You will work on real systems with real enterprises — and everything you build will be documented and published openly.
Climate Design Learning
Understand bamboo as a full material system — species, harvesting, treatment, fabrication, joinery, construction, and lifecycle. Skills you cannot learn in a classroom.
Collaborative Ecosystem
Work with 14 other designers, architects, and engineers from across India — plus artisans, enterprise owners, and national mentors. A network that lasts.
Built Work in Your Portfolio
Designs that are fabricated, documented, and published. Not renders. Not concepts. Things you can say you actually built.
What Comes After
Alumni may launch practices, co-found enterprises, collaborate with institutional partners, or contribute to bamboo construction projects across India and beyond.
"A furniture maker in Ri Bhoi finds a joinery developed during the residency, follows the step-by-step guide, and produces it at 4x her previous price point. That's one good design increasing household income across an entire district — with no intermediary."— From the Bamboo Concept Note
Six months. One shared ambition.
From Foundation Lab in Sindhudurg to the Meghalaya Design Review — every phase is built around making, not studying.
Applications Open
Now openDesign Residency applications open. Designers, architects, and engineers apply. The form closes June 30.
Application Deadline
DeadlineAll applications close. No extensions.
Conversations
30-minute conversationsShortlisted applicants have 30-minute conversations with the programme team. Not a formal interview — a discussion about what you want to make and why this is the year to do it.
Cohort Confirmed
15 residents selected15 residents selected. Offer letters sent. Field placements confirmed across Meghalaya's bamboo clusters.
Foundation Lab Begins
Residential start4-week residential lab. All residents, one location in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. Bamboo immersion. Team formation. Enterprise introductions. The residency starts here.
Field Residency
Core immersionEmbedded in enterprise clusters across Meghalaya. Building new things. Working directly alongside local artisans, fabricators, and bamboo enterprises.
Mid-Review
Course correctEach team presents work in progress to the programme team and partners. Course correct, refine, go deeper.
Documentation Sprint
Final 4 weeksFinal 4 weeks: production drawings, making guides, photography. Every output prepared for the open-source catalogue.
Meghalaya Design Review
Public showcasePublic showcase. Bamboo Residency catalogue goes live. State and enterprise adoption begins. The work enters the world.
Quick *FAQ*
Everything you need to know about the cohort, stipend, logistics, and expectations.
Design the future
of bamboo.
15 seats. 6 months. One of India's most extraordinary material landscapes. Shared Cohort Accommodation + Production Support provided. This is not a remote fellowship.
Application deadline: June 30, 2026 · Residency begins: August 2026