Market Survey

The cane furniture market works roughly on three planes. 

• At the lowest level are those who help form the perception that cane furniture is cheap, meant only for outdoor purposes. They sell their products at anything between Rs 5000 to Rs 10,000 depending on whom they get as their customers, and how long the customers are ready to negotiate. They are generally sold at roadside shops in cities like Delhi and Mumbai.
• At the intermediate level, come the small furniture stores, craft exhibitions, government shops etc , who sell the products at anything between Rs 9,000 to Rs 20,000. 
• At the top of the pyramid are the fancy stores that employ designers, and come up with cane products looking as gorgeous as affluent Indians would want in their drawing rooms.Some examples of these are Cane Boutique , Bangalore , Idus store, Delhi, Cane lab, Pondicherry etc.Their furniture range from 20,000 to even as much as 70,000.

 Cane in the market 

• The cost of furnitures also depends a lot on the kind of cane that is being used to make a particular furniture. 
• In the market there are a lot of colloquial names that are used to describe the quality of the cane.
• There are three varities that are most commonly available.“Raidung” which is considered to be a very superior quality, then there is “Jati” which is of a little lower quality  and “muttu” which is of the lowermost quality and hence is used only for support members etc which is generally not visible . Also, muttu is generally not available in all sorts of thicknesses.

Raidung

Jati

Mutu

• Malay is of an extremely flexible sort. But unlike the above mentioned varieties these cannot be used to make structures/ framework.
• From a strand of rattan , the skin is peeled of , to be used as rattan weaving material.
• The remaining core also is used for weaving  the exterior of a furniture. The core is also called wicker sometimes.But wicker can also be made out of synthetic substances.
• The core can be of different thicknesses , ranging from 3mm to 6mm. They are available in round , oval and other innumerable shapes.

Malay

Round Core

Oval Core

The kind of texture that is given to finish a particular piece of furniture, the amount of material that is used also affects the rates.Some of the different kids of weaving that are done are as follows:--

                                 

Research cane

• Rattan is an extremely sustainable material because of its economic value, rapid growth, transportation.
• Rattan is  a plant that requires very little maintenance except for weeding and during harvestation. Also that they require simpler tools.
• Its ease to grow faster than most tropical wood makes it a potential tool in forest maintenance.
• The cane plant of the grass family is known to minimize CO2 gases and generates upto 35% more O2 as compared to other timber producing trees.
• Rattan is extremely strong , light weight and a durable material and also flexible to a certain extent.
• Also cane/ rattan has an additional advantage as it is a water resistant material which makes it ideal for garden and and outdoor furniture.
• Generally, raw rattan is processed into several products to be used as materials in furniture making. The various species of rattan range from several millimeters up to 5–7 cm in diameter. 
• Many of the properties of rattan that make it suitable for furniture also make it a popular choice for making handicraft and art pieces. Uses include rattan baskets, plant containers and other decorative works, musical instruments, etc.

PROCESSING

 Rattan goes through a lengthy process before it is taken to the market to be sold.

•  Firstly rattan poles are harvested.
• The plant is then cleared of its leaves and spikes 
• Then it is cut to a standard and manageable length.
• The topmost skin is then scraped off to ensure that drying will be even throughout the length of the rattan pole.
• The scraped rattan pole is then dried in the sun for a week or two. The immature rattan poles

 and the ones affected with fungi etc would be identified and then eliminated.

Then these rattan poles are bundled and transported to the processing unit.

If they are to be stored for a longer period of time they are boiled in a mixture of oil and sulphur so that they 

are free from pests.It also helps in enhancing the pale yellow colour.

At the manufacturing unit all these rattan poles are passed through a rattan sizing machine so that they are 

of a uniform thickness throughout.

A rattan pole sanding machine eliminates  the  excess fibres even  before it is worked on.

The rattan pole is then steam bent and straightened.

 It is after this that these rattan poles are bundled again and are transported to markets from where they are 

sold as raw materials.  

Bending Rattan Poles

Rattan pole can be bent by using a blow torch. But this process produces a lot of burn marks on the surface which degrades the product quality and value. Thus, steaming is the most preferable method.
For steaming the process that is followed is as follows:

•  Firstly the poles are to be bent by steaming them in an enclosed chamber with a temparature of about 100 degree celcius at atmospheric pressure.
• Then, the poles are to be removed one at a time from the steaming chamber and then manually bent with the help of custom made jigs.
• The poles are then cooled and held in the same constricted position in order to hold the shape for a minimum of 24 hours.
• The bends are later adjusted and refined using a blow torch.

Research on Cane

Cane (Plant)

Originally Cane belongs to the kingdom of plants, specifically flowering plants.They belong to the grass family which is scientifically known as “Poaceae”. 

• Poacaea, formerly called Gramineae,  grass family of monocotyledonous flowering plants.
• They are considered to be one of the most important categories in plant family.The Poaceae are the world’s single most important source of food. It includes most of the staple food grains and cereal crops.

• Bamboo also comes under this family.

The poacaea family are generally charecterised by the following:-

•  Round stems which are commonly hollow.

cane being hollow is used in making musical instruments

• Leaves are alternate , comprising an open sheathing base with overlapping margins.
• On the axial leaf  surface at the junction of  the blade and sheath is an often hairy fringe of tissue called ligule.

cane plant

“Arundinaria” is the genus name of cane which falls under the poacaea family.

Arundinaria is not nearly as sharply defined as the other subfamilies of poacaea. 

The 600 species of this heterogeneous group of primitive grasses grow mostly in the tropics and 

Southern Hemisphere.

Some species which are commonly called bamboo also fall under this subfamily.

The general charecteristics of the species that fall under this category are as follows:-

• They are mostly perennial.
• Their active growth period is mostly during spring-summer.
• Their growth rate is extremely rapid and their height can go up to 25 feet.
• Their life span is also very long, can range upto 10 years , some also die after the flowering season.

Cane of certain kinds which are colloquially also called ratan or roton fall under the palm family or “Arecaceae”

Arecaceae are found mostly in the tropical region.

“Calamae” is a subfamily that comprises of the different kinds of rattan/ roton which falls under the palm family.

The charectestics of this subfamily are as follows:---

•  They have slender stem  that is hairy and covered with bristles / spines/ thorns which sets them apart  from the other palms.
•  They have long internodes.
• They need structural support to grow on and cannot grow on their own.
•  Their stems are solid unlike that of bamboo.
•  Most of the ratan produce comes from Indonasia. Other countries that produce ratan also include Malasia, Philippines,Sri Lanka, India and Bangladesh.

Project Proposal

 In recent years, the resource depletion has been one of the major concerns for governments and organizations (like UN). Resource depletion is an economic term referring to the exhaustion of raw materials within a region. Use of non-renewable forms of resources beyond their rate of 
replacement is considered to be resource depletion. 
This rapid depletion of resources gives rise to pressing need for sustainable development, sustainable design etc. The basic intention of 
sustainable design is to reduce negative environmental impact by using renewable resources, being energy efficient, durable etc.
Cane is one such renewable material. It is an extremely fast growing grass. Also since furniture made out of cane are mostly handmade the 
pollution and consumption of electricity and other energy sources are also lesser. In addition cane is a sturdy material, can take a lot of weathering and has a good longevity.
Cane lab is a design firm in Pondicherry. Cane lab mainly focuses on handmade design and traditional caning techniques. They give a lot of 
attention to the quality and finishing of their products. All the artisans and workers employed by the cane lab are deaf and mute. Currently, the clients that Cane lab are catering to are either hotels, or other organizations or people belonging to upper middle class families  who are sensitive about design and being eco friendly.
Hence, I would like to design a range of home furniture for the younger families using cane as the prime material without neglecting my client’s ideals and principles while simultaneously incorporating my design sense, ideologies and my research outputs.