The Custodian of Baat: Jiten Bora and the Cane Craft of Assam
Jiten Bora
The question this story follows:
“In an era when sustainable and natural products are a global trend, why does a cane craftsman in Assam with 10 years of skill still lack a platform to reach the buyers who would pay for his work?”
Jiten Bora is a ten-year cane craftsman from Assam who makes 100% natural bags — but without a platform, his work stays invisible to the buyers who need it most.
Jiten Bora comes from Assam, where rivers run wide and traditions run deeper. He is a cane craftsman — a custodian, as he calls himself, of a skill passed down through his family for generations. He works with baat, the Assamese name for cane, sourced from Arunachal Pradesh, Shillong, and Assam. From this material he makes bags, laptop bags, and shopping bags — each piece 100% natural, no chemicals.
With ten years of practice, Jiten can finish most items within a single day. Prices range from Rs 40 to Rs 1,000 — sustainable and accessible. In a world flooded with plastic, his products stand apart. Yet the road is not without hardship: the most pressing challenge is the absence of a platform — a space to showcase this work to buyers who would truly value it. Government support has been limited.
Jiten's commitment is simple: he will pass this skill to his children, just as it was passed to him. Not as a burden, but as a gift. A living thread connecting Assam's past to its future.
Updates
Episode 1: Jiten Bora — The Cane Craftsman of Assam
My name is Jiten Bora, and I come from the heart of Assam — a land where rivers run wide and traditions run deeper. I am a craftsman, but more than that, I am a custodian of something precious: a skill passed down through my family, generation after generation, carried forward not in books or blueprints, but in hands.
I work with cane — or as we call it in Assamese, baat. It is one of nature's most honest gifts: flexible yet strong, simple yet beautiful. From this humble material, I shape bags, laptop bags, shopping bags, and much more. Every piece tells a story of patience, precision, and pride.
The raw cane I work with comes from Arunachal Pradesh, Shillong, and Assam. Depending on the size and intricacy of the piece, each item can be finished within a single day — a testament to the fluency that only ten years of practice can bring.
In a world flooded with plastic and mass-produced goods, my products stand apart for one simple reason: they are 100% natural. No chemicals, no harmful materials. Prices range from just Rs 40 to Rs 1,000.
Despite a decade of dedication, the most pressing challenge is the absence of a platform — a space to showcase this work to wider buyers who would truly value it. But the craft endures. Because some things are worth fighting for.