Museum of wood culture to come up in Kullu soon

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, July 23

A museum of wood culture — which will display the use and evolution of wood in architecture, furniture, sculpture, and various art forms — is set to come up in a few months at Shamshi in Bhuntar in the district. The museum was sanctioned last year to the Parvati Forest Division.

Under the project, the premises of the furniture workshop at Shamshi, which was established as a wood-based industry workshop in 1965, saw major renovation works, including repairs, upgrade of the campus and entrance, and installation of new technologies such solar kiln, last year.

Deputy Conservator of the division Aishwarya Raj says that people visiting the museum will be able to get to know about the process of furniture making and various other forms of wood use through 3D models, images and interactive pictorial representation. They will be informed about the evolution of wood science and its uses; hardwood and softwood; defects, treatments and sources of raw materials; new technologies being used in the industry; and sustainable forestry, he adds.

Raj says that a small reading section-cum-library will also be developed for the visitors so that they can have a glimpse through books and documentaries on wood technology and science. “The Forest Department is making efforts to encourage sustainable mountain tourism. A documentary that presented scenic spots of the division, which the department aims to promote as eco-tourism destination, was released on the occasion of International Mountain Day on December 11 last year,” he adds.

He says that various project have been developed in the area to promote eco-tourism. A nature park was developed at Mohal in 2015 — which includes the Himalayan Aquaworld and a traffic park for children. The department has also converted a landscape of 2.5 acres, which was used as a dumping yard, into a “Swarnim Vatika” near Forest Colony at Shamshi.