nagpur after hitting london streets with her bamboo rakhis a homemaker from a chandrapur slum meenakshi walke 29 has added another feather to her cap by designing and testing the first bamboo qr code this is perhaps the first time in the country a qr code made out of bamboo has been developeda qr code is a scannable barcode encoded with data toi had in july reported how rakhis and friendship bands made completely out of bamboo by walke were in demand abroad after turning into an entrepreneur by preparing at least 50 types of creative bamboo artifacts she has designed a bamboo qr code earlier such codes have been developed in chinafor people it may look a simple thing but for artists like me it can be a good alternative to qr codes made out of nonecofriendly plastic it also reflects traditional skills and values art said walkesharing her experience on making the qr code walke said our smalltime business of selling bamboo articles took a big hit during covid19 and family was reeling under financial crisis when a businessman asked us whether a qr code can be made out of bambooi accepted the challenge but two months ago when i started to work on it i was sceptical whether the technique would work on bamboo or not i prepared the first model in two days the model is 15cm high and 8cm wide with a thickness of 5mm the qr code is easy to handle and durable she saidthe bamboo qr code by walke has caught global attention susanne lucas of the world bamboo organization said it is an excellent innovation we should move away from plastics as recycling plastic is very energydependent and wastes precious water i will see how she can be supportedwalke even won accolades from globally known bamboo artist ivan platas i liked the idea and its results we are procuring a laser machine soon and will try to make such qr codes he told walkewalke provides direct and indirect employment to many women in the slum known as bengali camp in chandrapur for making bamboo articles she was conferred the national nari shakti award2018 for her startup venture in 2019 she was also felicitated by burad community women who are traditional bamboo craftsmen for her contribution in 2021 on world womens day the indocanadian art culture society presented her the woman hero award virtually looking at her bamboo art walke was also approached in 2019 by a global beauty pageant contest organizer requesting her to make beauty crowns for winners these bamboo crowns were applauded by one and all