Bengaluru’s Insect Cafes bring back its buzz

Close to a year after the implementation of the Insect Cafe at Lalbagh, experts discuss its impact on the environment

If you live in an apartment (as most of us do), it is easy to understand how it takes all kinds to make any world — the brash and the hardworking, the domineering and the docile, where each type plays a part.

The analogy is quite apt when one wants to describe the Insect Cafe. Despite its name, the cafe is in reality, a structure of bamboo constructed with smaller “apartments” where different insects can nest. Conceptualised by WHO, it was adapted in Bengaluru by David Kumar, CEO, Vibhinna India Foundation, an organisation that works towards creating a sustainable planet.

The idea behind the Insect Cafe was to provide a safe zone where wasps, bees and other winged creatures could nest securely and build their colonies. In the ecological sphere of things, the presence and propagation of insects is imperative to life on Earth. Apparently, Bee Movie is not just a figment of animated imagination or a stretch of artistic license, but an actual take on ecological balances.

Human habitation, economic activities, massive construction and felling of trees are the biggest disruptors of microsystems. Thankfully, over the years, a certain awareness about the environment has crept into our lives and most of us do our bit by planting where we can, supporting lake ecosystems and making sustainable choices.

“While a lot is being done in the areas of conservation, over the years, insects have been neglected despite their important role in pollination and ecology. They play a vital part in food security — unless they pollinate we will not have a yield; our health and nutrition is linked to their well being,” says David Kumar.

The entire thought process behind this project was to create something visible that people could see and relate to. It took about eight to nine months to ideate and the team installed a small cafe to begin with in Lalbagh and the Lingambudhi Botanical Garden in Mysore.

After observing positive developments, David reached out to corporates and they proceeded to launch nine more cafes in Lal Bagh, two in Cubbon Park and nine at the Doddasaggare Botanical Garden near Koratagere in Tumkur, Karnataka, with six more planned for Madiwala Lake.