Swing sets, slides and jungle gyms – all typical things to find in a park but this bamboo park is no typical park.  The first bamboo park to open in India is in the state of Tripura and comes with a price tag of $7 million.  But Indian officials aren’t worried about the cost as they see the value in the growing industry of bamboo products.

From clothing to flooring to phones, bamboo is proving to be a versatile, sustainable and sturdy raw material for many countries.  In fact, the United States, in areas of waning economies like the Delta, would be wise to investigate the potential of growing bamboo.

Spearheaded by Tripura’s Forest and Commerce Minister, Jogen Chowdhury, the park is for more than recreational purposes. In a partnership with China’s Nanjing Forestry University, Tripura has formed the Tripura Forest Development and Plantation Corporation and will participate in a technology share with the Bamboo Engineering Research Centre at Nanjing University.

“China is the number one country in the world in production of thousands of value-added bamboo items,”  Chowdhury explains about the partnership between the two countries.  And with 1500 documented applications of bamboo from building material to packaging to musical instruments, Tripura is wise to invest in the fast-growing grass.

Spread over 70 acres, the park will be home to 25 varieties of bamboo, or “green gold” as it’s commonly called, and will provide employment for over 1700 people.  Indirectly, with the expansion of bamboo manufacturing, the park could lead to as many as 10,000 jobs.  Manufacturing plans include bamboo flooring, corrugated roofing sheets and furniture.  For local artisans and those willing to learn, round bamboo will also be produced at the bamboo park.

“The bamboo park would produce hundreds of value-added items and also facilitate export of bamboo products. The thrust of the bamboo park would be to give a fillip to growers who are forced to sell raw bamboo and its products at a cheap rate. Bamboo growers and artisans would gain enormously if value addition is ensured,” Chowdhury added.

For more on how bamboo is changing the world, visit Green Earth News section on Bamboo’s Worldwide Impact.

Bamboo Park: Green Gold In India is a post from: Green Earth News

In an effort to make its products sustainable and ecologically friendly, German-based toymaker Hape has been manufacturing toys made largely from bamboo.  Additionally, the company claims to avoid plastic in its packaging, utilize organic inks, and so on.  There’s really no way to tell to what extent such measures are based on an earnest sense of duty among corporate executives.  But Hape and any other company that undertakes similar green initiatives are certain to do so on the basis of some mixture of genuine concern for the environment and simply for their profit margins.  It’s only natural.

Anyone who reads this site regularly will already understand the environmental benefits to be had from the promotion of bamboo as a base for manufactured products.  That applies to Hape as to any other topic that has been covered here.  But what is of particular interest in this case is the potential socio-economic benefit of utilizing bamboo in overseas manufacturing operations.

As an example of the usual straightforward interest in what’s best for the profitability of the business, Hape, like many Western manufacturers, has its production done in China, where labor is often shockingly cheap.  Over the course of years, there have been numerous reports on terrible working conditions in Chinese factories, and quite recently workers at the Foxconn electronics manufacturer threatened mass suicide in reaction to pay disputes amidst such conditions.

Any company responsible for outsourcing to a place where they risk contributing to that sort of climate is morally suspect.  But an investment in local bamboo, like that of Hape, might help to undercut some of the concerns that might be raised about a company’s influence on the local workforce.  While Western exploitation of foreign employees is a fact of the global economy, it is not a strictly necessary outcome of doing business overseas.  Forging relationships with local suppliers and supporting the more profitable aspects of the region’s economy can demonstrate an unusual interest in safeguarding the welfare of a population that could otherwise be viewed as nothing but cheap labor.

A fifth of the world’s bamboo grows in China, and for those Chinese farmers who wish to grow it for sale and processing it generally proves to be quite profitable.  Consequently, it is a crucial part of certain rural economies within the nation, being responsible for as much as a third of the total revenue in certain counties.

In Anji county, which relies enormously on bamboo growing, the per capita income even as far back as 1995 was over thirty percent more than that of the national average for rural households.  There were meaningful gains in the socio-economic position of locals as bamboo output exploded over the course of the preceding decade.  Apart from generally increased income, processing of the commercial bamboo provides rare jobs for rural women.

If companies that outsource to China also provide a new market for continued increase in the output of Chinese bamboo, the result could well be a win-win situation.  Western companies get cheap labor, but Chinese agricultural workers receive heightened revenues in turn.  Over time, better lives on the farms will necessitate better lives in the factories.

It is one thing to take advantage of low wages, but it’s absolutely unconscionable to sidestep raw materials and local skill sets in order to keep an outsourced workforce locked into a diminished socio-economic position. I hope that by using Chinese bamboo at the same time that it uses Chinese workers Hape is doing right by the country that hosts its operations at the same time that it is doing right by its shareholders.  There is an essential compromise to be had there.  It is the same between business and labor as it is between economics and environmentalism.  In one way or another, bamboo supports all of these.

Balancing Outsourcing With Bamboo is a post from: Green Earth News

In the northeast Indian state of Tripura, scientists at the Department of Forest Research and Development have introduced new methods of cultivating bamboo which promise quicker establishment and higher yields of a crop that is already characterized by its heartiness and speed of growth.  The process involves growing bamboo in environmentally controlled conditions, then using tissue cultures to establish derivative plants that can be transported to areas that would benefits from the establishment of new saplings.

Commercial growers of bamboo should find that this reduces their costs while also providing them with a healthy, disease-free product that has both a longer lifespan and a shorter pathway to maturity.  Some strains of bamboo must be maintained for three years after seedlings are planted before they reach maturity, but if growers have greater access to already-established saplings, they can profit off of their crop in a much shorter period of time.  This latest research in Tripura is a major move in support of policies that have been in place since 2007 to emphasize bamboo as a means of economic development in the area.  The value of the industry there could increase more than five-fold over the next five years, and the new promises of providing crops to interested growers, especially those who do not currently have access to bamboo seeds, will go a long way toward making that potential a reality.

If this process continues to be successful in India – and it has demonstrated ninety percent success so far, establishing 3,000 plants – it could mean great potential for other areas of the world, as well.  Bamboo remains underutilized, considering its amazing versatility.  And its commercial applications in building and manufacture, food, medicine, and bamboo clothing can be enjoyed most everywhere, given the range of climates in which its more than one thousand species grow.  There is an economic benefit to be gained from bamboo growth by whatever countries, regions, and individuals choose to take advantage of its growing popularity in the coming years.

But the prospect of growing large amounts of bamboo in shorter than ordinary times may offer the greatest benefit of all to the global environment.  The possibility of increasing growth rates and expanding bamboo to new areas could be a great weapon in the fight against global warming.  Since bamboo converts carbon dioxide into oxygen at three times greater a rate than trees, they can be that much more important in efforts at removing greenhouse gases from the air through the process of carbon sequestration.  The fact that bamboo already grows at such an astoundingly fast rate once it has matured is a boon to its potential in that respect.  As a giant grass, it can be cut and utilized and still remain in place to go on respiring carbon dioxide, even growing sometimes fifteen feet in a single day.  Now, on top of that, scientific advancements present the possibility of speeding the pace of maturation for healthy, hearty plants, so that this ongoing process can begin sooner and continue for longer.

This is the promise that comes of learning to navigate the nexus of technology and nature.  Our scientific endeavors can speed along the trends that will make this a better earth.  If this latest research is used as it ought to be used, it will widely expand the availability of quality renewable resources, and thus lower their price, increase their visibility, make demand for and use of them more common, and exploit their economic advantage.  And just by following the course of progress, without even thinking about it, we will find ourselves living in a greener future.

Bamboo Growth: Now With Turbo Boost is a post from: Green Earth News

International groups have begun a program of planting bamboo on the slopes of Mount Agung in Bali, Indonesia.  The hope is that over time the presence of the new crop will have enormous, far-reaching effects on the landscape, its climate, nearby community development, and the socio-economic well-being of local Indonesians.

Mount Agung is the highest point on the island of Bali, and its dominating presence contributes to the climate on all sides.  Clouds that come from the west deposit their moisture on the mountain so that there is a great deal of plant growth in the west while precipitation fails to reach the east and keeps that area barren.  However, the overall ecosystem has been in worse shape for the past few decades than it had been at one time.  Clear-cutting of mountain forests damaged the landscape somewhat, and a volcanic that began in 1963 destroyed plant life in the area with volcanic debris and clouds of superheated gas.

The creators of the bamboo project expect that the area will be rather quickly and thoroughly revitalized by the local Balinese who have been hired to carry out the planting.  The plan is to use a row of bamboo to provide shade and slow down the wind so that moisture does not so quickly dissipate and leave the area parched.  With a wide variety of bamboo species to choose from, the program organizers have identified two that are the strongest and the most resistant to drought.  Over time, when the stands have reproduced and begun to serve their purpose in making the area suitable for other vegetation, some of that bamboo may be harvested for use as an excellent timber.

Once shade and increased moisture are established, the local Desa Ban community, which owns the land, will begin to plant larger trees to further improve the soil, after which they hope to be able to grow vegetables and other cash crops which will provide a substantial livelihood to impoverished Balinese.  The program has just begun, and the Desa Ban, with the support of international organizations, will have to maintain the young bamboo for three years before it matures.  But given the amazing growth rate of mature bamboo, once that happens, the change may be swift and dramatic.  Perhaps the same can be said of the project itself, and others like it.  The Mount Agung work has begun with the planting of mere seedlings, and in the first three hours forty-five of them were established in the ground.

According to Balinese mythology, Mount Agung is a replica of Mount Meru, which in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, is the center of the very universe.  If the Desa Ban bamboo project succeeds in transforming the ecosystem of Mount Agung so that it is no longer marks a stark divide between a lush landscape and a barren one, then perhaps we can take that as a powerful metaphor for human progress overall.  Perhaps, with concerted effort and a sound understanding of science and nature, we will very soon begin to change our world as a whole into a greener and more verdant place.

Bali And Bamboo: Building An Ecosystem At The Center Of The Universe is a post from: Green Earth News

Bamboo and other sustainable and renewable resources are becoming noticeably more popular worldwide.  Environmental consciousness is no longer a niche area of interest, and as concepts like improved energy efficiency in home design are coming to be second nature to most people, those with a more far-sighted, and perhaps more committed sense of environmental consciousness are beginning to look seriously at other elements of construction and design that can contribute to a green social landscape.

Bamboo is identified by some as the most useful resource in the world, and together with several other sustainable and renewable resources, it provides the potential to effectively replace wood in all of its various uses.  On its own, bamboo certainly stands to be utilized for some of the functions of construction that are usually given to wood by default.  In fully industrialized countries, bamboo will rarely stand on its own as the basic construction material, but can play a substantial role in quality construction, especially in light of the multitude of other materials to which we have access, many of which are similarly sustainable.  In developing countries, however, where the citizenry presently inhabits simpler homes, bamboo may prove even more acceptable as a main building material.  If it does, it can be used both to improve quality and to decrease cost of construction.

In Uganda, treated bamboo materials were recently donated by the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, for use in part of the construction of two buildings at Makerere University.  Persons involved in the project estimate that once bamboo construction materials can be processed locally, it could reduce the cost of building simple homes in Uganda by more than thirty percent.  However, they also point out that bamboo has not yet proved popular in that country, because it is viewed as being a material used by the poor.  Clearly, though, with such projects as the one at Makerere University, the popularity of the resource is growing, and when persons who stand to benefit from the use of the material recognize that it is not only less expensive, but also provides for genuinely high-quality construction, that popularity will really begin to take off.

That trend is certainly being observed in the Europe and America, where bamboo, recycled materials, and raw materials from natural sources are becoming more accessible and sought-after for the sake of ecologically sustainable construction.  It is always wonderful to see such trends actually catching on.  It justifies much hope for a future green society.  And as more people take up these alternative resources simply to do the right thing for themselves and their environment, those products and trends become increasingly profitable as well.

Because of the great, ongoing increases in demand for green building materials that market, of which bamboo is a significant part, is projected to grow thirteen percent per year, making it worth over seventy-million dollars by 2015.  Bamboo itself has come to be an in-demand investment opportunity.  EcoPlanet Bamboo is just one company offering such an opportunity.  Their bamboo funds guarantee a seven percent return on the initial investment in the first year.  The guarantee lapses after three years, but then the return on investment is expected to climb to sixteen percent after four years and a remarkable seventy-eight percent after ten years.

Naturally, no such expectations should be taken lightly, but the growth of such opportunities, the availability of investors and leases, the projections for the market and the upsurge in demand for the product itself all signify that there is great confidence in bamboo, and high expectations for its future.  It may well be a great investment opportunity, but more than that, there is much reason to expect bamboo to be an increasingly popular resource in our green future, both as a building material and a multipurpose, sustainable resource that can be used for paper, clothing, bedding, and more.

Bamboo For Building The Future is a post from: Green Earth News

Sometimes you come across something so beautiful that you have to pass it along.  That is how I feel about the Bamboo Pavilion.  Now, there are many restaurants by that name all over the country, but I am not talking about those.  I am talking about the Bamboo Pavilion that is a communal shelter for the homeless that is located in the Indian Ocean rim.  (I only wish our homeless could be treated to such a fine shelter.  To be honest, I wouldn’t mind living is something like this!). 

This wonderful bamboo building was constructed by designer Esan Rahmani with Mukul Damle  We have often talked at Green Earth News about all of the great and awesome uses of bamboo (and even those besides bamboo clothing!), but this is truly a building that shows the sheer usefulness of bamboo.  This Bamboo Pavilion is literally bamboo from top to bottom:  roofing, flooring, and even drainage pipes!  We often talk about living a green lifestyle, but this takes it to the extreme!  This shelter was definitely designed with quality of life in mind. 

The Bamboo Pavilion comes with all modern amenities. In the center of this bamboo structure, there is a large funnel.  This funnel draws in the sunlight and also provides ventilation.  Rainwater is channeled through bamboo pipes to a central basin.  The water in the basin is then filtered and stored to be used later.  The communal living space is surrounded by private sleeping rooms, wash rooms, and storage.  The rooms even have operable shades!  The layout of the rooms is flexible since they are divided by large woven bamboo mats.  They can easily be removed to make a larger room and can even be slept on!  The roof is tiled using quarter cuts of bamboo.  It actually looks like a traditional terracotta tile style roof!

Bamboo is as strong as wood, grows quickly, and looks absolutely fantastic.  I wish more home builders would take notice of this masterpiece and incorporate it into our designs over here.  Bamboo helps to protect forests and harbors biodiversity.  It restores landscapes and helps in the fight against climate change.  Most of all, it helps support the livelihood of more than 1.5 billion of the world’s poorest people.  Another amazing statistic is that it generates more than $5 billion in annual global trade!   Bamboo is easily sourced around the Indian Ocean Rim, so it really makes this project a no brainer.  It is renewable and inexpensive.  It helps the local community in both work to construct it, and for the families who now are able to stay in it. 

It is nice to see designers and developers in the world step up and use renewable products when they construct homes and shelters.  They are the first step in getting the world to see that products like bamboo are a must have instead of a luxury item in our homes (and to make our homes).  Would you stay in a shelter like this?

Bamboo Pavilion: 100% Bamboo Shelter For The Homeless! is a post from: Green Earth News

Bamboo is a versatile product, hands down.  From organic towels to bamboo t shirts to the softest sheets you’ll ever curl into, the bamboo plant provides a plethora of options for manufacturers worldwide.  And because the bamboo plant is tenacious in its growth and quick regeneration (it can be harvested at the root and will grow back within 3 -4 years), the raw material needed is obtainable for even the poorest of farmers. 

So it’s no wonder that with its adaptability of product that the bamboo plant is providing the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) a world of options in their workshop offerings.  And we mean a world as they span several countries.

Collaborating with In-Hand Abra Foundation in the Abra region of the Phillipines, INBAR promoted the development of the bamboo industry with a loom-weaving workshop featuring bamboo yarn.  Led by an Indian textile designer and two native weavers, the workshop showcased a new style of loom that accommodates new, contemporary designs but also incorporated indigenous and ethnic designs depicting Abra’s distinct culture and arts.

Since the workshop, the production of hand-sewn shawls, stoles and shirts has continued and a natural dye facility has been established to standardize color schemes and to better utilize indigenous resources. 

From soft fabric to strong buildings, the versatility of bamboo carries through to the Sichuan province in China.  While we are still reeling with the news of the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that recently struck New Zealand, China is still recovering from a series of earthquakes that spanned two years.  In 2008, a 7.9 magnitude quake struck the Sichuan province in China killing an estimated 68,620 people and leaving almost five million homeless.  This devastation was followed by strong quakes in 2010 that struck in Western China killing roughly 87,000 people.

The tensile strength of bamboo is well-known (it will bend but it won’t break) and already Haiti and Indonesia have taken advantage of the earthquake-resistant and easily-constructed housing options that bamboo products offer.  Bringing that knowledge to China, INBAR hosted a workshop on earthquake resistant bamboo building codes in partnership with the Sichuan Forestry Department.  40 experts in the fields of construction, architecture, wood science and bamboo processing gathered to present this consultative workshop focused on developing bamboo building codes. 

From clothing to buildings, bamboo is proving to be an ideal cash crop worldwide! 

For more on how Bamboo is changing the world, visit the Green Earth News section on Bamboo’s Worldwide Impact.

The Many Uses Of Bamboo: INBAR Hosts Workshops Worldwide! is a post from: Green Earth News

Since the inception of the Bamboo Bike Project, intended to provide sturdy, locally-made bamboo bikes to people in Africa, the idea of the bamboo bike has flourished.  Realizing that they had a native, sustainable material with incredible tensile strength like bamboo right at their hands and that the bikes built could provide transport in countries where people are forced to walk mile upon mile to markets, medical care, to visit families and even to get water, inspired entrepreneurs worldwide to re-create this initiative.

As for the Bamboo Bike Project, things have been getting bigger and better.  BBP has partnered up with the Earth Institute’s Millennium Cities Initiative has led to a partnership with a local investor in Kumasi, Ghana who leased a production facility in the city and reached agreements to harvest local bamboo.  KPMG, an Earth Institute Partner, analyzed the feasibility of bamboo bicycle production in Ghana and found that the bamboo bikes could be produced for less than $50 which means they can be sold for significantly less than the imported bikes from China or India.  And just last month, the building of the bike factory in Ghana commenced with local citizens receiving training and certification on building the bamboo bikes.  Things are rolling right along!

Meanwhile, also in Ghana, the Ghana Bamboo Bikes initiative (recent recipient of a SEED Initiative package) is looking to boost the local company by making their bikes a popular export for a country that lives in poverty.  This year alone, they are looking to sell about 300 bikes this year, mainly for export to the United States.  Their long-term goal is to reduce the cost of production enough to make the bikes more accessible for rural farmers in Ghana.

And while BBP and the Ghana Initiative aim to help with rural transportation, an entrepreneur in the Philippines is hoping to reduce the polluting traffic congestion in large cities with his own bamboo bicycle invention. (In particular, the city of Manila which Reuters recently reported as one of the most polluted capitals in the world.)   The BamBike is the brainchild of Bryan McClelland who recently formed Bamb Ecological Technology to produce these bikes whose frames are made from cut and dried bamboo while the joints on the frame are wrapped with fibres from Manila and then sealed with a resin adhesive.  Customers will have their choice of regular pedal-powered bikes or an electrically powered bike for some added oomph while traveling through city traffic.  And like the Bamboo Bike Project, these BamBikes are produced locally and made with fair-trade labor.  As McClelland says, he helms a company that “is interested in helping out people and their planet.”

The influence of the bamboo bike is spreading among Asian countries.  Most recently, a series of Bamboo Bike Workshops in Jakarta were held to show city commuters how to easily build and repair the simple bamboo bikes known as “fixies.”

Perhaps, one day soon, the bamboo bike will be commonplace here in the U.S and we can all pedal off some pounds and travel easily with a sustainably-produced product.

For more on how bamboo is changing the world, visit Green Earth News section on Bamboo’s Worldwide Impact.

Pedal Power! How Bamboo Bikes Are Changing Lives Worldwide. is a post from: Green Earth News

On the anniversary of the Haiti earthquake which devastated tens of thousands of lives, there is still much to do to help the recovering country.  Cholera outbreaks remain common, violence spreads through the tent cities and people are still struggling to return to jobs, schools and a semblance of normal life.  Housing remains a key issue.  While some were able to take advantage of emergency housing, many are still living in the tent cities with little privacy, little security and little defense against disease.  Permanent housing is necessary to help Haiti recover from this earthquake.

The Haiti Housing Collaborative, mobilized by the AIA NY Global Dialouges Committee, is composed of NYC-based architects and planners who are working together with the goal to rebuild Haiti through a call for collaborative housing designs.  12 design finalists will be narrowed down to 6 this evening at a fundraiser in New York City.  The designs represent architects across the globe and are innovative in their approach to rebuilding this nation.

Many of the design elements include:

Bamboo – With so much of Haiti’s inland populated with bamboo that has better seismic behavior, designs take advantage of the rich natural resource to build bamboo wall panels and roofs.  And because bamboo is strong but very light-weight, the housing itself can be easily moved or rearranged to suit the owner’s needs. 

Transitional housing – Many of the designs address the immediate need for housing by building a base first and then adding rooms as needed.  One design from Spain allows for modules that are easily added as construction continues. 

Use of natural resources and labor – Some of the designs address the need for jobs as well as shelter and allow for local construction of compressed earth blocks and traditional woven panels.  One design even encourages the use of local art to help add to the aesthetic element of the home and to encourage pride in the house itself.

Effective use of the elements – Many of the designs also incorporate a variety of ways to make the elements work for the homeowner.  These include rainwater collection, greywater recycling systems, communal composting, bio-waste use, solar panels and wind turbines.

Recycled materials – In the quest for sustainability, many of these designs embrace the use of recycled materials ranging from cement blocks and rubble from the earthquake to plastic water bottles to shipping pallets that bring relief supplies into the country.  One design, called freehab, takes it one step further and proposes construction sites be located near local landfills to make salvaging easier.

When asked why a private organization would take on such a public need, Chair of the Global Dialouges committee simply responded, “The world is one and we are its citizen.”

With such a compassionate goal, such innovative techniques and a global response, the Haiti Housing Collaborative is set to revolutionize the response to housing needs in the struggling nation

Continue to visit Green Earth News for a more in-depth look at the six finalists of the Haiti Housing Collaborative!

Housing For Haiti: Bamboo, Recycled Materials And A Global Response Making A Difference! is a post from: Green Earth News

While homeowners associations across the United States continue their bans on the bamboo plant, a province in Northeastern province in India is working to decontrol bamboo.  Currently, farmers in many parts of the low lying state of Himachal Pradesh (including Bilaspur, Kangra, Harmirpur, Sirmaur and Una) are unable to freely harvest bamboo.  Before this action, bamboo was classified as a timber in India meaning that it fell under the control of the HP Land Preservation Act and therfore required a permit to harvest. 

And while one would think a preservation act would be a good thing, it has actually hindered the use of the rapidly-growing bamboo plant.  Bamboo is actually a member of the grass family and can grow up to 4 feet per day.  And while a traditional hardwood tree can take up to 70 years to reach maturity, the bamboo plant can be cut above ground and be ready for harvest within a few short years.  Clearly, it is not a plant in need of a preservation act!

Now with the restrictions lifted on bamboo, this foresty cash crop can be harvested in accordance with a three year feeling program divised by the divisional forest officer and approved by the forest conservator each year.  Bamboo is used to construct a variety of buildings ranging from housing to cow sheds.  One can even stay in a bamboo hotel when visiting Himachal!

As an added incentive, the government has also announced higher subsidy to BPL families for construction of bamboo based poly houses under the Rs 353 crore Pandit Deen Dayal Kisaan Baagwan Samridhi Yojna.

Bamboo is also important for the arts in Himachal.  Crafting wood in various items of use is an art form that has been practiced in Himachal for centuries, making it one of the most famous handicrafts items in Himachal Pradesh. The use of Bamboo for making household articles by the Dom tribe is popular. They manufacture boxes, sofas, chairs, baskets, racks and several articles that come of use in daily life. Bamboo basket making in itself is a unique art that also satisfies the fiscal needs of the poor living in the area. Made from what are essentially bamboo scraps, these baskets are both eco-friendly and beautiful.

Perhaps this decontrol of the bamboo crop comes as a result of the National Bamboo Mission.  The National Bamboo Mission is working hard in India to provide financial assistance for planting and cultivating bamboo.  As Dr. Bharathi, an advisor to Gujarat Bamboo Mission points out, “It is a no-death plant.”  Instead the bamboo can continue to breathe a lot of life into these impoverished regions.

For more on Bamboo’s role throughout the world, visit Green Earth News section on Bamboo’s  Worldwide Impact.

India Decontrols Bamboo, Encourages Growth And Cultivation For Prosperity is a post from: Green Earth News