Bamboo:The Grass of Hope

Bamboo is known as the world’s tallest grass. But recently, it has received a new name, “the grass of hope.” More and more people around the world are now beginning to see bamboo in a different perspective. Although bamboo has been part of their art and culture, it was only recently that Chinese leaders took the plant seriously and are now building a massive bamboo industry.
The Philippines is following suit. “Bamboo has proven to be vital resources in terms of their contribution to the national economy and ecological stability of the country,” Environment Secretary Lito Atienza was quoted as saying.
A master plan for the development of bamboo as a renewable and sustainable resource showed that there are 39,000 hectares to 52,000 hectares of bamboo stands in forest lands, government plantation, privately-owned plantations, and natural stands all over the country. “I think during the 1930s, we have around 200,000 hectares of bamboo plantations,” revealed Romualdo Sta. Ana, president of the Philippine Bamboo Foundation.
All over the globe, there are 91 genera and about 1,000 species of bamboo, generally known as kawayan in the Philippines. “We have seven or eight commercial species which are massively grown in Iloilo, Davao, Bukidnon, and some parts of Luzon,” informed Sta. Ana.
Bamboo is the most diverse group of plants in the grass family, and the most primitive sub-family. It is distinguished by a woody culm, complex branching, a generally robust rhizome system, and infrequent flowering.
Thomas Edison supposedly used a carbonized bamboo filament in his experiments in developing the light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell also used bamboo for his first phonograph needle. “You can eat, wear, and build with bamboo,” said Michael Block.
In terms of exports, the bamboo’s potential remains in the areas of furniture and handicrafts, whose global market grows at an average of US$8-billion annually. “We’re not talking here of raw bamboo for export, but finished products made from bamboo. From roots to tip, you can make soap, medicines, cosmetics, furniture, bricks, clothing, paper, floor tiles, wall panels, drinks, vegetables-even surf boards from bamboo,” said Trade Undersecretary Merly Cruz.
Why is there a sudden craze for bamboo these days? “Bamboo is seen as a green product and a renewable resource in the developing world - more and more buyers are taking a closer look at bamboo as raw material,” Cruz added.
The exports of bamboo furniture in the Philippines rose from US$625,000 to US$1.2 million in the mid-’80s until the mid-’90s.’ Both bamboo furniture and handicrafts racked up US$438 million from 1991 to 2000. Total exports of bamboo furniture in 2000 were recorded at only US$3.2 million.
Bamboo, once considered the poor man’s timber, is now a fast growing industry and the Philippines stands to benefit from it if more people understood what the stakes are, said noted Filipino architect Francisco Bobby Maosa, whose bamboo designs include the Coconut Palace.
Next in line is bamboo shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground), which have been traditionally used as vegetable food in China, Japan, Korea, and in many other Asian countries. Some of the most popular species of bamboo used for food are “kawayan tinik” (Bambusa blumeana), “bayog” (Dendrocalamus merrillianus), “bolo” (Gigantochloa levis), giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper), and “kayali” (Gigantochloa atter). Just a health warning: shoots of some species contain toxins that need to be leached or boiled out before they can be eaten safely.
“With the increasing awareness on the many health attributes and recipes one can make out of bamboo shoots, it is now gaining popularity within the broader population and in the global market,” reports Nimfa K. Torreta of the Department of Science and Technology. “There is also a worldwide interest on bamboo shoots because of the growing population of Asian ethnic origin around the world who have particular preference and taste for Asian food.”
Bamboo shoot has a huge potential for market. Export of bamboo shoot from Thailand in 1994 was pegged at US$29.50 million. Japan has a steady market of 250 tons per month while Australia imports 6,000 tons to 12,000 tons of canned bamboo shoots annually.
There’s more to bamboo than just furniture and food. Its role in the construction field is equally substantial. Hundreds of millions of people live in houses made from bamboo. In Bangladesh, where 73 percent of the population lives in bamboo houses, bamboo provides pillars, walls, window frames, rafters, room separators, ceilings, and roofs. In Costa Rica, building with bamboo withstood earthquake which buildings with other materials were unable to.
Throughout rural Asia it is used for building bridges, from the sophisticated technology of suspension bridges to the simpler pontoon bridges. Bamboo scaffoldings employed on the high rise structures of Tokyo and Hong Kong. Building with bamboo in Costa Rica withstood earthquake which Costa with other materials were unable to.
Bamboo is also used for musical instruments of all three types: percussion or hammer instruments, wind instruments, and stringed instruments. The Bamboo Organ of Las Pinas has pipes made of bamboo culms. In Java, Indonesia, 20 different musical instruments have been fashioned of bamboo.
Capitalizing on this current trend and without much effort and capital needed, bamboo production could be a very promising livelihood opportunity for Filipinos. There is a lot of future in bamboo, said Sta. Ana. However, it is not as appreciated yet in the country.
As trees are fast disappearing in various parts of the world and with the concern of environment growing, timber are getting scarce day by day. This is due to long period of time taken by even softwood to attain maturity. So, a substitute or if that is not possible, an alternative, has to be found. Bamboo is the answer for this.
Bamboos can be extensively grown in a wide range of habitats, from lowland to mountain forests in both dry and humid tropics, even on wastelands, swamps and dry, or regularly flooded river banks.
Sta. Ana pointed out that bamboo is the fastest means of re-greening the country’s forests. It takes only three years for bamboo to grow, as opposed to trees that take years before its wood can be used for construction and other purposes. Bamboo matures in four to five years and growers and farmers can enjoy multiple harvests in 20 years.
Environment Secretary Atienza said bamboo, along with rattan “must be used, whenever applicable, in the ongoing rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and idle production areas.” He added that both plants could be planted along riverbanks and coastal areas under reforestation activities u f the environment and natural resources department.
“God can be realized through all paths,” Ramakrishna once said. “All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. You can also climb up by a bamboo pole.”