WHY BAMBOO
Bamboos are
giant, woody grasses which put out several full length, full diameter,
naturally pre-finished, ready-to-use culms ("stems") each year. A
single bamboo clump can produce up to 15 kilometres of usable pole (up to 30 cm
in diameter) in its lifetime.
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.
Bamboo use in China extends over 4,000 years ago. Many
ancient cultural bamboo artifacts were made for daily production and living
purposes. The history and usage of bamboo dishes and musical instruments is
especially extensive. Before paper was developed, Chinese people used bamboo
flakes as a way to record history and spread culture. The mature period of
bamboo is only 3-5 years while hardwood tree takes at least 10-20 years to be
harvested. With the rising concerns of declining forests all over the world,
bamboo is considered the best replacement material of hardwood. The flexibility and
durability of bamboo products is what made this material very popular and
reliable.
China is relatively poor in hardwood but is one of the few
countries that are rich in bamboo resources. China is the largest producer of
bamboo products in the world. Bamboo grows mainly in South China and covers
areas over 1.6 million square miles.
Traditionally, bamboo was only used for daily accessories,
such as chopsticks, cups, chairs, blinds, placemat, carpet, etc. During the
1990s, bamboo production technology developed greatly. Due to economic growth
in China, deforestation became an important issue. Bamboo began to attract
attention from the government and public as an alternative building material.
In southern China, rich soil and plentiful precipitation allowed for a friendly
tropical environment in which to grow bamboo.
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It has a tropical and subtropical
(cosmopolitan) distribution, ranging from 46 N to 47S latitude, reaching
elevations as high as 4,000 m in the Himalayas and parts of China. Bamboo is
very adaptable, with some species being deciduous and others evergreen.
The taxonomy of the bamboo remains poorly understood, though
the general consensus seems to be that bamboo numbers between 60 and 90 genera
with 1,100 to 1,500 species.
Described as
the 'wood of the poor' (India), 'friend of the people' (China) and 'brother'
(Vietnam), bamboo is a wonder plant that grows over wide areas of Africa, Asia,
the Caribbean and Latin America. Millions of people depend on this plant for
their livelihood. It has become so much a part of the culture and memory of
societies that the existence of a Bamboo Age has not been ruled out.
Its use in
food and cooking goes far back in history. Exports of bamboo shoots from Taiwan
alone amount to $50 million (US). Apart from traditional uses, bamboo has many
new applications as a substitute for fast depleting wood and as an alternative
to more expensive materials.
Bamboo's potential for checking soil erosion and for road
embankment stabilization are now becoming known. It is equally important for
providing fast vegetative cover to deforested areas.
Bamboo's role in the construction field is equally
substantial. Hundreds of millions of people live in houses made from bamboo. In
Bangladesh, 73% of the population live in bamboo houses. It provides pillars,
walls, window frames, rafters, room separators, ceilings and roofs.
- A sixty foot
tree cut for market takes 60 years to replace. A sixty foot bamboo cut for
market takes 59 days to replace.
- Over one
billion people in the world live in bamboo houses.
The
world trade in bamboo and rattan is currently estimated at 5 billion US dollars
every year.