Harnessing the untapped bamboo gold mine

Saturday, July 30, 2011

MYRNA Bituin believes that an often neglected grass that grows practically anywhere in the region can become the next best resource that can jumpstart a whole new line of craft, furniture, construction and even food industries.

And her faith lies on the belief that bamboo, an ordinary gigantic grass in the Philippines, can become a gold mine for a new generation of farmers and entrepreneurs. Her devotion to the Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry's (PamCham) bamboo propagation program is such that she is in fact living the bamboo dream.

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Bituin is the focal person and PamCham's envoy cum advocate to promote bamboo as a raw material for possible bamboo-based industries.

"Bamboo grows quickly, needs little water, absorbs carbon dioxide, protects estuaries and can withstand storms. There are more than 1,000 species of bamboo in the world, including 36 species in Mexico, but they have gone unstudied and underutilized," Bituin said.

Some people scorn the plant and consider it a pest, particularly in areas where coffee, banana, tobacco and cocoa are grown, or where there is extensive cattle production. Yet bamboo, already used in housing, furniture and other areas, has potential to help in the battle against global warming which is worth looking into.

"Government should understand that this industry is very promising and can become a driving force for development in the countryside," Bituin said.

Last year, the Pampanga Bamboo Development Council (PBDC) was tasked to create a bamboo value and supply chain in the province, but Butuin said that it would still take a couple of more months to fully create a stable supply of bamboo for related industries in the province.

A billion dollar industry

The Philippines, in fact, is in a very early stage in the development of bamboo as a resource and raw material. Compared to China and Vietnam and other countries in Southeast Asia, the bamboo industry in the Philippines almost does not register in the economic radar.

In China, bamboo is a $10-billion industry in 2009 and with 5.38 million hectares of bamboo plantations and an annual increase of 100,000 hectares, the country is the undisputed leader in bamboo output and production.

Bituin believes that Pampanga, for its part, can take the lead in harnessing the potential of bamboo as a raw material resource in the region by starting on small industries and creating markets for new and improved bamboo-related products.

"The aim now is to create a market for bamboo products, people who can create the products and a value chain that can sustain the whole process. Imagine how it can revolutionize construction, furniture and even the medicinal industries, the potentials are limitless," Bituin said.

Hope for the Magalang Group

PamCham started the training of farmers in Magalang town on the processing of bamboo. Members of the Magalang Bamboo Growers Association (MBGA) were given the skills needed to produce engineered bamboo slots that can be used as substitute "wood panels" for the making of furniture and other crafts.

"Our main bid is to supply DepEd with its needs on bamboo desks and prove to the local markets that this industry has its potentials," Bituin added.

After the training and education of farmers, their families and the community, the project will undertake the construction of a mobile node, or pre-processing unit, that can be strategically located near identified plantations for maximum utilization, to serve the huge requirement for pre-processed bamboo slats used in furniture, furnishing and other bamboo products such as BBQ sticks, charcoal and home decors, which have high marketability.

This will involve rentals of treatment vats, bamboo pole cutters, twin rip saws and a double-head disc sander, and a mobile platform for the identified equipments. Eventually, as soon as the operators generate enough income from the node, they can procure their own pre-processing equipment.

Bamboo farmers in Magalang town, who are members of the Ayala Upland Farmers Association, identified potential bamboo nodes, or pre-processing areas, while manufacturers of furniture, home furnishings and other bamboo by-products housed inside the Technology Resource Center in Mabalacat town were identified as potential bamboo hubs or production and development areas. Some 6 hectares in the Department of Agriculture's lands in Magalang have been plated with bamboo propagules.

Products being eyed and are now being developed include bamboo-smokeless charcoal, desks and bamboo tiles.

Once the farmers and the barangay community reap the income benefits from the bamboo plantation and propagation, the project will be self-sustained, requiring very little intervention by the government, Bituin added.

"But now we need the help of government and sectors who are interested in this new endeavor," Bituin said.