OVER a hundred bamboo entrepreneurs, processors, schools, and advocates in Negros Oriental will gather on September 22 to 24 for this year’s bamboo expo at Robinson's Place in Dumaguete City.
The expo is in line with the celebration of World Bamboo Day on September 18.
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in Negros aims to showcase different bamboo products during the expo to educate the public on the bamboo’s importance to the local economy and the environment.
Jose Julio Somido of DTI said the Bamboo Expo will include a mini-trade fair, lectures, and video presentations from partner agencies on bamboo advocacy.
During the event, a video production featuring bamboo development will be launched by Entheos IT of Foundation University.
The expo will carry out four themes, namely: Bamboo in Shelter and Structure, featuring bamboo huts and FU’s Studio Damgo construction; Bamboo as Food with Dumaguete City Agriculture Office to present its programs on how to use “dabong” or bamboo shoot in processing food; Bamboo as a Green Transport featuring the Bayaw-Ani bamboo bikes of Bayawan City; and Bamboo in the Arts and Crafts, showcasing souvenir items and bamboo-based music instruments.
During the opening program, a musical performance using bamboo instruments will be presented by the Ugkat of Silliman University (SU) Divinity and Silaw, a non-government organization (NGO) that performs music using bamboo from Manjuyod.
Somido said the bamboo industry is one of the priority industry clusters for assistance identified by DTI.
While DTI leads the bamboo business development, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) takes care of the environmental management while the social development aspect is handled by NGOs and private industry associations.
“Based on the 2012 survey, there are more than 300 hectares of bamboo sporadically planted in Negros Oriental that may be developed and maximized into high quality bamboo usage for design and craftsmanship,” said Somido.
The government has also encouraged farmers to plant more bamboos not only for economic reasons but also to mitigate disaster risks and climate change effects. (PIA)