Bamboo: Versatile Plant Holds Promise

The cultivation of bamboo can be useful to protect the environment and also the use of its wood, through developing projects could be a way of generating employment by producing goods by local consumers or exportation. This versatile plant also has many applications in construction.

I have worked on a research project regarding the use and cultivation of bamboo (architects, engineers: agronomists, civil, forestall mechanic engineer, chemistry engineer, forester and many other people members collaborate in this event). The Pan-American Agriculture School (EAP; Zamorano) and the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) financed the Central American Bank of Economical Integration (BCIE) and the German Agency GTZ.

This took place from 1992-95. Later I worked in the same area in Nicaragua, in a project financed by the BCIE and have kept on working in this area. I would like to share some of the advantages that the use and the cultivation of this plant give.

There are more than one hundred species of bamboo, many native to Asia. A native species grows in Central America called the Guadua Angustifolia and Aculatea. How is this bamboo recognized? The stem is green, it has many white knots, branches with spines in the lower area and its leaves are of the size of a lance. It grows form 25 to 30 meters. It is developed in groups of plants that are called “Macoyas”. The Guadua Angustifolia has the advantage that it is reproduced by Chusquines or children that multiply easily. Imported from Costa Rica and grown on various plantations of Honduras, the Guadua Aculatea is found in naturally in the northeastern part of the country.

Its rapid growth makes it an ideal plant for quick reforestation. Once it reaches maturity (4 years), new sprouts (thickness of 10 to 25 centimeters) can grow around 25 meters in six months and produce foliage in ideal weather conditions. It is rare for a plant to grow in such a short time. It can also be cut periodically, not causing the plant itself to decrease. As a plant of quick growth and abundant foliage, this bamboo actively contributes to the oxygenation of the environment and captures carbon dioxide.

Another ecological advantage of the Guadua is that the root system ties the land, preventing erosion. In rivers and streams, plantations of bamboo are a natural retaining wall, also preventing erosion. It is also a natural barrier to stop stones, trees and other elements that current drags when water levels rise sharply. The abundant production of leaves produces a protection for the ground and also enriches it. The Guadua grows in tropical, humid climates, but also on the shores of rivers and streams in dry conditions.

Its use is ideal in construction scaffolding, for example, as a substitute to pine. Another advantage of these Guaduas, is that ‘boards’ already exist within its structure, before it is harvested. These are manufactured by the National Project of Bamboo in Costa Rica, investigations of the project, served as the base for the work developed in Honduras.

In construction, bamboo can be used in many ways, for the structure of roofs, for example. Roofs can be made with the mats (open bamboo in the form of a mat); other uses include wall divisions, fake roofs, closets, furniture, lamps, doors, windows, curtains and decorative elements. These were used in a project by EAP-UNAH.

In rural areas, this versatile bamboo can be used to manufacture water pipes, to make corrals, nurseries, cages, fences, walking bridges, retaining walls, stairways, fishing poles, support for the cultivations of tomatoes, beans, etc. It can also be used as fuel. In our project, we gave away wastes of bamboo to a brick factory and these were used with success.

In other countries, bamboo is used in higher volume as a raw material for paper, to make wood to manufacture floors, small objects like baskets, plates, disposable spoons and forks, brooms, covers for computers and even cell phones. It has been used to make furniture, handcrafts and art works. In Honduras, two teachers who were graduated from the School of Arts have made wood crafts of excellent quality that could be exported.

There is still much research to be done about Guadua, to be accepted within the strict codes of construction and financial entities. I would like to make a publication explaining all the details on the planting and uses of bamboo guadua, and invite other people and institutions to promote its cultivation and use for the benefit of our country. Carlyle said “All the noble work seems impossible at the beginning, and there is another famous phrase. A great march starts with a first step.”