Foundation promotes use of bamboo<\/p>\n
DENPASAR (JP): A brick structure is a shattered ruin, but the
\nadjacent bamboo structure stand as a modest survivor of the 1992
\nearthquake in Flores. The juxtaposition has revealed the
\ntremendous potential of bamboo to Linda Garland.<\/p>\n
\"As the world's population expands and resources diminish,
\nnature has offered us some solutions in her miracle plants. It
\nwould be irresponsible to ignore them,\" reminds Linda, who
\nestablished the Environmental Bamboo Foundation (EBF) in 1990.
\nThe foundation's mandate is to \"incorporate a multidisciplinary
\napproach to developing bamboo as an environmentally-responsible
\nnon-wood forest resource for the ecological, social and economic
\nbenefit of Indonesia and planet earth.\"<\/p>\n
The foundation is involved in a variety of activities. It
\nsupports research and data collection to prioritize areas of
\ninvestigation, including the identification of the most useful
\nspecies of tropical bamboo. It also plans to survey traditional
\nbamboo knowledge among the tribal communities of the world.
\nAlthough the research is not done at the EBF, the foundation has
\na small but growing library cataloged with hundreds of books and
\nmonographs on many aspects of bamboo. It hopes to build global
\nawareness of the advantages of bamboo over wood to shift market
\ndependence on vanishing tree species.<\/p>\n
The EBF also maintains a nursery on two hectares of Garland's
\nvast private estate in Ubud, Bali. The nursery contains
\napproximately 80 species of bamboo representing the gene pool of
\nsome of Indonesia's rarest bamboo germplasm. They were a gift
\nfrom Dr. Elizabeth Widjaja, a researcher in bamboo taxonomy, to
\nthe EBF.<\/p>\n
In addition, Garland has established a design center to allow
\nother designers to develop prototypes of bamboo products to help
\nencourage the use of bamboo as an aesthetic alternative to timber
\nresources.<\/p>\n
The EBF hopes to stimulate innovative research and dialogue
\namong scientists and local manufacturers. In collaboration with
\nthe Indonesian Institute of Sciences and the Center for
\nInternational Forestry Research, the EBF organized a scientific
\nforum on bamboo last June. Seventy Indonesian scientists and
\nbamboo practitioners gathered to discuss the future of bamboo in
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
Garland's foundation has also provided special training
\nprograms in nursery management, propagation, planting,
\nharvesting, pest control, processing, fabrication and marketing.
\nIndonesia's first bamboo training center is scheduled to be
\ncompleted this year. It will be in Penglipuran, Central Bali and
\nwill included classrooms, treatment and production facilities,
\nliving areas and administrative offices. The center is jointly
\nfunded by the Earth Love Fund, the Bangli regency administration
\nand the EBF.<\/p>\n
At the center, 25 selected trainer-trainees from all over
\nIndonesia will learn everything from forest management to
\nproduction. The U.S. Agency for International Development will
\nfund the year-long training program. Additional funds have also
\nbeen received from the Australian International Development
\nAssistance Program's Indonesia-Australia Small Activities Scheme.
\nThese funds will go to organizing bamboo training facilities to
\ncomplement the larger program.<\/p>\n
After two years of research, the EBF has successfully modified
\nthe Boucherie treatment against powder-post beetle. The research
\nwas funded by EBF president and founder, Linda Garland, with
\nadditional project support from Aid-to-Artisans, a private U.S.
\nfoundation. Leadership was provided by EBF trustee, Dr. Walter
\nLiese from the University of Hamburg.<\/p>\n
The beginning<\/p>\n
The fact that bamboo dances instead of collapsing during
\nearthquakes, has convinced the EBF to provide immediate technical
\nassistance to the earthquake-stricken inhabitants of Flores. The
\nmodified Boucherie treatment process will allow the inhabitants
\nto begin treating freshly cut bamboo as low-cost building
\nmaterial. This is the beginning of what will be a long term
\ncommitment from the EBF and Indonesian NGOs to undertake the
\nreconstruction of the thousands of the homes destroyed during the
\nearthquake. It has completed two bamboo treatment machines and
\ntrained Maumere locals how to use the technology. This field
\ntraining was given by EBF staff in Maumere in a project funded by
\nthe YASPEM, a foundation in Flores.<\/p>\n
The program, which makes use of local resources to redevelop
\nas well as develop the island, has been keenly accepted by Nusa
\nTenggara Timur administrators. The possibility of including a
\npilot project, employing bamboo for earthquake resistant
\nconstruction, in the Flores Earthquake Reconstruction Project is
\nbeing discussed by officials at the World Bank.<\/p>\n
In terms of conservation and agroforestry, the foundation is
\ninvolved in watershed rehabilitation and protection projects. It
\nhas also organized programs to encourage and facilitate income-
\ngenerating industries at the village level by intercropping
\nbamboo with other plant species.<\/p>\n
The EBF is currently preparing to host thousands of
\nresearchers, associates and friends at the Fourth International
\nBamboo Congress which is planned for June 19 to 22, 1995 in Ubud,
\nBali.<\/p>\n
\"Our first goal is to put people in touch with information
\nconcerning bamboo, a miracle plant indeed, and how at the very
\nsource of supply the bamboo industry and technology must show its
\nresponsibility in the way it conducts business at the village
\nlevel,\" noted Linda.<\/p>\n
Recognition<\/p>\n
With trustees like Emil Salim, former minister of the
\nenvironment, Trisura Suhardi, Director General of Small
\nIndustries, Dr. Elizabeth Widjaja, minister of Industry, Dr.
\nSuryono Surjokusumo, a professor of wood technology at the Bogor
\nAgricultural Institute, Dr. Walter Liese, a renown wood and
\nbamboo preservation scientist from the University of Hamburg, Dr.
\nNono Anwar Makarim, a prominent attorney in Jakarta, Ms Gabriella
\nTeggia, the visionary behind the acclaimed Amandari Resort
\nComplex in Ubud, and many other influential people, the EBF is
\ngaining national as well as worldwide recognition.<\/p>\n
The EBF has two sister chapters: the International Bamboo
\nFoundation, a nonprofit organization chartered in the United
\nStates, and the Environmental Bamboo Foundation of Holland, which
\nseeks European funding for the EBF. A third chapter will be
\nformed in Australia this year. The EBF also communicates with the
\nInternational Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), New Delhi,
\nthe International Bamboo Foundation of America, the European
\nBamboo Society, the International Tropical Timber Organization in
\nTokyo as well as hundreds of other bodies and thousands of
\ncorrespondents. Its network includes bamboo scientists,
\ngovernment ministries and officials, development assistance
\nproviders, universities, designers, architects, artists and
\nmusicians.<\/p>\n
Major scientists, bamboo authorities and other people
\ninterested in the future of bamboo have committed themselves to
\nattend the conference. United Nations Environmental Program
\nExecutive Director, Noel Brown has offered to co-sponsor the
\nevent and be a keynote speaker. Paul Hawkins, businessman and
\nauthor of Ecology of Commerce, will also be speak. Megatrends
\nauthor, John Naisbitt, intends to include the potential role of
\nbamboo in his forthcoming Megatrends Asia, and is also expected
\nto speak at the conference. A bamboo trade show will exhibit
\nrecent developments in bamboo products. Musicians, including the
\nGrateful Dead, Peter Gabriel and bamboo musicians from around
\nIndonesia will enliven the events with a Bamboo Music Festival.<\/p>\n
-- Amir Sidharta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/foundation-promotes-use-of-bamboo-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }