Ecological gains from returning to use of bamboo

Ecological gains from returning to use of bamboo

By Rita A. Widiadana

JAKARTA (JP): The increasing need to find alternative
materials to wood is gaining momentum in Indonesia and throughout
the world as the once abundant forest resource grows scarce.

One of the most viable solutions might be the use of bamboo,
which has actually been utilized by the local people for hundreds
of years.

Never a day in the life of many Indonesians passes without
bamboo being used. Villagers live in bamboo houses, sleep on
bamboo mats and eat from bamboo bowls. They wear sandals woven
from bamboo strips and keep their chickens in bamboo cages. They
water their crops with pipes made from hollow bamboo stalks.
Some even have young bamboo shoots for their daily meals.

There are more than 5,000 diverse functions of bamboo
according to its expert Dr Elizabeth Widjaya in her book Bamboo
of Indonesia.

Yet despite its multifarious benefits, bamboo was abandoned by
people, particularly those living in urban areas, in line with
the flood of Western products. They replaced bamboo walls and
roofs with timber, cement and ceramic tiles. They threw away
their bamboo baskets and other household utensils to make way for
plastic and steel products. Bamboo was used by villagers and so
it became associated with village and rustic life.

But the current global call to use more environmentally sound
commodities has forced many people to go back to alternative
materials like bamboo.

To reintroduce people to the advantages of bamboo, the
Indonesian Bamboo Society, established in l995, held a series of
activities including an exhibition, a seminar and a cultural
event to celebrate its second anniversary. On Tuesday night, they
will hold a bamboo extravaganza featuring songs and dances in the
company of a bamboo orchestra.

The exhibition, held at the Manggala Wana Bhakti building here
last week, offered exemplary works that enabled people to
appreciate the inherent features of bamboo, thereby promoting
greater public awareness of this rich natural heritage.

Participants from Central Java, for instance, displayed
products ranging from furniture and handicrafts to a bamboo
gazebo. A traditionally designed bamboo sofa was sold for Rp
750,000, while various handicrafts went for between Rp 20,000 and
Rp 300,000 a piece.

West Java province represented by Bandung and Tasikmalaya
displayed a myriad of household utensils and intriguing
handicrafts like bamboo baskets, fans, sandals, handbags and
interior ornaments such as table lamps and bamboo curtains. It
also displayed traditional music instruments like the angklung,
calung and bamboo flute.

Galeri 16 from Bandung displayed numerous artistic bamboo
items and bamboo paintings. Another participant, PT Sinar Bogor,
made impressive experiments with bamboo. The company, in
cooperation with the Bogor Agriculture Institute, has developed
bamboo into a large variety of building materials such as bamboo
flooring, panels, canopy, sliding doors and kitchen sets.

C.V. Seni Bambu Mo-Ha from Jakarta presented a blend of
traditional and contemporary designed products ranging from a
bedroom set to beautiful console tables.

"I tried to incorporate traditional and contemporary designs
to meet with market demand. But it is a risky business. Not many
people like bamboo materials," said Sharifah.

In general, the exhibition was far from alluring. Only a few
participants took part in the event, designed to promote bamboo.

A representative from West Sumatra province said that most
members of the bamboo society do not have adequate funds to
transport their products to Jakarta. Others did not have
appropriate items to be displayed at the exhibition.

Abraham Wibisono, chairman of the Central Java branch of the
society, said that all the displayed products were made by small-
scale artisans.

"Bamboo products from Indonesia are mostly handmade and have
not become an integrated industry because people were only aware
of the economic potency of this material a few years ago,"
Wibisono said.

Bamboo, he said, has high economic value. Like wood, bamboo
is hard and durable. The use of bamboo as a building material in
Indonesia and other Asian countries like China and Japan is
sensible since it is abundant, locally available and has a low-
thermal mass so that minimal heat is transmitted into the
building. Bamboo is also commonly used for construction because
it is widely available and easily replenished.

Elizabeth Wijaya revealed in her book that bamboo has both
commercial and environmental value. Apart from its function as a
construction material and household utensil, bamboo's long fibers
are an excellent ingredient for paper pulp, once developed in
Banyuwangi, East Java and Goa, South Sulawesi.

Bamboo shoots are widely consumed by people in Japan, China,
Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia. Japan needs approximately 200,000
tons of bamboo shoots a year, while Taiwanese consume an average
80,000 tons of bamboo shoots annually.

The growing demand of bamboo shoots is based on the
scientific fact that these foods contain high nutritious and
medicinal value. A recent study revealed that yellow bamboo
shoots have the potency to cure cancer-related diseases and cure
liver problems.

In addition to its economic benefits, bamboo plays a
significant role in environmental conservation. Bamboo is often
used in watershed management and regreening programs.

"We have to use material that is practical and responds to the
environment and the climate. Bamboo is the best solution. We have
abundant kinds of bamboo growing in every part of the country,"
Wibisono said.

There are about 1,200 bamboo species in the world and
Indonesia has about 62 species.

"What we lack now is cultivation and harvesting technology,
production and marketing know-how as well as design development,"
added Wibisono.

Currently, the society and its 16 members are trying to
develop a strong network that will enable each member to improve
their production and management skills.

"Now, we concentrate on establishing training centers in each
province of Indonesia. We also try hard to create and find
markets for our products. It is not economical to produce a lot
of things while we don't have a market," he said.

Domestic and international markets are the society's target.

"Domestically, we have a promising market as the need for
bamboo and other natural products are increasing. In the
international market, we have to compete with China, Japan and
Thailand which are more advanced in terms of technology and
design," he said.