Early this year, the Ford Conservation and Environmental Grants Program (Ford Ecogrants) released P162,000 as initial funding for the Cabiokid Foundation’s Bamboo Engineering Methods and Building Uses (BEMBU) project in Cabiokid, Nueva Ecija. Little did it know that the project that started as an effort to re-study the uses of bamboo will actually grow to help re-popularize the use of the world’s tallest grass as a renewable source of numerous things that people need.

“Ang kawayan, madaling patubuin at maraming magagawa (Bamboo can be grown easily, and it has numerous uses),” Angelito Agustin, farm manager of the Cabiokid Foundation (CF), says. “Within only five years, you can have enough clumps to build your house, as well as fill that house with the needed furniture. This makes bamboo a good source of everything.”

RENEWABLE RESOURCE

BEMBU aims to “set up concrete examples of bamboo engineering that may help fuel the plant’s future use as a renewable source,” says Agustin, who notes that, at the moment, bamboo may be abundant in the country, “but remains a poorly valued natural resource.”

More specifically, BEMBU is a multi-dimensional approach to celebrate the versatile application of bamboo, and to increase its acceptability as a valid and durable construction material. “The project will highlight bamboo as a renewable natural resource that can easily be grown and worked (with) as a building material and is better positioned to limit the country’s dependence on other non-renewable resources,” the CF executive says.

For the project, CF has allocated over five hectares of land for reforestation, with bamboo among the abundant plant species planted. Says Agustin, ”there are different bamboo species in the Philippines, and we are (cultivating) them all to study how they can be best used since specific bamboo species have specific uses.”

With the funding received from Ford Ecogrants, CF was also able to build a “curing tank where harvested bamboos are stored after harvesting, in order for them to be treated to make them last longer,” says Agustin. “We have discovered that while bamboos can never replace the sturdiness of lumber, when properly cured, they can last to over 25 years.”

This is also why CF has a research center where “we continuously study bamboos, pinagsasama-sama ang traditional na gamit ng kawayan (mixing the traditional uses of bamboo) with modern technology,” he adds. The center is also open to people “interested to know more about bamboos—this way, we are able to share what we know with those interested.”

CHANGING PERSPECTIVES

The biggest challenge for the project is “the changing of the mindset of the people,” says Agustin. “Ang mga Filipino, maniniwala lang kung makikita nila ang katibayan (Filipinos only believe if they see the evidence),” he says. “Sabi nga ng mga matatanda sa amin, mas marami na silang nakain kaysa amin, kaya bakit nila kami paniniwalaan (Older people tell us they have more experience in life than we have, so why should they believe us)?”

To help change this perspective, CF has partnered with local schools, such as the Santa Rita Elementary School. “Mabuting sa mga bata magsimula ang pagbabago (It’s best to start the change with the young),” Agustin says. “Minsan pa, nababago ng mga bata ang pananaw ng mga matanda (Sometimes, the young also help change the way their elders see things).”

For now, though, CF continues with the project—all the while, helping spread its advocacy of using bamboo “to build a home, not just a house,” Agustin says. The benefits are “innumerable,” he adds. For one, one bamboo pole, alone, usually sells for P60, though, since after cutting they still need to be cleaned, the price can rocket to well over P100 per pole, “which makes it a good source of earnings.”

Secondly, “all the bamboo parts have uses: the pole, of course, for construction, the twigs for making ornamental products, and even the shoots as food, among others,” Agustin says.

And thirdly, “anybody can plant bamboos.” “In fact,” he adds, “every body should plant bamboos. The bamboo, when it has grown, can be harvested to replace any part of the house that needs replacing. Twenty-five years on, it will still do the same, so that you can always rely on its availability. This way, it really is a sustainable source of materials.”

Ford Ecogrants is still expected to release additional funds to CF, since the total funding for the project is P262,000, but “even this early, we already believe we are a success,” Agustin says. “The long-term goal is to be able to produce (processed) bamboo according to various demands. Kung kailangan nila ng pang-sahig (if they need bamboo for flooring), we can prepare those, kung para sa dingding (if they need bamboo for walls), we can prepare those, too. Pero para ngayon (But for now), to have the chance to re-study the bamboo to see how it can best benefit us all, that is already a big step towards realizing that this resource can really benefit us a lot.”