Changing the lives of women and youth with bamboo and rattan

Changing the lives of women and youth with

bamboo and rattan10 Feb 2017

Bamboo and rattan: strategic resources for development

• 1.21 metres a day - maximum daily growth rate of some bamboos

• 3-6 years – Growth time needed for bamboo poles to be harvested

• >10,000 – estimated uses of bamboo

• 83% - of rattan grows in South-East Asia

• 7.5 m employed in China’s bamboo sector

• $60 billion/yr – estimated value of global bamboo and rattan trade

Why is this important?...

Bamboo and rattan as ‘game changers’ for…

• Rural development– Sustainable source of income– Already employs millions– Big potential to do more! USD60 billion

annual trade• … Particularly for women

• Lightweight• Splits linearly• Women smallholders can engage in a

variety of value chains with low capital investments

• Can be grown as part of a homestead• Helps to diversify incomes• Women-owned collectives

– India, group producing incense sticks: 150,000 jobs

– Tanzania: 100 nurseries, micro-enterprises, and training for 1000 people in bamboo charcoal production

Changing lives with bamboo and rattan (1)

Guizhou Chishui Zhuyun Bamboo Furniture – Guizhou, China- Established 2012- 200 hectares of land to grow

bamboo >> furniture- Side business from byproducts

(fungus, chickens)- 100% used – no waste!- Overall output 30 million RMB

p/a. Farmers: 3.5-5k RMB per month

Changing lives with bamboo and rattan (2)

Innovating with rattan – Ghana- Most rattan sellers in Ghana work on

roadsides. Importance of marketability of products. This means: quality and good production methods

- 2008 INBAR report: review and recommendations for rattan sector in Ghana and Togo, + training for 24 rattan producers

Results: • Higher-quality, more marketable products• Government of Ghana decided to invest in

Centres for rattan producers • Government recognises the sector as a

legitimate avenue for job creation• Ongoing training and business support

Changing lives with bamboo and rattan (3)

Incense stick production –Tripura, India- Value-added incense stick production

- Women-led collectives

- 2008: c.1,400 women had found steady, first time employment in organised clusters

- Increase in monthly incomes: USD0-0.56 pre-employment to USD 29-89 (full-time workers).

(continued) Bamboo and rattan as ‘game changers’ for…

• Construction– Ecuador: 15% bamboo structures damaged in 2015

earthquake

– Bhutan: bamboo demo houses use less wood than timber-framed houses, cost half the price, and last for minimum 20-25 years

• Climate-smart– Less carbon-intensive than many materials; valuable

carbon ‘sink’; fast-growing and so renewable resource

• Reforestation and land restoration– Bonn Challenge

– INBAR in Allahabad, India

• Energy– Two ways: (i) Bamboo charcoal and (ii) bamboo

biomass for electricity

– Madagascar – 25-kW gasifier being built: can power 200 households to light 2 to 3 bulbs

Building back better: post-disaster construction in Nepal- 2015 earthquake: 8 million people affected;

500,000 structures in need of reconstruction

- New INBAR initiative – using bamboo resources to rebuild houses and promote sustainable livelihoods

- 5 schools, 10 transitional schools, 5 permanent houses, Bamboo Research Lab

- Using technical expertise from China, as well as traditional bamboo construction techniques from Latin American countries

Changing lives with bamboo and rattan (4)

INBAR: who we are

INBAR: what we do

• Raising the profile of bamboo and rattan. Bamboo and rattan have an image problem. They are very strategic resources – but are currently underutilised.

• Development: Helping our Members identify opportunities for economic growth, livelihoods support, reforestation or environmental improvement using bamboo.

• Research: what resources do we have? How can we manage them? What can we do with them?

BARC: Bamboo and Rattan Congress in Beijing, 2018

Why are we based in China?

• Only INGO with a Headquarters in Beijing• Unique position: an international treaty; a development

organisation; & an International Commodity Body• Many livelihoods in China to support and improve…• … But also around the world in our 41 other Member states• ‘South South Cooperation’: new emphasis in international

development on developing countries working together to solve problems

• Technical expertise and resource sharing

Thank you!

www.inbar.int