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
