Posted by agri_center | Posted in Environment, Forestry | Posted on 17-06-2008
Tags: Bamboo in the Philippines, Bamboo varieties in the Philippines, Carolina Bamboo Graden, Philippine Bamboo
Believe it or not, the bamboo is the savior of the Philippine environment.
Bamboo has the potential to preserve the forests, contribute to the conservation of biodiversity, provide food, security and livelihood.
Bamboo is most useful in rehabilitating degraded land, conserving top-soil and in water management.
Bamboo is the amazing alternative that meets our ecological, cultural, economic and social needs.
Bamboo grow faster than any other plant on earth. It is the longest grass in the world, varying in length from 30 centimeters to as high as 40 meter or 100 feet.
Bamboo lasts from 20-50 years. It grows 3 centimeters a day.
Bamboo grows so fast you can watch it grow.
Bamboo controls soil erosion and stabilizes riverbanks. It grows in most places in the world (except Antartica) even under adverse conditions, whether dry or water-logged.
Bamboo is the plant that will give respite to our dwindling forests.
Bamboo is the plant with incredible economic potential. In a lifespan of 35 years, a bamboo plant can produce 15 kilometers of usable pole.
Bamboo is the most versatile and most beautiful plant on earth.
There are 1,250 species of bamboo. There are 12 bamboo genera consisting of 49 species in the Philippines.
But only eight are extensively used: kawayan tinik, kawayan kiling, bayog, botong, giant bamboo,bolo, anos and buho.
Let us now start the silent revolution of cultivating bamboo.
Uses
Bamboo has over 1,500 documented traditional uses :
1. Food : It is a source of food due to its edible shoots. As food it is a near-relative of rice, corn, wheat, oats and barley. It can be cooked as ”lumpia”, “dinengdeng” “paklay” as in the Visayas, “bulanglang” as in Batangas, pickled labong as in the Tagalog region or “guinataang” “labong” for Bicolanos.
-Bamboo shoots can be dried, desiccated, canned, vacuum-packed or bottled.
-Bamboo shoots are dried by removing the sheath and oven-dried to a mixture content of 14 percent.
-Bamboo shoots can be desiccated by cleaning and chopping evenly and then oven or sun-dried until the right drying conditions are met.
-Bamboo shoots can be vacuum-packed by using a vacuum sealer and high density polyethylene plastics.
-Bamboo shoots contain large amounts of protein, vitamins and minerals. They are excellent for heart patients.
-To reduce cyanide, soak and boil in water before cooking.
2. Medicinal Uses : The vinegar produced from distillation can be used in the treatment of allergies and sore throat as antiseptic; skin and hair conditioner and cleaner.
-This vinegar can keep plants and flowers last longer.
-This vinegar can deodorize bathrooms.
-This vinegar raw liquor can be obtained by recovering and cooling the vapor generated when combusting thick-stemmed bamboo (phyllostachys pubscent) with a carbonization furnace. The raw –liquor is sterilized, deodorized and refinied to become colorless and transparent. Since no burner is used, vinegar liquor is free from kerosene impurities and safe. Quality vinegar is assured.
3. Construction : Bamboo is perfect for construction because of its tensile strength which is superior to mild steel and a weight-to-strength ratio better than graphite.
Bamboo is the strongest plant on earth. It is durable. The bamboo plants near ground zero at Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 survived the atomic blast and grew new shoots within days.
-house component – floor, stair, post, wall, divider and flat bamboo tile
-fence
-foot bridge
-scaffolding
-concrete reinforcement
-plywood (cement-bonded board with bamboo
4. Furniture – tables, chairs, cabinet, bed, hamper, etc.
5. Handicraft – basket, tray, torch, lampstand, or shade, vase, tray, utility, boxes, etc.
6. Toys
7. Musical instruments such as the organ, flute, marimba, xylophone, angklung, “the sliver of bamboo increases the sound fidelity of audio-systems.
8. Handle for farm tools, i.e., sickle, scythe.
9. Shipping container
10. Water pipe
11. Fish pen and trap
12. Banana plant prop
13. Paper and “Papel de Japon”
14. Thinned strips for tying
15. Bamboo raft
16. Hedges and wind breaks
17. Jewelry – necklace, brooch, bangles, fashion, accessories
18. Cooking utensils as skewer of banana cue
19. Hand-loom for weaving
20. Charcoal : The bamboo charcoal produces the hottest of fires required to melt gold. The bamboo charcoal have special industrial and specialty uses. It can be used to clean the air and purify water. It also absorbs odor in the refrigerator.
Reference: www.carolinabamboogarden.com
Source: The Bamboo by Leonarda N. Camacho
State of the Philippine Environment Part VIII
UNESCO Commission on Science/Technology
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