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 Bamboo Is...
…the fastest growing wood type plant
on this planet. It grows one third faster than the fastest
growing tree. Some species can grow up to 1 meter per day. One can
almost "watch it grow". This growth pattern makes it easily
accessible in a minimal amount of time. Size ranges from miniatures
to towering culms of 60 meters.
…a critical element in the balance of
oxygen/carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Bamboo is the fastest
growing canopy for the re-greening of degraded areas and generates
more oxygen than equivalent stand of trees. It lowers light intensity
and protects against ultraviolet rays and is an atmospheric and soil
purifier.
…a viable replacement for wood.
Bamboo is one of the strongest building materials. In the tropics
is it possible to plant and grow your own bamboo home. In a plot 20m
x 20m2, in the course of 5 years, two 8m x 8m homes can be constructed
from the harvest. Every year after that the yield is one additional
house per plot.
…versatile with a short growth cycle.
There are over 1000 species of bamboo on the earth. The diversity
makes bamboo adaptable to many environments. It can be harvested in
3-5 years versus 10-20 years for most softwoods. Bamboo tolerates
extremes of precipitation, from 30-250 inches of annual rainfall.
…a critical element of the economy.
Bamboo and its related industries already provide income, food and
housing to over 2.2 billion people worldwide. There is a 3-5 year
return on investment for a new bamboo plantation versus 8-10 years
for rattan. Governments such as India, China and Burma with 19,800,000
hectares of bamboo reserves collectively, have begun to focus attention
on the economic factors of bamboo production.
…an essential structural material in
earthquake architecture. In Limon, Costa Rica, only the bamboo
houses from the National Bamboo Project stood after their violent
earthquake in 1992.
…a renewable resource for agroforestry
products. Bamboo is a high-yield renewable natural resource:
ply bamboo is now being used for wall paneling, floor tiles; bamboo
pulp, for paper making, briquettes for fuel, raw material for housing
construction, and rebar for reinforced concrete beams.
…a soil conservation tool. Bamboo
is exquisite component of landscape design. It's anti-erosion properties
create an effective watershed, stitching the soil together along fragile
river banks, deforested areas, and in places prone to earthquakes
and mud slides. The sum of stem flow rate and canopy intercept of
bamboo is 25% which means that bamboo greatly reduces rain run-off,
preventing massive soil erosion.
…an ancient medicine. Bamboo has
for centuries been used in Ayurveda and Chinese acupuncture. The powdered
hardened secretion from bamboo is used internally to treat asthma,
coughs and can be used as an aphrodisiac. In China, ingredients from
the root of the black bamboo help treat kidney disease. Roots and
leaves have also been used to treat venereal disease and cancer. Sap
is said to reduce fever and ash will cure prickly heat. Current research
point to bamboo's potential in a number of medicinal uses.
…integrally involved in culture and the
arts. Bamboo is a mystical plant as a symbol of strength, flexibility,
tenacity, endurance and compromise. Throughout Asia, bamboo has for
centuries been integral to religions ceremonies, art, music and daily
life. It is the paper, the brush and the inspiration of poems and
paintings. Among the earliest historical records, 2nd century B.C.
were written on green bamboo strips strung together in a bundle with
silk thread. Instruments made of bamboo create unique resonance.
…a food source: Bamboo shoots
provide nutrition for million of people worldwide. In Japan, the antioxidant
properties of pulverized bamboo bark prevents bacterial growth and
its used a natural food preservative. Taiwan alone consumes 80,000
tons of bamboo shoots annually constituting at $50 million industry.
…a landscape design element. Bamboo
is an exquisite component of landscape design. For the human environment,
bamboo provides shade, wind break, acoustical barriers and aesthetic
beauty.
See Bamtex bamboo products and order samples at Wflooring.com/bamtex
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