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Bountiful Bamboo

Gabrielle Bauer, eco options, Fall 2007

And your mental screen may fill up with images of exotic locales, rice farmer, perhaps the toll of pentatonic chimes in the background.  But times have changed.  From its firm roots in the East, bamboo has expanded its reach and now finds aficionados in all parts of the globe.  People everywhere love it for its adaptability, its eco-friendliness and its gorgeous good looks.

A type of grass, bamboo grows faster than just about any other living substance.  Amazingly, it can grow up to half a yard (0.5 m) per day, and some varieties exceed 33 yards (30 m) in total height.  Bamboo thrives in many different tropical, subtropical and temperate ecosystems in Asia, Australia, sub-Saharan Africa and in Latin America.

In Asia, people have known and used bamboo for centuries.  The ancient Chinese used strips of bamboo bound together.  Bamboo still provides the scaffolding for many large buildings in modern-day China.

Worldwide, over a billion people live in bamboo houses.  In India and China, much of the pulp used in making paper comes from bamboo.  Traditional Chinese medicine uses the roots of the bamboo to treat disease.  Bamboo shoots enhance stir-fries and other Asian dishes.  In Taiwan, annual exports of bamboo shoots amount to US$50-million.

In recent years, the green movement has piqued interest in bamboo far beyond its Asian origins.  For a start, it’s a highly renewable resource.  An 18-metre bamboo stem (called a culm) takes only 59 days to replace, while an 18-metre tree takes 60 years.  Bamboo also reproduces at a dizzying rate, with the Guada species from Brazil producing up to 60,000 culms per hectare, and doesn’t need to be replanted.  Not just a speedy grower but also an abundant generator of oxygen, bamboo has assumed a role in the revitalization of wasteland.  With the ability to suck carbon from the atmosphere, it even helps in the fight against climate change.

Nature has put its own varnish on bamboo culms, making them ideal for all manner of structural and decorative uses.  When seasoned, bamboo becomes very hard.  Along with its use in construction, bamboo finds its way into handicrafts, baskets, musical instruments, indoor and outdoor furniture flooring and window coverings such as blinds.

A strand of bamboo creates an exotic and meditative ambiance in a garden. Its multiple exterior uses hedging, windbreaks, trellises, containers and support rods for vegetables and other plants.  Many types of fences are built from bamboo, and bamboo area rugs, which resist moisture and mould and come clean with a damp cloth, can add style to the backyard patio.

Indoors, treated or finished bamboo lends itself easily to floors.  Indeed, it’s one of this year’s hot new eco-chic items.  And just about any piece of furniture you envision can be made of bamboo, from beds, tables, chairs and desks to wine racks, bookshelves and birdcages.  In the kitchen, bamboo cutting boards, chopsticks and plates provide superior hardness and durability.

Bamboo blinds, available in all manner of sizes and hues, can be trimmed with scissors to fit any window.  The “matchstick” roll-up shades, made with ever-so-thin bamboo strips, let in just a little bit of light while blocking the exterior view.  Shades made with wider slats can keep out both the sun and the glint of the minivan in the driveway.  

In short, bamboo has emerged as a wunderkind of design and décor.

BAMBOO BASICS