BAMBOO AND ITS MANY USES
By: Colton Glidewell
Description and Rationale
Bamboo is a plant that has been in the Philippines and other Asian counties for thousands
of years. Throughout time, humanity has been finding new and interesting ways to utilize
bamboo for its benefit. People have used bamboo as cheap alternative for building
materials, and used it to make handicrafts and furniture. Though bamboo is beautiful and
useful, what else can bamboo be used for that can positively affect the lives of the
Filipinos? What must someone do to farm bamboo? What are its commercial and local
uses? Can bamboo be used as a cheap alternative cooking utensil? How is bamboo used
musically? How does bamboo already affect the local ecology? Is there a new way to
utilize bamboo?
A large percent of the Filipino people are poor and cannot afford to buy certain things
such as; cooking utensils, dinning cutlery or dishes, or musical instruments. Is there a
way to use bamboo to create inexpensive alternatives to often expensive items or
commodities?
The initial purpose of this project will be to research the biology and ecology of bamboo
and its many inexpensive uses for the Filipino culture through internet and literature
research, as well as hands on interaction with bamboo and the people who use it or come
into contact with it on a daily basis, with the help of a Tagolog speaking interpreter.
It is hoped that new inexpensive uses will be discovered for bamboo and that they might
help improve the livelihood of the people living in the Philippines through a more
informed understanding of an abundant biological resource.
main table of contents...
Biology
Common Names And Synonyms
Bamboos include over 1,000 species of woody, perennial grasses in more than 100
genera. Most botanists place them in the tribe Bambuseae within the grass family
Poaceae, a large family of 10,000 species and at least 600 genera. Grasses range in size
from small annuals “Poa annua” to towering, timber bamboo “Dendrocalamus
giganteus”. This is unquestionably the most important plant family, providing the
majority of food for humans and their domesticated animals.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae: Plant
(unranked): Angiosperms: A plant whose ovules are enclosed in an ovary; a flowering plant.
(unranked): Monocots: Any of various flowering plants, such as grasses, orchids, and lilies, having a single cotyledon in the seed.
(unranked): Commelinids (No English Meaning)
Phylum: Magnoliophyta (No English Meaning)
Class: Liliopsida (No English Meaning)
Subclass: Commelinidea (No English Meaning)
Order: Cyperales
Family: Gramineae (Poaceae) (No English Meaning)
Subfamily: Bambusoideae (No English Meaning)
Genus: (No Classification Given)
Species: (No Classification Given)
Supertribe: Bambusodae (No English Meaning)
Tribe: Bambuseae (No English Meaning)
The grasses are relatively recent additions to the earth's flora, having evolved only 30 to
40 million years ago. Vast grasslands provided food for the rising age of herbivorous
mammals which in turn provided the food for a variety of carnivores.
Morphology And Physical Description
Although many characteristics of bamboo are similar to those of trees, bamboo is not a
tree. It is classified as a grass that is much denser, and therefore stronger than wood. It
also grows much faster than trees, making it an easily renewable resource.
The commercially important bamboo species in the Philippines are:
· Kauayan tinik, or spiny bamboo (Bambusa blumeana)
· Kauayan kiling (Bambusa vulgaris)
· Bayog (Dendrocalamus merrillianus)
· Bolo (Gigantochloa levis)
· Buho (Schizostachyum lumampao)
Among the five species, spiny bamboo and kauayan kiling are the preferred species for
building, furniture making and boat outriggers. Bayog is used for tying and making ropes.
Bamboo is found growing in settled areas where it is planted or grown in plantations and
in the forest where it grows from low altitudes to as high as 2,600 meters in the mountain
provinces of northern Luzon. So far, there is no information on bamboo in settled areas.
The recently concluded national forest inventory placed the country's bamboo in forested
land at 10.73 billion stems, although most of these are non-commercial species.
There are more than 40 species of pandan in the Philippines. They are widely distributed
throughout the archipelago with some species growing along sandy beaches and others in
virgin forests. They vary in size depending on the species, from less than 1 meter to 15
meters in height.
Among the more important pandan species in the country are bariu (Pandanus
copelandii), taboan (P. dubius), alasas (P. luzonensis), oyango (P. radicans), sabutan (P.
sabotan) karagomoi (P. simplex.) common or beach pandan (P. tectorius), and pandan
layugan (P. exaltatus).
The economic value of pandans is in the leaves, which are used for making coarse and
fine baskets, bags, hats, mats, picture frames and other fancy articles. Recently, the
Philippine Forest Products Research and Development Institute have developed cocoon
frames for silkworm production out of pandan leaves. The wood of some pandan species
is also being manufactured into splints used in making baskets. It is estimated that there
are 58.88 billion stems of pandans in the country's forests.
Resins commonly collected for commercial and industrial purposes in the Philippines are
produced from almaciga (Agathis philippinensis) Benguet pine (Pinus kesiya), piling
liitan (Canarium luzonicum) and apitong (Dipterocarpus grandiflorus).
Almaciga (Agathis philippinensis) is the source of a resin which is popularly known as
"Manila copal." Manila copal is used as incense, for caulking boats, as a smudge for
mosquitoes, for torches, in varnish manufacturing, sizing paper and other industrial uses.
At present, almost all almaciga resin produced in the country is being exported. Almaciga
is one of the protected tree species in the Philippines and felling it is prohibited.
Giant reed “Arundo donax”, a tall, bamboo-like grass that is naturalized throughout San
Diego County. Like certain bamboos, it spreads by underground rhizomes and has many
uses by people throughout the world. This specie is typically used for musical
instruments such as pan flutes, nose flutes, and xylophones. They also make reeds for
saxophones, clarinets, and bassoons.
Getting Food
Large- scale plantations should be planned, taking into consideration the prevalent
climatic conditions and making sure that water source is easily accessible for irrigation
purposes. For areas with a marked dry season, the selection of drought tolerant bamboos
like Bambusa, Gigantochloa levis or Bambusa blumeana would be acceptable. For areas
with high and regular rainfall or a very short dry season, Schizostachyum lumampao,
Dendrocalamus asper, Gigantochloa atter and Bambusa, are more suitable.
A pilot plantation in Magalang, Pampanga, was established in 1989 using nursery-raised
cuttings. Grasses obtained from strip brushing were used to maintain moisture in the
bamboo clump. Three hundred grams of complete fertilizer was applied annually for
three consecutive years, after planting. Direct planting of bamboo in a large-scale
plantation is not feasible and practical. Bamboo planting stocks should be potted in the
nursery for about six to eight months before out planting.
The main objective of managing bamboo plantations is to maximize yield through
sustained clump productivity. This is attainable through the application of appropriate
cultural and harvesting techniques for specific bamboo species. Several factors must be
considered to attain such objectives and these include: nature of bamboo stands; site
conditions related to the species; specific end use or utilization properties; and
regenerative capacity of the given species.
Harvesting is one of the most important activities in a bamboo plantation not only
because it leads to the production of culms that can be used or sold but also, it can
improve production both quantity and quality. A preliminary study conducted on B.
blumeana indicated that removal of spines and cutting of culms close to the ground
increased shoot production, reduced shoot mortality and farming of deformed culms.
Scientists Virtucio and Tomboc in1990, studied the effect of 3 levels of thinning, 3
cutting age groups and 2 felling cycles on culm yield over a period of 10 years in natural
stands of Schizostachyum lumampao, details were as follows: thinning (heavy, moderate
and light), cutting age (3 years and above, 4 years and above and 5 years and above); and
felling cycle (every year or every 2 years). The results indicated that moderate thinning,
cutting once in 3 years and above and felling cycle of 2 years was suitable for managing
Schizostachyum lumampao natural stands and to obtain optimum yield.
Reproduction
Bamboo flowers are hermaphrodites and wind pollinated. Plants flower every few years and
sometimes die after flowering. The range of grass
size is enormous. Bamboos typically form
dense,impenetrable clumps or spread creeping rhizomes. Clumping bamboos are mostly native to
tropical countries, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Burma, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador, India and
Southern China.
Environmental Factors
Due to the diminishing wood supply, bamboos are now in high demand as raw material
sources for furniture, handicraft and many other products. Because of this, bamboos are
over cut by improper harvesting methods, causing serious genetic erosion due to
unabated pressure, so there is an urgent need for (in situ) and (ex situ) conservation,
especially for those considered rare and endangered. In 1987, through the Bamboo
Research and Development Project, initiated the establishment of pilot bamboo
plantations and bambuseta in different parts of the Philippines.
Origin And Distribution
Bamboo originates from the tropical Americas, northern Burma, southern China,
Thailand, Vietnam, and has been introduced to many other Asian countries. They
grow in low elevations up to 12,000 feet. Many people believe that China is the leading
producer of bamboo, but in fact it is India that hold the worlds top spot in bamboo production.
Importance To People
Reeds and bamboos are very significant plants in the development and evolution of
musical wind instruments. The variety of flutes and panpipes used by Andean musicians
of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador are made from native bamboo species, including the genus
“Chusquea” and the pantropical reed “Arundo donax”. Different lengths and widths of
the hollow culms produce the light airy sounds of small sikus or zampoñas and the deep
bass notes of Bolivian toyos. Some of the world's most beautiful music is produced by
these relatively crude instruments. Panpipes have also been made in France and the
Balkan countries, primarily from the reed “Arudo donax” collected in marshlands of the
Danube delta.
The best "reeds" for clarinet, saxophone and oboe mouthpieces also come valleys and
creeks of San Diego County. Often called giant reed, it spreads by thick scaly rhizomes,
forming impenetrable thickets of bamboo-like stems. In fact, giant reed can literally
overtake other native species in riparian habitats and is considered one of the most
serious weeds in California. According to W.W. Robbins, Weeds of California. Giant
reed was so plentiful along the Los Angeles River in the early 1800s that it was gathered
for roofing material and was preferred over the native tules “Scirpus californicus”.
Because of its invasiveness, drastic control measures have been used in San Diego
County, including burning and herbicide sprays. Bamboos have also been used for wind
instruments in Asian countries. The national instrument of Japan, the shaku hachi, is
made from the lower end of small-culmed bamboos. The Chinese xiao, a notched flute
played in modern orchestras, is made from the bamboo “Phyllostachys nigra”. In the
Philippine city of Las Piñas, each of the 950 pipes of a remarkable organ is made from
hollow bamboo culms; in Java, more than twenty percussion, wind and string instruments
are made from bamboos, mostly from the genus “Gigantochloa”.
Survivability And Endangered Status
There has not been any reliable inventory of available erect bamboos nationwide except
that of an FRI-RP-German Project conducted in 1988. Result of the said inventory
estimated the bamboo resources at about 10,730 million linear meters, most of which are
represented by climbing bamboos totaling 8,318 linear meters. In the said inventory, only
five species were covered. Of the five species covered, Schizostachyum lima and
Schizostachyum lumampao which are naturally growing in the forests were the most
plentiful, the former with 27.2 million culms and the latter, with 172.0 million culms
available. The Master Plan (1997) for the development of bamboo as a renewable and
sustainable resource reported that there were 39,000 to 52,000 hectares of bamboo stand
distributed as follows: 20,500-34,000 hectares in the forest lands; 2,236 hectares in
government plantation; 3,037 hectares of privately owned plantations; and 13,455
hectares of “natural stands”.
At present, there are 62 species of bamboos recorded in the country. Previous records
(1991) showed only 47 bamboo species. The increase in the number of species was due to
the introduction of some bamboos as a result of the efforts of the Ecosystems Research
and Development Bureau (ERDB) to establish bambuseta in a number of places in the
country, such as: Baguio City; Los Baños, Laguna; Nabunturan, Davao del Norte;
Malaybalay and Bukidnon. There may have been other new introductions of bamboos in
the country, but these have not been reported, seen or identified. Most likely, these are
bamboos introduced and planted by garden enthusiasts and are kept as private collections.
Of the 62 bamboo species, 21 are endemic or native Philippine bamboos. Thirteen are
climbers and eight are erect. The rest are introduced and a few of them, introduced in
prehistoric times. The commercially important bamboos, which are usually used in
construction, furniture, basketry and decorative articles are in the table below. The
current commercial bamboos can be increased to 15 species, especially those with thick
culms, walls and big diameter culms
Bamboo species growing in the Philippines
Genus
|
Species
|
Remarks
|
Origin
|
Arundinaria
|
A. amabilis
|
NI
|
Chile
|
Bambusa
|
B. atra
|
OI
|
New Guinea
|
B. bambos
|
OI
|
India
|
B. blumeana
|
OI
|
Java & Malaya
|
B. cornuta
|
OI
|
|
B. dolichomerithalla
|
OI
|
Taiwan
|
Bambusa sp. 1
|
N
|
|
B. multiplex
|
OI
|
Southern China
|
B. multiplex f. variegata
|
NI
|
Japan
|
B. multiplex f. elegans
|
NI
|
Japan
|
B. multiplex cv. fernleaf
|
NI
|
|
B. multiplex cv. golden goddess
|
NI
|
Chile
|
B. multiplex cv. A. Karr
|
NI
|
Chile
|
B. oldhamii
|
OI
|
China
|
B. tuldoides
|
OI
|
Southern China
|
B. utilis
|
OI
|
Southern China
|
B. vulgaris
|
OI
|
China
|
B. vulgaris var. maculata
|
OI
|
|
B. vulgaris var. striata
|
OI
|
|
B. vulgaris cv. wamin
|
OI
|
China
|
Chimonobambusa
|
C. falcata
|
NI
|
|
(Syn. Sinarundinaria falcata)
|
|
|
Dendrocalamus
|
D. asper
|
OI
|
|
D. brandisii
|
NI
|
|
D. giganteus
|
NI
|
|
D. latiflorus
|
OI
|
|
D. membranaceus
|
NI
|
|
D. strictus
|
NI
|
|
Dinochloa
|
Dinochloa sp.
|
N
|
|
Dinochloa sp.
|
N
|
|
D. diffusa
|
N
|
|
Dinochloa sp.
|
N
|
|
D. luconiae
|
N
|
|
D. pubiramaea
|
N
|
|
Gigantochloa
|
G. atroviolacea
|
NI
|
|
G. atter
|
OI
|
|
G. levis
|
OI
|
Java and Sumatra
|
Guadua
|
G. angustifolia
|
NI
|
Columbia
|
G. angustifolia var. bicolor
|
NI
|
Columbia
|
Melocanna
|
M. baccifera
|
NI
|
Bangladesh
|
Pleioblastus
|
P. argenteastriatus
|
NI
|
Japan
|
P. chino f. elegantissimus
|
NI
|
Japan
|
P. chino f. pumilus
|
NI
|
Chile
|
P. chino f. pygmaeus
|
NI
|
Chile
|
P. distichus
|
NI
|
Japan
|
P. fortunei cv. fortunei
|
NI
|
Japan
|
Phyllostachys
|
P. aurea
|
OI
|
China
|
P. bambusoides
|
NI
|
Australia
|
P. nigra
|
NI
|
China
|
P. pubescens
|
NI
|
Japan
|
Sasa
|
S. kurilensis
|
NI
|
Chile
|
S. nipponica
|
NI
|
Japan
|
S. palmata
|
NI
|
Chile
|
Sasaella
|
S. ramosa
|
NI
|
Chile
|
Schizostachyum
|
S. brachycladum yellow
|
OI
|
Asia
|
S. brachycladum green
|
OI
|
Phil.
|
S. lima
|
N
|
Phil.
|
S. lumampao
|
N
|
Phil.
|
Schizostachyum sp.
|
N
|
Phil.
|
Schizostachyum sp.
|
N
|
Phil.
|
Shibataea
|
S. kumasasa
|
NI
|
Japan
|
Thyrsostachys
|
T. siamensis
|
OI
|
Thailand
|
Potential Solutions
Is there a way to use bamboo to create inexpensive alternatives to often expensive items
or commodities? In fact, there are several ways to utilize bamboo as a cheap
replacement. Bamboo has proven itself to be quite valuable to the livelihood of the
Filipinos, through food, music, medicine and many other ways. As far as new ways of
utilizing bamboo, this researcher is at a loss to find them, just about every use for bamboo
has been exposed, but not all of them are known to everyone in the Philippines. Below
are 3 possibilities with an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages for each. Along
with each possibility is a current status report of progress made to date on each of the
possibilities.
Possibility 1: Rain Stick
Bamboo is an abundant recourse in the Philippines, unfortunately for most money is not,
this makes buying musical instruments neigh impossible, which is a shame when living in
a country full of such raw, untapped, musical talent. A year ago, as a gift my mother
bought me a rain stick made of bamboo for about 1,000 pesos ($20.73 USD). For a lot of
Filipinos 1,000 pesos is about one months wages, so of course there is no way they can
afford to buy a rain stick. So I sought out to find a way to build a rain stick using fresh
green bamboo, uncooked rice, 2 inch nails, old cloth and duct tape. I was very successful
in finding my materials inexpensively; I bought a bag of nails and duct tape for 100
pesos, ($2.07 USD) and was able to chop down 10 feet of bamboo for free, with the
permission of the Maharlika Hills subdivision grounds keeper. I then used a bolo to chop
up my bamboo. I cut the bamboo at the top of the culm, just below the bud-knot, to open
up the top of the culm. Then with my opened culm, I cut below the next bud-knot down
to have closed end. Then I took nails and hammered them all over the culm, and then
poured dry rice into the culm; the nails are there to slow the rice down when you turn the
stick to prolong the rain sound. I then took an old piece of cloth I found in my house and
cut it into a small square, about 8x8 inches, and used the duct tape to close off the open
hole. I went to a neighbor hood in Quezon City and taught the children and few of their
parents how to do this and none of them had ever heard of a rain stick before, which to
me was great because I was teaching them something new. My maid Sara interpreted in
Tagolog for me
Advantages:
1) Making the rain sticks at home, rather then buying pre-made rain sticks from a music store, cuts the cost of the instrument dramatically, therefore creating a cheap
alternative. This also makes music more accessible to those who cannot afford to pay
for lessons or instruments.
2) The rain stick is very simple and inexpensive to make, and for the most part, safe
for children to make; with adult help and/or supervision. I had a few of the children
in the neighborhood help me make the rain sticks
Disadvantages:
1) Getting the bamboo out of a growth clump is an extreme challenge. It took me
two hours so cut out one 10 foot piece. Because of the buds near the top of the culm
grow out horizontally, the bamboo tangles with other culms, sort of tying itself to the
rest of the clump. It took a lot of pulling and chopping to get the piece out, and I was
really dirt and sweaty.
2) Termites propose a large problem to this solution, even though bamboo is a grass
and not a tree or a wood, termites still eat it, which can cause the inside of the
bamboo to become brittle and break. Even with my store bought rain stick, termites
still have a huge affect
Possibility 2: Rice Cooker
To the Filipinos, and many other Asian cultures, rice is the most important part of every
meal, and therefore must be present at every meal. Again, because of the poverty on the
Philippines, I was taught a provincial solution to this problem by my maid Sara. Sara
grew up in the province and she showed me how to make a rice cooker with a bamboo
culm. So with the remaining 7 feet of bamboo I had left over from making three rain
sticks, I cut another 1 ft. piece off. I used a piece of bamboo that was closed off at both
ends by a bud-knot, and chopped a hole into the side of it. I then filled the culm, half with
uncooked rice and half with water, and set it over an open flame. I used dried palm
branches and old dry wood to make my fire.
Advantages:
1) The rice cooks at about the same speed as an electrical rice cooker, but using no
energy source to do so. If green bamboo is used, the culm will not burn, and instead it
becomes a pressure cooker which can be reused.
2) The green bamboo has a liquid that is released during the cooking process most
likely due to sweat, which naturally flavors the rice with a sweet sugar-like flavor.
Sugar cane is within the bamboo family which might explain the sweet flavor.
Disadvantages:
1) Making the rice cooker is rather difficult, it is one thing to chop the top off of a
piece of bamboo; it is much harder to cut a hole into the side of bamboo. If you don’t
know what you are doing, (which I didn’t) then the bamboo will cut very messy and
shred, instead of making a clean hole, this also gets bamboo shreds in the rice, which
isn’t necessarily bad, it just might be unpleasant to the consumer.
2) The hardest part for me was to keep the fire going, the fire was being sustained by
old wood which seemed to take for ever to catch fire, and dry palm branches, which
burned up too fast to keep it lit. Most of this process was a battle to keep a fire going,
because without the right kind of fire making materials, this is process is very
difficult.
Possibility 3: Dishes and Cups
For my final possibility I tried to make a cup/bowl out of bamboo by cutting the culm off
at about 6 inches away from the bud-knot. This would create a practically free or
inexpensive way to get dishes into a person’s home. This was the simplest possibility I
was able to find
Advantages:
1) Making a cup or a bowl is a simple as cutting the end off of a culm of bamboo.
One can make several bowls and cups in a short amount of time easily, and it is a
renewable recourse at a low cost or free.
2) A person can make a wide range of sizes of bowls and cups, depending on the
particular piece of bamboo that is cut down. Some for kid’s cups, soup bowls, and
rice bowls, etc. Also, bamboo wont break like glass will and are essentially break
proof and child proof.
Disadvantages:
1) Cutting the cups and bowls so they look nice, and cutting them cleanly takes a lot
of practice and skill, and is therefore difficult to do. When I cut my cut it mostly
shredded around the brim of the cup, making it rather unsightly.
2) Constantly putting liquids or wet foods, like soup, cereal, foods with sauces like
chicken adobo into the bowls can cause them to rot over time and could eventually
cause a serious illness.
Biblical Rationale/Principals
Genesis 1:29-31 (New International Version)
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and
every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the
beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the
ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food."
And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was
evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.
Genesis 2:15-16 (New International Version)
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take
care of it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in
the garden;
From these verses we can know for certain that God has given us earth. It was created for
us, for our pleasure and joy, but with those things comes a responsibility to take care of
what was given to us, and to use its recourses to help those who are in need. Earth is not
merely a planet, it is not only our home, but it is also a gift from God; and in times like
these, when there are scares of global warming and energy sources running out, now is
the time more then ever, to take better care of the gift we have been blessed with and find
new, renewable recourses to help sustain our lives and the life of planet earth.
main table of contents...
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