Bamboo is known for its amazing growth. Some species manage growth spurts of 35 to 40 inches in a day and others reach heights of 80 to 100 feet when fully grown. But its fastest and most impressive growth is currently happening in every corner of the world as it finds its innumerable uses are being discovered and employed in myriad ways including construction, flooring, clothing, crafts, utensils, art, reforestation, fertilizers, toiletries, furnishings, carpeting, bedding, architecture and so much more.
The World Bamboo Foundation provides fellowships to students exploring these many areas of bamboo growth and we are proud to share their work, and the work of others, on this platform.
It All Began with a Bike, by Lucy Binfield, World Bamboo Foundation Fellow, 2021
I have been passionate and fascinated by the versatility and beauty of bamboo for more than five years now. My first real encounter with the material came as a surprise. Whilst living in Beijing and working for a local NGO, I dreamt of cycling across Asia on a low-impact, environmentally friendly bicycle. Of course, a completely new bike was out of the question. When I came across the Beijing Bamboo Bicycle Workshop, just about to shut its doors at the time, I knew that a bamboo bike would be a great option. I was lucky enough to get hold of one of their last round pole bamboo frames. My sturdy and beautiful handmade bamboo bicycle impressed many on my trip through China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and when I returned to Beijing, I was totally in love with the material.
The experience of touring on a bamboo bicycle was the inspiration behind applying for a job at the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) upon my return. I learnt so much about bamboo during my time at INBAR. A few years later, I was offered a PhD position in the Bamboo Applications and Management group in Vancouver, Canada, and a place among the very first batch of World Bamboo Fellows.
1. Me and my trusty bamboo bicycle, still going strong after five years of adventure
My PhD research involved evaluating projects that use bamboo as a tool for livelihood development. My project for the World Bamboo Fellowship is the first step in the data collection for my PhD. It involves a systematic mapping, categorization and analysis of case studies that fit my desired research criteria. I hope to publish my results later this year. Through this process, I’ve begun to understand the research landscape a little bit more. It’s shown me just how dynamic and innovative different stakeholders in the sector now are. By my count, nearly 40 countries across the world have seen efforts in recent decades to develop and industrialize their bamboo resources to scale up an often-underdeveloped industry. In addition to these efforts, there are researchers getting excited about bamboo’s potential and publishing more and more papers every year on the possibilities of the material; NGOs and environmental groups exploring bamboo’s potential to restore degraded lands, fight climate change, and improve ecosystem health; and of course, both big and small industry players investing in new products and applications. It really is an exciting time to get into bamboo.
The World Bamboo Foundation’s Fellowship program has been an amazing chance to get to know some of these driven and creative researchers working in a variety of fields. Sometimes research can be lonely, but the Fellowship has lent me a sense of community. Further, it was a great opportunity to present our research together as part of International Union of Forest Research Organizations’ World Day celebrations last year. Thank you, World Bamboo!
Lucy Binfield is a PhD student in the Bamboo Applications and Manufacturing Lab and Sustainable Forest Management Research Group at the University of British Columbia, and a 2021 World Bamboo Fellow. Her research is evaluating the social and environmental impact of bamboo industry development.
- SHARE:
