Many of us are just back home now after the completion of the 4th World Bamboo Workshop. Held in Binh Duong province, on the grounds of Phu An Bamboo Village, approximately 125 people from over 20 countries gathered together to experience the wonders of bamboo and learn from global experts on various aspects of this versatile natural resource.
The focus of this workshop was to reveal the potentials of bamboo as a sustainable resource, a biomaterial that can - while providing us with healthier buildings - also heals the planet’s wounds. It can rehabilitate the environment that we humans have harmed and provide a nutritious food to feed our expanding population on this planet.
Vietnam can reap the rewards this humble plant provides.
We hope this event stimulates genuine interest to grow a strong and healthy nurturing of bamboo in Vietnam for future generations. We need not to only utilize this resource, we need to plant bamboo. We will very quickly over-exploit existing bamboo forests just like we did with teak and other tropical wood, and we will continue to destroy the ecological balance of Nature.
It is time to plant bamboo.
There is growing local and global demand, and Vietnam can take immediate steps to expand its bamboo plantations and manage them sustainably for the sake of the planet and enrich the future economies for the people of Vietnam and beyond.
This event would not have been realized if not for the tremendous effort made by each one of the participants that traveled to be there. We’re grateful for their understanding and patience with the earlier venue change from Thanh Hoa, and the constant program changes that came about beyond our control.
Together we are like the bamboo : flexible, strong, resilient and growing! See the great scenes from the workshop on our Instagram page.
Genuine thanks go to the outstanding International Organizing Committee: Guillermo <Memo> Mortera Aguilar, who built the website and handled hundreds of queries over the past 6 months; Nguyen Manh Tuan, who competently handled the International Bamboo Pavilion Design Competition and led us calmly each day of the workshop; Linh Tran - well, she is the one who invited us to Vietnam in the first place, on behalf of Lasuco and the Thanh Hoa Bamboo Association! Linh is simply amazing in her communication skills and her entertainment! And forever, we are grateful to Michel Abadie, President of WBO, who always brings a unique and genuine perspective to the podium.
Picture of the stage after the Closing Ceremony, with Jörg Stamm and Linh Tran.
We thank the National Organizing Committee comprised of many members of the Vietnam National University, HCMC campus, and the University of Science. Phu An Bamboo Village was a beautiful venue in which to share, learn and enjoy bamboo, and we give special thanks to Dr. Tran Le Quan, President of University of Science, Viet Nam National University Ho Chi Minh City and Dr. Diep Thi My Hanh, President of Phu An Bamboo Village, U of Science, VN National University, HCMC.
We were thrilled by our talented Build Team, led by Peter van Lengen (Mexico), Martin Mortera Abdi (Mexico) and Master Jörg Stamm (Colombia). Plans evolved and energy was exerted thanks to special efforts of assistance by Vinc Math (USA/Germany), Kane McCarthy (Australia), Edgar Banasan (Philippines), James Wolf (USA/Vietnam), and Bryan McClelland (Philippines). A shout-out goes to Gonzalo Samaniego (Switzerland), who was the architect of The Conical Hat (pic below) that was built on-site by a Vietnamese team led by builder Kim Hoc.
Perhaps the most spontaneous build came as a result of the creative sculptors, The Myth Makers aka Andy Moerlein & Donna Dodson (USA), who designed a representation of the legendary bird of Vietnamese mythology, the Chim Lac (pic below)! This creation was adorned with festive lights in honor of World Bamboo Day, as we marched alongside the Mid-Autumn Festival with children galore! Singing and shouting of "BAMBOO" echoed through the bamboo groves; it was magical.
Insights into specific aspects of bamboo were explored more in-depth in many classroom presentations from global experts. Thanks go to the speakers who shared their experiences with us. Aside from James Wolf, Peter Van Lengen and Jorg Stamm from the Build Team, we heard from David Sands of BambooLiving/rizome (USA), Marc Peeters of Bambu Nusa Verde (Indonesia), Lynn Clark of the Bamboo Phylogeny Group (USA), Jean-Luc Kouyoumji of Bambou Science et Innovation (France), Nirmala Chongtham of Panjab University (India), Tran Van Hiep of Vietnam Bamboo Association (Vietnam), and Phuoc Dan Nguyen (Vietnam), and Nguyen Dai Dinh of the MCNV office (Vietnam). You can see their presentations here and contact them directly if you have questions. We've added articles of interest, too, regarding bamboo in Vietnam for your interest.
We had two very special guests: Professor Nguyen Truong, who is a member of the Vietnam Folklore Association. He was the former Music Professor at Dak Lak Provincial College of Culture and Arts. From his retirement until now, with passion and love, he has been spending most of his time researching and re-manufacturing some popular musical instruments from around the world with bamboo as the material. Refreshing several instruments from form to sound, he has successfully crafted more than 7 kinds of musical instruments such as bamboo violin, bamboo viola, bamboo cello, bamboo mandolin, bamboo guitar, flutes, etc, and loves to share his music!
Nearly 30 years ago, Luong Viet Loi, a fisherman from Sam Son, Thanh Hoa province, was the only Vietnamese to join the 5,500-mile (more than 8,800 km) voyage across the Pacific Ocean on a bamboo raft with the famous explorer Tim Severin. The story is recorded in the book and film, The China Voyage. He is a hero and a live witness of this thrilling adventure, and he joined us with his commentary as we watched the film version. It truly was an incredible ride! We were thrilled to have him among us!
Thank all of you wonderful people who joined us; students and skilled peers all working with dirty hands as a team to accomplish the intentions of this workshop!
As part of the ceremonies of the 4th World Bamboo Workshop, we honored three veterans of the bamboo world for their lifetime contribution. See here and join us in saying “thank you” to World Bamboo Pioneers: Dr. Lynn Clark (USA), Mr. Yves Crouzet (France/Portugal) & Mr. Jörg Stamm (Colombia/Germany).
The WBO is nothing without its team of global Ambassadors: working hard for our mutual mission to promote the potentials of bamboo, and we give thanks to our supportive Sponsors of this event (shown below), as well as our annual Corporate Partners, who share our mission and our cause. Together we will make a difference.
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