Its value goes beyond fast growth. Bamboo can store carbon above and below ground, improve soil health and provide renewable materials that continue storing carbon after harvest.

1. Produces substantial biomass

Many bamboo species grow quickly and produce significant biomass under suitable conditions.

As bamboo grows, it absorbs carbon dioxide and stores carbon in its culms, branches, leaves, roots and rhizomes.

2. Stores carbon below ground

Bamboo has extensive root and rhizome systems that remain in the soil between harvests.

These underground systems store carbon, stabilise the soil and help the plantation regenerate without regular replanting.

3. Supports healthier soils

Fallen leaves, root turnover and other organic material can improve soil structure and support microbial activity.

Over time, this may increase soil organic carbon, improve water retention and reduce erosion.

4. Regrows after harvesting

Bamboo is a perennial plant. New culms grow from its established rhizome system after mature culms are harvested.

This reduces the need for repeated planting and helps maintain continuous plant growth and carbon capture.

5. Keeps carbon stored in products

Harvested bamboo can be turned into long-lasting products such as flooring, furniture, panels and construction materials.

The longer these products remain in use, the longer their carbon may remain stored outside the atmosphere.

6. Creates value from residues

Bamboo offcuts and processing residues can be used for mulch, energy production or biochar.

Biochar may provide a particularly useful option because it can store carbon in a stable form while supporting soil health.

7. Strengthens landscape resilience

When carefully integrated into a diversified landscape, bamboo may help control erosion, protect waterways and improve water management.

It can also provide productive use of suitable degraded land while supporting broader land-restoration objectives.

Bamboo is part of the solution

Bamboo should not replace native forests or established ecosystems.

Its strongest potential lies within integrated carbon-farming systems that combine responsible production, conservation and landscape restoration.

The real question is not simply how quickly bamboo grows. It is how bamboo can be used to create lasting environmental, agricultural and economic value.

Governments are incorporating it into national climate strategies. Investors are directing billions of dollars toward nature-based projects. Farmers are exploring new revenue streams. Mining companies are reassessing land rehabilitation. Around the world, the conversation has shifted from simply reducing greenhouse gas emissions to actively removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while restoring degraded landscapes.

Yet despite this growing momentum, much of the discussion continues to revolve around a familiar image: planting trees.

Forests remain one of humanity’s most valuable natural allies in addressing climate change. They provide habitat for biodiversity, regulate water cycles, protect soils and store vast quantities of carbon. Their importance is unquestionable.

But an important question is beginning to emerge.

Are forests alone enough to meet the environmental, economic and social challenges that carbon farming is expected to address?

Recent scientific research suggests the answer may be more complex than a simple “yes.”

Carbon farming itself is evolving.

What began primarily as an approach focused on reforestation and afforestation is increasingly being viewed through a broader lens—one that considers entire landscapes, multiple forms of vegetation, soil health, biodiversity, water resources and long-term economic resilience.

This shift reflects an important lesson learned over the past decade.

Restoring ecosystems is not simply about planting vegetation.

It is about rebuilding ecological function.

A broader understanding of carbon

When most people think about carbon sequestration, they imagine trees absorbing carbon dioxide through photosynthesis and storing it in trunks, branches and leaves.

That process is fundamental.

However, scientists now recognise that healthy landscapes store carbon in several interconnected pools.

Above-ground biomass is only one of them.

Carbon is also stored below ground through root systems, organic matter, microbial activity and soil aggregates that can remain stable for decades under suitable environmental conditions.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), achieving long-term climate mitigation will require not only reducing emissions but also increasing carbon removals through a portfolio of natural and technological solutions.

Equally important, these solutions should deliver multiple co-benefits—including biodiversity conservation, improved water regulation, resilient food systems and sustainable livelihoods.

This is where the conversation becomes particularly interesting.

Rather than asking which individual species captures the most carbon, researchers are increasingly asking a different question:

Which land-use systems deliver the greatest overall environmental value?

That distinction changes everything.

From carbon projects to regenerative landscapes

Historically, many carbon projects focused on a single objective: maximising carbon storage.

Today, expectations have changed.

Governments, investors and environmental organisations increasingly recognise that successful landscape restoration should also strengthen ecosystem resilience, improve soil health, reduce erosion, enhance biodiversity and support local economies.

In other words, carbon has become one indicator of success—but not the only one.

This broader perspective aligns closely with the growing adoption of Nature-based Solutions (NbS), an approach promoted internationally by organisations such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and increasingly reflected in climate policy discussions.

Nature-based Solutions recognise that environmental restoration should generate multiple outcomes simultaneously.

A restored landscape should not simply remove carbon from the atmosphere.

It should also function as a healthy ecosystem.

That means improving water infiltration.

Supporting biodiversity.

Reducing land degradation.

Increasing resilience to drought.

Creating opportunities for sustainable economic development.

This integrated perspective is gradually redefining what carbon farming means.

Why diversity matters

One unintended consequence of early carbon programmes was the tendency to simplify ecosystems.

In some cases, projects prioritised rapid carbon accumulation while paying less attention to ecological complexity.

Scientific understanding has since evolved.

Researchers increasingly emphasise that resilient landscapes are usually characterised by diversity rather than uniformity.

Different species perform different ecological functions.

Deep-rooted vegetation may improve soil structure.

Ground cover reduces erosion.

Native vegetation supports wildlife.

Perennial plants stabilise landscapes over long periods.

Some systems enhance soil organic carbon more effectively than others.

The future of carbon farming may therefore depend less on identifying a single “best” species and more on designing landscapes that integrate complementary biological functions.

This represents a significant conceptual shift.

Carbon farming is becoming less about individual plants and more about landscape design.

The growing importance of soil

Perhaps the most significant development in recent climate science is the renewed attention being given to soils.

For many years, discussions about carbon sequestration focused primarily on forests.

Today, soil scientists remind us that healthy soils represent one of the planet’s largest terrestrial carbon reservoirs.

Carbon stored below ground is often less visible than forest biomass, yet it can be equally important for long-term climate mitigation.

Healthy soils improve water retention.

Increase resilience during drought.

Support microbial diversity.

Enhance nutrient cycling.

Reduce erosion.

Improve agricultural productivity.

These benefits extend well beyond carbon accounting.

Recent research has also highlighted the important role of microbial residues in stabilising soil organic carbon, suggesting that biological activity beneath the surface may be more influential than previously understood.

As our understanding of soil ecology expands, carbon farming is becoming inseparable from soil restoration.

The conversation is moving from “How many trees should we plant?” to “How can we rebuild healthy, functioning landscapes?”

That is a much more ambitious question.

And perhaps a more important one.

Looking beyond traditional forestry

None of this diminishes the extraordinary importance of forests.

On the contrary.

Healthy forests will remain essential to biodiversity conservation, climate regulation and sustainable development.

But they may no longer represent the only biological systems deserving attention within future carbon farming strategies.

Around the world, researchers are now investigating a broader range of perennial species capable of contributing to carbon sequestration, ecological restoration and sustainable land management.

Some are native grasses.

Others are agroforestry systems.

Others combine agricultural production with long-term vegetation.

And among these emerging areas of research, one rapidly renewable biological resource is beginning to attract increasing scientific interest.

Not because it replaces forests.

But because it may complement them in specific environmental, climatic and economic contexts.

That resource is bamboo.

Its role in carbon farming, however, deserves to be understood carefully—and without exaggeration.

That is where the science becomes particularly interesting.

The growing scientific interest in bamboo is not based on the idea that it is a “miracle plant” or a replacement for forests.

Quite the opposite.

The emerging body of research suggests that bamboo should be viewed as one component within integrated regenerative systems—systems designed to restore ecological function while creating long-term environmental and economic value.

This distinction matters.

Over the past decade, scientific publications have increasingly focused on understanding where bamboo can genuinely contribute, where its limitations exist, and how it compares with other perennial vegetation under different climatic and management conditions.

That evidence-based approach is essential.

What does the science actually tell us?

One of the most common misconceptions surrounding bamboo is the claim that it captures more carbon than any tree.

Current scientific evidence does not support such a universal statement.

Carbon sequestration varies significantly according to species, climate, soil conditions, plantation age, management practices and the time period being evaluated.

What the literature consistently shows is something more nuanced.

Well-managed bamboo systems can achieve very high rates of biomass production. Because new culms emerge annually while mature culms are selectively harvested, many bamboo forests maintain continuous biological productivity without the need for replanting after each harvest cycle.

This dynamic growth pattern has attracted increasing attention from researchers studying long-term carbon dynamics.

Rather than concentrating carbon accumulation in a single growth cycle, bamboo continuously renews part of its above-ground biomass while maintaining extensive underground rhizome systems.

In practical terms, this creates an ecological system that behaves differently from many conventional forestry models.

Understanding those differences—not exaggerating them—is where the real scientific opportunity lies.

Carbon is not only stored in vegetation

Perhaps one of the most important discoveries emerging from recent research is that the greatest climate value of a landscape may not always be what we can see above the ground.

Healthy soils contain enormous quantities of organic carbon.

Recent studies investigating bamboo ecosystems have highlighted the role of microbial communities and organic matter in stabilising carbon within the soil profile. These biological processes help transform plant residues into more persistent forms of soil organic carbon, contributing to long-term storage under appropriate conditions.

This changes the way carbon farming is evaluated.

Success can no longer be measured only by the volume of vegetation growing above the surface.

It should also consider whether a landscape is rebuilding the biological processes that allow carbon to remain stored below ground.

For land managers, this represents an important shift from measuring vegetation alone to measuring ecosystem function.

The journey of carbon does not end at harvest

Another important evolution in scientific thinking concerns what happens after biomass is harvested.

Traditionally, harvesting has often been viewed as reducing carbon storage.

Today, researchers increasingly distinguish between short-lived biomass and durable biological products.

When bamboo is transformed into engineered construction materials, flooring, laminated panels, furniture or other long-life products, much of the carbon absorbed during growth remains stored throughout the useful life of those products.

At the same time, substituting renewable materials for more emissions-intensive alternatives may contribute to reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions in certain applications.

The magnitude of these benefits depends on product design, manufacturing processes, transportation and end-of-life management.

Nevertheless, the principle is important.

Carbon storage should be viewed across the entire value chain—not only within the plantation.

Towards a circular bioeconomy

The concept receiving perhaps the greatest attention today is the circular bioeconomy.

Instead of treating bamboo plantations as carbon projects alone, researchers increasingly describe integrated production systems capable of generating multiple environmental and economic outcomes simultaneously.

High-quality culms can supply engineered materials, construction products and industrial applications.

Processing residues may be converted into bioenergy.

Other residual biomass can be transformed into biochar through pyrolysis.

Biochar itself has attracted considerable scientific interest because of its potential to stabilise carbon in soils while also improving water retention, nutrient availability and soil structure under suitable conditions.

Although commercial deployment continues to evolve, this cascading use of biomass reflects one of the central principles of modern circular economy thinking:

Maximise value before considering waste.

In such systems, carbon is not viewed simply as something to capture.

It becomes part of a regenerative cycle that links ecological restoration, renewable materials, energy recovery and soil improvement.

What could this mean for Australia?

Australia possesses many of the ingredients required to explore innovative approaches to carbon farming.

The country has ambitious emissions reduction objectives.

It has internationally recognised expertise in environmental science.

It continues to invest in mine rehabilitation, regenerative agriculture and nature-based solutions.

At the same time, Australia faces significant challenges associated with degraded landscapes, changing climate conditions and increasing pressure to build more resilient regional economies.

Within this context, bamboo deserves careful scientific investigation—not because it offers universal answers, but because it may contribute to integrated solutions in locations where climatic conditions, ecological suitability and responsible management align.

Whether in mine rehabilitation, agricultural diversification, bio-based manufacturing or circular bioeconomy projects, the central question is not whether bamboo should replace existing systems.

It is whether it can complement them.

That is a far more constructive conversation.

And one that deserves continued research.

Final reflections

Perhaps the future of carbon farming is not about choosing between forests, grasslands, agricultural systems or bamboo.

Perhaps it is about recognising that resilient landscapes rarely depend on a single biological solution.

The next generation of carbon farming will likely be measured not only by tonnes of carbon removed from the atmosphere, but also by healthier soils, stronger biodiversity, more efficient resource use, resilient regional economies and landscapes capable of adapting to a changing climate.

That perspective requires moving beyond simple comparisons.

Beyond headlines.

Beyond claims of “the best species.”

Instead, it calls for evidence.

For collaboration.

And for the willingness to design landscapes that balance environmental integrity with long-term social and economic value.

Carbon farming is no longer just about trees.

It is about understanding how entire ecosystems work together.

That conversation has already begun.

The opportunity now is to ensure it is guided by science.

Private personal spaces. Spaces to relax in. Spaces we entertain in or enjoy wonderful times with the people who mean most to us.

What I love about bamboo the most is that it helps you create a place you really want to be in.

 A place you feel comfortable in, anywhere at home.

 A secluded little nook in your garden.

 Relaxing by the pool behind a privacy screen, safely away from prying eyes.

 It’s earthy, organic and natural.

 It’s far more sustainable than timber.

 I also love the aesthetics of bamboo.

I love how a few simple bamboo poles can transform a small part of your garden.

 How a simple bamboo screen can bring warmth and organic texture to a cold brick, concrete or metal fence.

How bamboo can bring a touch of the Orient to anywhere, making you feel like you are in the tropics.

But equally I love how it can be stylish and contemporary.

Bamboo is also amazing because it’s as much at home outdoors as it is indoors.

Its beauty lies in its natural strength, flexibility and of course sustainability.

Bamboo is everything timber wants to be. And so much more.

It is stronger, lighter, more flexible and easier to work with.

It grows 10 times faster than timber, using less water & resources. It needs no pesticides or herbicides to help it grow.

Bamboo breathes 35% more oxygen back into the atmosphere than trees do and stores 4 times the carbon of wood.

The speed with which is grows is truly amazing. A single tree, 15 metres tall, will take 60 years to grow back once you cut it down. And you will have to plant another tree to replace it.

But bamboo will grow back to 15 metres in 60 days! And there is no need to replant bamboo as it grows back from the very same place you cut it down.

No wonder people all over the world have loved using it for thousands of years.

It is perhaps the world’s most sustainable building material. Adaptable, flexible and yet strong. It’s actually stronger than steel and concrete by some measures.

And those are just some of the reasons that I love bamboo. I hope you love it too.

We can help you with one of the most sustainable materials of all time. One that we have been working with for over 45 years.

That material is bamboo.

Bamboo is simply one of the world’s greenest materials. It offers significant remediation from the effects of climate change, so specifying it for your projects contributes to them qualifying for a Green Star Rating.

Why Bamboo is Greener than Timber.

Firstly, bamboo is not a tree, it’s a grass. Which means it grows, and regrows, differently to timber.

When you cut down hardwood trees all that remains is a stump. You have to replant a new tree and this can take up to a century to regrow to the same size of the original tree.

However, being a grass, when you cut down bamboo, it simply regrows, from the same stalk. And how fast does it regrow? Well bamboo can take as little as a few months to regrow to a reasonable height, while a forest of bamboo can reach full maturity in only 6-7 years.

But this is not the only reason bamboo is a more environmentally sustainable material than timber.

It also produces 35% more oxygen than trees and stores 4 times the carbon of timber.

Regrowing plantation bamboo is better for the environment than cutting down trees as deforestation starts a cycle of drought and environmental decline that accounts for a fifth of all carbon emissions globally.

The Bamboo Paradox – Harvesting is greener than not harvesting

You probably did not realise the most amazing thing about bamboo. It’s actually a greener option to harvest bamboo than not to harvest it!?

How is this so?

When alive, bamboo does not live for as long as hardwood trees. When bamboo dies and decays, it releases carbon back into the atmosphere. That means a bamboo forest you leave growing is a poor carbon sink but if you harvest it, it becomes a great carbon sink.

New production technology for bamboo

The way that bamboo building materials are made has changed a lot in recent years and this too means it is even greener.

Bamboo is not only a renewable material but it has incredible properties.

It is as strong as steel in tensile strength.

It is stronger than concrete in compression.

And it’s much lighter in weight than timber and can be manufactured to produce almost identical products to timber.

The most sustainable material for the future – bamboo

There is no doubt that bamboo is the building material of the future.

You will find that our focus on innovation at Reknew Design and House of Bamboo means we have created refined designs that can be applied to both commercial and residential projects.

Transcending all trends, bamboo is the most conscientious building material you can choose to help you achieve a Green Star Rating. Of course that helps our planet too.

Please get in touch with us to discuss your needs for sustainable products for Green Star Rated projects or message me and I’ll respond.

Thanks for reading.

Jennifer Snyders

Recent technological breakthroughs have been applied to bamboo to create Engineered Bamboo, converting it into laminated products that improve its inherent properties and characteristics, something which was previously only done with wood.

However, the results are even more superior with bamboo due to its inherent strength, lightness and flexibility.

Strip-laminated and strand woven bamboo

The first type of engineered bamboo to be created was “strip laminated”, where narrow strips of the outer part of the bamboo are cut and laminated together into boards that can be used in a multitude of ways just like timber.

But, of course, being made from bamboo they are so much lighter than equivalent lengths of timber enabling them to be used in many new and different ways to timber.

Another form of engineered bamboo is “strand woven” bamboo, which is often used for flooring. To make strand woven bamboo, the pole of the bamboo plant is cut, stripped-down, shredded into fibres and woven together with a resin. This product is then compressed under extreme heat and pressure to form a solid block of strand woven bamboo which is then machined into planks just like timber.

Colour stains can be added to the product to create various looks and styles as well as finishing lacquers etc.

Fused, carbonised, bamboo decking

Using a patented process, the bamboo is subject to a 2-stage process of high heat which “carbonises” it, removing all the sugars and starch in the bamboo and reinforcing its inherent strengths.

New generation fused bamboo decking takes engineered bamboo to an even higher level.

The modified bamboo strands are then fused together using a very strong resin, the same kind used to make bowling balls. The resulting decking boards are extremely dense with durability levels beyond that of many hardwood timbers.

They are also far more stable than traditional timber decking and won’t shrink, warp, twist and are highly resistant to termites, fire, rot, etc

Giving a square edge to a round pole

One of the most dramatic differences between using natural bamboo poles and engineered bamboo is that the process of engineering the bamboo converts the profile of the material from a round to a square edge, opening up a myriad of new uses.

Bamboo products with a square profile can be used in so many different and creative ways in design and construction. It essentially changes the very nature of bamboo itself, further enhancing its strengths and overcoming one of its perceived weaknesses.

Effectively once bamboo has been laminated it can be machined like any timber product, giving you any type of bespoke square edge or angle design that you wish.

Additionally, by engineering bamboo, you remove the inconsistencies of bamboo poles as they grow naturally which have differences in everything from external pole diameter, pole length as well as the wall thickness of the pole, all of which can vary even from one end of a bamboo plant to the other.

By engineering the bamboo into a different format, you are able to standardise the thickness, weight, length, etc of the finished product which gives it greater consistency for building, construction, décor, fencing, screening, be that on a large scale or bespoke designs.

Engineered bamboo opens up so many possibilities you need to say to yourself at the start of any project, where timber would normally be the go-to option, “I should be doing this with bamboo”.

-Jennifer Snyders, BSc/Arch, NSW

House of Bamboo

Now, with the current consumer focus on climate change and sustainability, bamboo is set to be a key player in the construction industry (and many other industries) in the future as well.  

While this has encouraged an ever-growing trend bamboo usage in commercial and residential construction overseas (particularly in France), perplexingly, Australia has yet to fully jump on board.

The study of bamboo  

However, with the University of Tasmania recently announcing it will be offering a PhD in Prefabricated Bamboo Housing, bamboo might just be about to get its moment in the Australian sun. 

The newly created PhD will cover a case study where laminated bamboo elements are used to create prefabricated housing stock, and the process of manufacturing this product will also be documented from harvest to construction.

The course will pay particular attention to pushing bamboo beyond what it has been ‘traditionally capable of’ by developing new methods of connection and treatment.

An innovative substance

This course is the latest in a growing list of studies already being offered by universities around the world on the potential uses of bamboo.

In India, for example, the National Institute of Technology in Nagpur has announced a bamboo curriculum for BArch students. It’s the first time bamboo will be added to an engineering degree course in that country.

“Of the six units in the BArch course, one will be dedicated to bamboo right from the first year,” explains Dr Pramod M Padole, Director of VNIT. “In the third year, it will be an elective subject.”

Meanwhile, the University of British Columbia in Canada has already established a multidisciplinary research group in the Faculty of Forestry to focus on the “structural properties, industrial applications and innovative uses” of bamboo, as well as its social, environmental and cultural potential. 

“Bamboo is a vitally important non-timber forest product,” says Professor John Innes, Dean of the Faculty, “and while its value has been recognised for centuries, it is only today that we are beginning to realise how some of its properties can best be utilised.”

There are even more courses and PhDs in sustainable bamboo at universities in Taiwan, University College London and Frankfurt Summer University, among others.

Sustainable and versatile 

Having worked with bamboo in both commercial and residential construction in Australia since 1972, House of Bamboo CEO Jennifer Snyders, one of Australia’s leading experts on bamboo, welcomes the fact that the academic world is starting to embrace the study of bamboo and its many multifaceted benefits across a range of industries. 

“We believe bamboo is very much the building material of the future,” she explains, “and we’re looking forward to its versatility and sustainability being recognised on a larger scale in many industries in Australia.

The real question is… does this truly benefit our environment at all? Does choosing the last of the Western Australian Jarrah (and trucking it across Australian) really beat using a fully sustainable product, like bamboo, which has a greater carbon sink? Even if it arrived by sea?

All too often we hear the response ‘Call me when bamboo is locally grown’, but are we really willing to wait until the forests are in true depletion until we consider alternatives? As we know, many species are actually not that far off – and there will come a point when you won’t see them available again for 30 years! That’s a long time to wait, for the sake of transport issues.

It’s clear that we need to renavigate this narrative so that our sustainable choices support effective carbon reductions and allow our land to be restored.

So why bamboo?

Simply, bamboo gives us the luxury of time; time to regrow, time to restore and time to rebuild. Jarrah, for example, takes a minimum of 150 years to reach maturity, and recently, we were asked to supply engineered bamboo for a project as there wasn’t enough timber to complete the build.

Bamboo is also an environmentally supportive crop. Research in Japan (among other studies) demonstrated that bamboo can absorb as much as 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide per hectare per year, giving the plant a potentially crucial role in stabilising our planet’s atmosphere. It also produces 35% more oxygen than many hardwoods. Bamboo can also work in many of Australia’s coastal areas much better than timber. It can prevent solid erosion due to its clumping root system; has a natural resistance to termites and has a quick growth rate.

Unfortunately, the rest of world is far ahead of Australian in bamboo farming and engineering, yet it’s clear that using bamboo would allow us to continue to build on our construction skills and create new agricultural initiatives and new jobs. However, it’s a two-way street. Designers can’t blinker themselves from the choices they make. The key is education and learning new materials so we can evolve our understanding of this product.

– Jennifer Snyders

Though bamboo offers many amazing benefits, we must make sure it is farmed in the right way; every plant needs the right cultivation to thrive. We need to work with our Chinese and international community to allow this to grow into something greater. This not about replacing one industry with another, it’s about allowing bamboo to work alongside timber, to give us greater options.

However, we need support and expertise to grow an industry. Climate change does not start or stop at the border and neither should our carbon neutral options.

While some forward-looking visionaries were joining the growing environmental movement, larger ecological issues were far from mainstream Australian society and industry.

Looking into the future

However, my father, Mark Snyders, wanted to change that. Even back then he had his mind firmly set on encouraging Australians to use sustainable materials that were more suitable to our environment. 

A trained engineer, he had worked in Asia for many years and had noticed that instead of building solid, heavy houses, the builders in some Asian countries would simply gather together raw materials from the environment around them and build a comfortable house to live in for the moment. 

If the house was destroyed by a storm or simply wore out with old age, they would then return all the materials back to the earth and gather up new materials to build again.

Essentially, my father began to recognise the personal and global benefits of sustainable living. But, of course, no one called it that back then.

Building a legacy

So, in 1972, he decided to start a business importing bamboo products into Australia. To keep up with demand, he would travel to Asia on a regular basis, meeting and talking with craftspeople in small village communities about their bamboo crops and asking about the products they could produce for him. 

He ended up making lasting relationships with people who would hand-make blinds, wall coverings and slatted wall tiles from the bamboo they grew themselves in nearby plantations. 

The regular money he paid the villagers for their products enabled them to become more self-sufficient, sustaining them through the lean times. He was very proud of that because he believed that true sustainability is not just about the environment, but economic sustainability, as well.

Proud to carry on

That’s why, as his daughter, I’m so proud to build on his legacy. To continue the work he started and, to this day, continue to deal with many of the same villages (as well as many others) where he made connections over 50 years ago. 

At the House of Bamboo, we still empower small communities to keep living in a sustainable manner, both environmentally and economically, while they help us to become more sustainable, and ironically, more like them. 

This is what I see as my role today as CEO. I’m continuing the sustainable family legacy my father started way back in 1972, as well as spreading the message of sustainable living in the process. This is what gets me out of bed every morning… albeit very, very early!

That’s the idea behind Europe’s first large-scale commercial bamboo forest in the Alcoutim region of Southern Portugal. Starting with just 150 hectares of planting, BambooLogic (the organisation behind the project) plans on expanding the new bamboo farm to an impressive 2000 hectares. 

While this region in Portugal receives little rainfall, high temperatures and has some arid land, bamboo can grow virtually anywhere and so far, the plantation is thriving. 

The Demand for Bamboo 

European consumers, like Australians, have fallen in love with bamboo. After all, it is an incredibly sustainable building material and growing it in Europe will substantially reduce the cost and energy used to transport it.

Surprisingly, Europe is the biggest export market for Asian bamboo products in the world, so those transport costs are currently substantial. BambooLogic hopes this plantation, when mature, will help to provide a cost-effective local alternative. 

Based in The Netherlands, BambooLogic plans to plant more bamboo crops in addition to this one in Spain, Italy and Greece to meet the demand.

A Sustainable Crop

As the world’s fastest growing plant, bamboo already has an extremely low carbon footprint; it stores four times more carbon than trees and produces 35% more oxygen than a timber forest. 

It’s also a relatively easy crop to grow as it needs far less water than timber and it doesn’t need fertilisers or pesticides. As it’s actually a grass, it keeps growing back from its complex root system every time it is harvested. No need for soil preparation or seed sowing.

This root system helps prevent soil erosion, and because bamboo can grow in most environments, it is currently being used in reforestation programs to rehabilitate the soil.

Why Not in Australia?

The apparent success of this first plantation raises the question, why hasn’t a large-scale bamboo industry been considered for Australia? 

Not only do we have space and environment for it but having a local bamboo industry would help meet the growing demand for bamboo products in Australia. 

A local Australian bamboo industry would also help reduce our carbon emissions, create jobs and help us produce one of the world’s most sustainable commodities for our own use. 

As the CSIRO has just confirmed, Australia is officially getting warmer with less cool-season rain, so this kind of planting would also help with reforestation and soil erosion and would reduce our use of harmful pesticides or herbicides. 

So often we hear misinformation about how new bamboo products are manufactured – this is what we are driving to change and asking the building industry to listen and learn that not all products are created equal. High-quality timber alternatives are being made that aren’t full of chemicals – that meet and often exceed the sustainability merits of timber. We need to look at our practices, our projects and ask for more change and say can “I do it better?” The more the industry grows the more we can invest in Australian Bamboo. The good news is it’s growing.

Engineered Bamboo

The most exciting product to come out of the bamboo industry recently is engineered bamboo, which is very much like timber but superior in many ways. It is machined to a square edge so it can be used anywhere timber is and it’s actually more sustainable, lighter, stronger and more flexible than timber as well.

With a thriving bamboo growing industry in Australia, we could produce our own engineered bamboo here. Then perhaps more local architects would be encouraged to design with bamboo, more local builders would suggest it for their builds and more consumers would expect to see it in their renovations and new homes.

Until then, House of Bamboo continues to work with other Australian companies to encourage discussion, troubleshoot and promote the idea of large-scale plantations in some of the areas in Australia that need it the most.

Contact us if you want to learn more about new bamboo practice. We also offer CPD presentations to Architects and Designers for a more in-depth study of new developments. Visit our website to see more projects

Did you know Australia needs a dramatic increase in its emissions reduction targets to stay in line with the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global warming to well below 2C?

An independent group of Australia’s most senior climate scientists and policymakers have released a report showing the nation’s targets fall well short of what’s required.

The group called the Climate Targets Panel, found Australia’s 2030 emissions target essentially needs to be doubled. At the moment, Australia has a target to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

But the report found this would need to be increased to 50 per cent if Australia wanted to be consistent with the Paris Agreement goal of keeping warming to well below 2C.

What does this have to do with what bamboo you ask?

Well, due to its fast growth it absorbs 4x the carbon dioxide of trees from the atmosphere providing 30% more oxygen in return. This is locked for a long time not only on the plantation but in the high number of building materials produced from harvested bamboo.

When you combine bamboo’s potential displacement factor with bamboo’s carbon storage rate, bamboo can sequester enormous sums – from 200 to almost 400 tonnes of carbon per hectare.*

There are so many possibilities for bamboo to support and impact our land and quality of life. Bamboo is not a poor man’s timber, in fact, it offered us an amazing opportunity to have a dual “timber” industry that protects the land and supports a positive climate investment.

House of Bamboo is committed to increasing the knowledge about bamboo and educating all industries about how it can support land regeneration, soil erosion and creating an effective carbon sink.

If you are looking to invest in sustainable materials for your next build, please contact us to find out more.

#earthday #bamboofacts #whybamboo #investinbamboo #bamboo #bambooaustralia #sustainability #sustainablematerials #sustainablebuilding #climatechange #inbar #climatesupport #environment

INBAR

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