Environment impact

Apart from manufacturing, bamboo can also play a role in reforestation. The Kenya Forest Service (KFS), the agency charged with protecting forested areas in the country, says Kenya has less than 10 percent of its land covered in forests. With bamboo, explains Patrick Kariuki, Extension Services Manager at KFS, Kenya could gain quicker forest cover.

“There are earnings which could be from preparing [bamboo] seedlings or just waiting for maturity and making items out of them [bamboo wood],” said Kariuki.

He said the rapid rate of growth means that farmers can get returns much faster than from eucalyptus, for example. “I can say, simply that the potential is big. It just hasn’t been harnessed.”

KFS, which has been running reforestation programs with Kenyan county governments, says bamboo has been useful in replenishing depleted forests. The agency is targeting to plant 20 million new trees by 2022 and has been signing financial agreements with county governments to prepare bamboo seedlings for them.

Environmentalists say bamboo growing should be encouraged to kill two birds with one stone: Deal with the lost forest cover and encourage farmers to produce more for large-scale workshops to thrive.

“Bamboo has a huge economic significance. This is because it is not only environmentally friendly, it is comparably stronger than wood, like eucalyptus for example,” said Professor Catherine Wangari, who teaches agroforestry at the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Nairobi.

In addition, because it has more calories but weighs less, it can serve as a good source of wood fuel without emitting as much pollution as petroleum products, in cooking.

The university recently opened a Sino-kenyan Joint Research Center, a facility that could benefit local farmers with technology from China.

“For us, what we need is support to use the latest technology. The Chinese for example have done these things for years. They can help us reach their levels,” said Shiribwa.

What would also help convert farmers from their usual crops to seeing bamboo as a business would be short turnaround times. To help with this, an initiative to produce seedlings that will halve the growth time of indigenous bamboo from 12 years to less than five years is underway by the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI). “We may need persistent campaigns because our farmers are used to short-term returns,” said KEFRI’S Peter Kung’u.

(Reporting from Kenya)