LLDA starts bamboo promo
Written by Writer on Monday, October 20th, 2008
LLDA starts bamboo promo
The Manila Times
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Bamboo village in Abra will have houses, other structures made of bamboo
By Ira Karen Apanay, Reporter
THE Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA) on Monday announced that 70 selected families in Pidigan, Abra will be given a house in a Bamboo Village, as part of the campaign of the Bamboo for Life network to reforest watersheds.
LLDA General Manager Edgardo Manda said the Bamboo for Life network is adopting a place, wherein the group will build houses using bamboo for 70 deprived families in the said town.
Manda said the bamboo housing project is worth more than P4 million and has attracted donors and sponsors in the country.
Manda said the design of the bamboo house is such that it can withstand any weather and built to resist the country’s tropical climate.
“The house is disaster-proof. It is tsunami, earthquake and typhoon-proof,” Manda stressed.
The bamboo house has 30 square meters floor area, with a loft, which serves as the common bedroom.
Manda added that the Bamboo Village will not only have houses made of bamboo, but will be complete with structures like a school, market and community center.
Manda said it is part of their project to encourage farmers to plant bamboo to reforest watershed areas, which he said, should be given due attention because the metropolis needs to find a new source of potable drinking water.
He explained that the Bamboo for Life is targeting to double the current 50,000 hectares of bamboo forest in the country within three years to duplicate the success of China.
China is the leading exporter of bamboo products in the whole world with its $12-billion annual revenue. China has 1.4 million hectares of bamboo forest.
Manda said bamboo has 1,500 productive uses, adding that it could help prevent soil erosion, water retention and reduce evaporation during summer.
He further said that bamboo forest has potentials for application in carbon credits in the United Nations.
Manda also said that the LLDA will conduct a three-day bamboo forum in partnership with the Rotary Club of Makati Central and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., dubbed as the National Bamboo Development Forum: “Towards Sustainable Development of the Bamboo Industry in the Philippines for Environmental Protection & Livelihood Generation.”
The forum aims to assess the current situation of the bamboo industry in the country, review the Philippine bamboo master plan of 1997, and formulate a strategic action plan for its sustainable development in the Philippines.
The forum will also feature emerging investment opportunities in the country.
The activity will be held in collaboration with other government, nongovernmental organizations, academe, research groups, and other stakeholders.
