Bamboo is platform for green industry, says PBFI prexy

By Mary May A. Abellon

DIPOLOG CITY – “Bamboo is a platform for green industry and can be used in the rehabilitation or reforestation of mined and denuded areas,” Philippine Bamboo Foundation, Inc. (PBFI) President Edgardo Manda said during his visit in Dipolog last week for the Nego-Tour 2014.

Manda, former general manager of the Laguna Lake Development Authority (LLDA), sees the potential of bamboo industry in the country, as it can compete globally.

He said that bamboo protects the environment, it reduces soil erosion by 75 percent and lessens air pollution, as it sequesters 400 percent more carbon dioxide (CO2) and generates up to 35 percent more oxygen than the trees.

Bamboo can be used in making paper, clothings, skateboard, bicycle, curtains, mats, broom, biofuel, beverages, flavone products, food, medicine and many more.

According to Manda, there is also an innovative invention of bamboo beer discovered by Vincent Cruz Villanis, the first Filipino-Canadian licensed brewer in North America.

He added, that bamboo also adds grace to architecture and interior design like in the international airport of Spain.

Moreover, Manda explained that bamboo can also be processed to become wood substitute that he learned during his study tour in China.

Bamboo will underg floor board processing, starting with splitting, trimming, sorting, glue application, hot press, double edge cutting, moulding, planing, coating to UV drying.

Manda took the initiative of promoting the bamboo industry, as he organized a competition for sculpturists to carve on bamboo instead of wood to create a masterpiece.

“This is a way to encourage them to use our very own bamboo and to give them an alternative medium instead of wood which becomes scarce,” Manda stressed.