APFED Booklet on Good Practices and Innovative Activities 2005 ...

Indonesia
Pursuing a Chemical-free Bamboo Treatment Process
via Biomass-fired Kilns to Develop Small and Medium
scale Rural Bamboo Industries
Project Site Location Ubud, Bali and East Java
2009
Showcase
2009
Background - Problems Addressed and Policy Responses
Bamboo, through its benefits to ecosystems and economic
value, holds tremendous potential to support sustainable
development in Indonesia. However, it remains underutilised
in the construction and handicraft industries because of
its image as “poor man’s timber” and the need for costly
chemical treatments for preservation against pests and fungal
rot. Hence, a safe and easy treatment method was called for.
Project Outline - Objectives and Activities
The goal of this <strong>APFED</strong>-funded project is to develop a costeffective,
environmentally-friendly and replicable method to
The current bamboo treatment system
in operation – each bamboo is stacked
vertically and filled with a treatment solution
while being smoked
treat bamboo for use in construction, furniture, and household products. Through collaboration between
experts, the Environmental Bamboo Foundation (EBF) aims to design a bamboo treatment kiln that can
be disseminated widely in order to enhance rural livelihoods in Indonesia, Asia and beyond. In working
toward this goal, EBF and its partners will also develop markets for sustainably cultivated, harvested and
preserved bamboo products.
2005 2006 2007 2008
Impacts and Achievements
The major hurdle to industrial takeup of bamboo is the slow and costly preservation process. As a
result, bamboo is mostly used in an unpreserved form, leading to inferior quality products. However,
the EBF project is now in its final stages in designing a bamboo treatment kiln that uses low-cost, lowtech
and low-environmental-impact chemicals to effect preservation. Being closely linked with bamboo
manufacturers, the project’s results have been verified in actual bamboo product lines. Furthermore, the
Ministry of Forestry in Sulawesi has expressed interest to support the dissemination of this technology if it
proves to be successful.
Future Challenges
Although the results obtained on bamboo preservation are promising, the current treatment method
developed by EBF still requires faster and less labor-intensive processes, for which ideas will continue
to be tested. Furthermore, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of livelihood enhancement among rural
populations, EBF will need to make efforts in disseminating the new technology and in providing both
financial and technical assistance to bamboo producers across Indonesia and beyond.
General Information
Name of the Implementing Organisation:
Environmental Bamboo Foundation (Yayasan Bambu Lestari Lingkungan)
Type of Organisation: NGO
Contact: Arief Rabik
Environmental Bamboo Foundation, P.O. BOX 196, Ubud, Bali 80571, Indonesia
Tel: +62 361 975890 E-mail: ariefocalifo@gmail.com Website: http://www.bamboocentral.org
Project Reviewer (NetRes / Collaborators) that monitors the project:
Sana Okayasu, Kitakyushu Urban Centre, IGES
E-mail: okayasu@iges.or.jp
Area
Climate Change 3R Biodiversity & Ecosystem Water Capacity Development etc. Others
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