BAMBOO PROCESSING COULD TURN AROUND LIVES OF UGANDANS
Oct 21, 2008
The bamboo Growers and handicraft training is a brainchild of the Uganda industrial research institute. Training will begin in south-western Uganda before moving to the north and east...
The bamboo Growers and handicraft training is a brainchild of the Uganda industrial research institute. Training will begin in south-western Uganda before moving to the north and east...
By John Kasozi
FOR years, Patrick Bwambale, Mohammed Ngozi and Dodovic Masereka have lived in an area surrounded by bamboo trees, but none of them has ever realised the potential of the trees to turn people’s lives around.
The three men, from Bundibugyo district, were recently surprised when they learnt that they would benefit from a bamboo processing training technology, targeting communities living around bamboo forests throughout the country.
The Bamboo Growers and Handicraft training scheme is the brainchild of the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI).
The training will begin in south-western Uganda, before being transferred to the north and east.
“The training will take about two weeks. No qualification is required for the participants and people with disabilities and females will be highly considered. We shall reach out to the community using different media to inform them when to start training,†says Prof. Charles Kwesiga, UIRI’s executive director.
He says the institute is identifying the tools that the beneficiaries will use after training.
Eng. Patrick Ojok, the project coordinator, says their main goal is to encourage self-entrepreneurship in craft-making, using bamboo.
After the training, the community will be able to make baskets, chairs, tables, necklaces and other handicrafts out of bamboo. The trainees will also be expected to pass on their skills to other people.
Ojok said in the long run, they will diversify the product base by making charcoal briquettes, active carbon, vinegar, bamboo boards for table tops and floor tiles.
Since 2005, 12 engineers and technicians have undergone training in China on bamboo technology. These will pass on the knowledge to the community.
Currently, the institute is making toothpicks and mats from bamboo for the local market.
Kwesiga says they will scale-up production by creating an out-growers scheme.
“The institute looks at value-addition by conducting research and introducing modern processing techniques,†he says.
Uganda lacks adequate indigenous technology. It is estimated that only 12% of Uganda’s exports are high technology, compared to 58% in Malaysia.
“Research and development remains unprioritised. Little attention is paid to the promotion of indigenous technology to absorb technology from foreign sources to gain a comparative advantage in the market,†Kwesiga says
In Uganda, bamboo occupies 29.7% (61,662ha) of the natural forests and game reserves under the custodianship of the National Forestry Authority and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The forests are found in Mt. Elgon National Park with (20,720 hectares) Rwenzori National Park (15,540ha), Bwindi National Park (1,308ha), Echuya (2,072), Kitgum (22,022ha) and other places.
Bamboo is a highly renewable resource. It is the fastest growing canopy for the re-afforestation of degraded lands. Using bamboo to replace timber saves rainforests. With a 10-30% annual increase in biomass versus two to 5% for trees, bamboo creates greater yields of raw material. One clump can produce 200 poles in two to five years.
The trees can be harvested between three to five years versus 10 to 20 years for most softwood. They are also adaptable to many environments.
Bamboo greatly reduces run-off, preventing massive soil erosion and retains twice as much water in the watershed. The plant can be grown in soils damaged by overgrazing and poor agriculture techniques.
Bamboo leaves release 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of the trees. Some even get hold of up to 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air per hectare. The plant can also lower light intensity and protects against ultraviolet rays.
USES OF BAMBOO
- Decoration
- Raw material for making lamination, concrete and truck boards.
- Ply boo is used for paneling and floor tiles,
- Pulp for paper making
- Briquettes used for fuel.
- House construction.
- Used for making baskets, chairs, tables, necklaces and other handicrafts
By John Kasozi
FOR years, Patrick Bwambale, Mohammed Ngozi and Dodovic Masereka have lived in an area surrounded by bamboo trees, but none of them has ever realised the potential of the trees to turn people’s lives around.
The three men, from Bundibugyo district, were recently surprised when they learnt that they would benefit from a bamboo processing training technology, targeting communities living around bamboo forests throughout the country.
The Bamboo Growers and Handicraft training scheme is the brainchild of the Uganda Industrial Research Institute (UIRI).
The training will begin in south-western Uganda, before being transferred to the north and east.
“The training will take about two weeks. No qualification is required for the participants and people with disabilities and females will be highly considered. We shall reach out to the community using different media to inform them when to start training,†says Prof. Charles Kwesiga, UIRI’s executive director.
He says the institute is identifying the tools that the beneficiaries will use after training.
Eng. Patrick Ojok, the project coordinator, says their main goal is to encourage self-entrepreneurship in craft-making, using bamboo.
After the training, the community will be able to make baskets, chairs, tables, necklaces and other handicrafts out of bamboo. The trainees will also be expected to pass on their skills to other people.
Ojok said in the long run, they will diversify the product base by making charcoal briquettes, active carbon, vinegar, bamboo boards for table tops and floor tiles.
Since 2005, 12 engineers and technicians have undergone training in China on bamboo technology. These will pass on the knowledge to the community.
Currently, the institute is making toothpicks and mats from bamboo for the local market.
Kwesiga says they will scale-up production by creating an out-growers scheme.
“The institute looks at value-addition by conducting research and introducing modern processing techniques,†he says.
Uganda lacks adequate indigenous technology. It is estimated that only 12% of Uganda’s exports are high technology, compared to 58% in Malaysia.
“Research and development remains unprioritised. Little attention is paid to the promotion of indigenous technology to absorb technology from foreign sources to gain a comparative advantage in the market,†Kwesiga says
In Uganda, bamboo occupies 29.7% (61,662ha) of the natural forests and game reserves under the custodianship of the National Forestry Authority and the Uganda Wildlife Authority. The forests are found in Mt. Elgon National Park with (20,720 hectares) Rwenzori National Park (15,540ha), Bwindi National Park (1,308ha), Echuya (2,072), Kitgum (22,022ha) and other places.
Bamboo is a highly renewable resource. It is the fastest growing canopy for the re-afforestation of degraded lands. Using bamboo to replace timber saves rainforests. With a 10-30% annual increase in biomass versus two to 5% for trees, bamboo creates greater yields of raw material. One clump can produce 200 poles in two to five years.
The trees can be harvested between three to five years versus 10 to 20 years for most softwood. They are also adaptable to many environments.
Bamboo greatly reduces run-off, preventing massive soil erosion and retains twice as much water in the watershed. The plant can be grown in soils damaged by overgrazing and poor agriculture techniques.
Bamboo leaves release 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of the trees. Some even get hold of up to 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide from the air per hectare. The plant can also lower light intensity and protects against ultraviolet rays.
USES OF BAMBOO
- Decoration
- Raw material for making lamination, concrete and truck boards.
- Ply boo is used for paneling and floor tiles,
- Pulp for paper making
- Briquettes used for fuel.
- House construction.
- Used for making baskets, chairs, tables, necklaces and other handicrafts