Ethiopia contains 60 percent of all of Africa’s bamboo—a material quickly becoming synonymous with sustainability—but the country hasn’t been capitalizing on it until recently. Two years ago, 40 countries agreed to dedicate resources to restoring over 12.4 million acres of degraded lands and areas of low-quality bamboo production in the hopes of growing more bamboo that is ready to be turned into marketable products. On top of being a salable material, bamboo can help with landscape restoration due to its ability to rapidly grow, bind soils, and maintain slope stability, according to Wri.org.
The global bamboo market could be worth $60 billion, and will continue to grow because bamboo’s sustainability properties are becoming far more desirable than timber. Considering the number of bamboo farms in Ethiopia, combined with the fact that the plant can grow up to a meter a day, Ethiopian bamboo farmers could become very wealthy.
Source: Ecobambooafria.com
China has set up several aid programs throughout Ethiopia to help local businesses, farms and workers capitalize on their bamboo crop. The Chinese Institute of Subtropical Forestry conducted workshops in Addis Ababa on cultivating bamboo. Over 85 students attended the workshops and learned how to make several types of bamboo products, including bags and furniture.
Source: Deborahbrautigam.wordpress.com.
The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) recently established offices in Addis-Ababa. INBAR is an intergovernmental initiative that looks for innovative solutions to solve issues like poverty and dwindling resources through the use of bamboo and rattan.
Source: Cnn.com.
Ethiopian entrepreneur Micahel Gebru founded Bamboo Star—a manufacturing company that cultivates enough bamboo to make 10,000 square meters of flooring, 3,500 doors, 480,000 sets of chopsticks and 24 million toothpicks each month. Bamboo star employs 200 people in its factory and another 500 in the forest.
Source: Inbar.int
Gebru has linked up with Chinese investors who are providing him with funding to set up the largest bamboo pulp and paper mill in Ethiopia. Gebru leases 400,000 hectares of land from the government to pursue his endeavors so his business will directly benefit the country.
Source: Inbar.int
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) gave the Ethiopian bamboo sector a $1.75 million grant in 2014. More than half the grant will go towards developing and testing a heating process that will help prepare bamboo to be turned into commercial and industrial products.
Source: Addisfortune.net
The USAID grant is providing $750,000 for market analysis. African Bamboo Plc will be conducting feasibility studies and market analyses to attract investment capital. The company will also research how to prepare Ethiopian bamboo products for European and U.S. exports.
Source: Addisfortune.net.
