Abellon has designed a large-scale bamboo farming model involving rural communities, to harness the significant opportunities and benefits offered by bamboo, while achieving economic, environmental and social development goals. Abellon works with rural community members to set up bamboo cultivation projects, specifically ensuring availability of tissue-cultured bamboo (Bamboosa Balcua) plants at reasonable prices, providing technical know-how and assistance, and supporting growers/farmers with a buy back guarantee.
Why Bamboo?
Bamboo is the fastest growing member of the grass family – gramineae. With 60 to 90 genera with over 1,200 species, Bamboo is a versatile, strong, renewable and environment-friendly alternative to wood. It is mostly distributed in tropical and sub-tropical zones in Asia, Africa and America. Out of over 22 million ha area covered under Bamboo, over 80% is located in Asia, 10% in Africa and the rest 10% in America. (FAO/InBaR)
Bamboo can be grown quickly and easily, and sustainably harvested from the 3rd year onwards. Some bamboo species grow up to 1 meter in a day, with many of them reaching culm length of 25 meter or more. It can be grown on marginal and degraded land, elevated ground, along field bunds, MSW dump sites, over-logged forest areas, river banks as well as road sides.
Bamboo is beneficial in many ways. Some of its chief
environmental benefits include release of 35% more O
2 than an equivalent stand of trees, and absorbing 4X as much carbon than other tree species. Each acre of bamboo can sequester up to 40 tons of CO
2. It also enhances soil, water, biodiversity and overall environmental quality in the surroundings.