Bamboo as the Marinduque 'grass of hope'

Philippine Bamboo Foundation president, Edgardo Manda

It is a well-known fact that watershed areas in the Philippines are already in great danger. The situation is even more serious in the case of island-provinces such as Marinduque that has, over time, seen the degradation of watersheds. Land degradation from old mine operations also compound this problem. The situation has lead to almost uncontrolled soil erosion in many areas and flooding, the seriousness of which may have finally dawned upon the local populace.

A recent visitor to Marinduque is Edgardo Manda, president of the Philippine Bamboo Foundation, Inc. who has been promoting in various parts of the Philippines, the planting of bamboo as an alternative to reforestation in watershed, including abandoned mine sites.The Philippine Bamboo Foundation, Manda said, has already set up big nurseries in Dumaguete, Benguet, La Union, Pangasinan, and Palawan, among others. Bamboo is capable of providing sufficient forest cover, soil erosion control, generate income and as source of food for the people.

Upon the invitation of Congressman Lord Allan Velasco, Manda recently conducted a seminar on bamboo for students of Marinduque State College in Torrijos taking up courses in Agriculture and Entrepreneurship. Other interested farmers also came to listen.

Manda stressed that not only is the bamboo grass capable of re-greening degraded lands for a short period of time, that it releases 35% more oxygen than equivalent stands of trees, and has high water retention capacity.  It turns out that hundreds of products could actually be made from bamboo. Use of bamboo for furniture and as building material is not new as this are common practices in Marinduque, but bamboo products like charcoal brickets, fabrics, alcohol, umbrellas, deodorizers, cutting boards, paper products, artworks, and engineered bamboo (called lamboo) designed as replacement for wood, are some of the new products out of this true “grass of hope”.

The seminar was undertaken in partnership with the
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

For his part, Cong. Velasco shared plans for a 6-year program for bamboo propagation and livelihood, which he hopes would serve as a new window of opportunity for the MSC Torrijos students, including farmers, where they could apply their continuous learning. Certain areas in Torrijos, Mogpog, Boac and Gasan have been identified, he said, as ideal for bamboo propagation, and eventually the setting-up of techno-demo areas there for this and for bamboo processing.

Manda also shared that in Japan, many localities planted to bamboo are also turned into popular eco-tourism areas, traditional belief holding that being in a bamboo grove restores calmness and are perfect places for meditation. Such places also stimulate one’s creativity that many visitors pay a good price for just being there, he said.

Manda was former general manager of Laguna Lake Development Authority,
MIAA and former DENR Undersecretary 

Manda interacting with some local farmers.

Visiting central Marinduque.

Manda holds a bamboo artwork, part of an exhibit on bamboo art
recently held in Baguio City, photo by anghelgab.