Forestry and Cultivation
For those who derive their livelihoods from bamboo cultivation, bamboo o ers a number of bene ts and has relatively high levels of growth and income security.
1. Quick growth = short rotation
Bamboos grow very fast, with speeds of up to 1 m in 24 hours.
Productive groves can be established from scratch in 10 years and individual culms harvested after 3-6 years (depending upon species). The benefits of this short rotation time include lower levels of exposure to outside risks such as fire, and flexibility to change management and harvesting practices relatively quickly when facing climatic changes. 2. Short rotation = low financial outlay, quick recouping
The fast growth and early maturation of bamboo culms means that a bamboo stand can be selectively harvested - extracting older culms and leaving younger ones to grow - without decreasing total stand biomass. Annual harvesting of bamboo generates a regular income stream that gives bamboo farmers a quick return on their investment and an important annual safety net.
3. Plant-it-and-leave-it
Bamboos don’t need much tending once planted. They self-mulch by continuously shedding their leaves, and don’t need lots of fertilizer to grow. If not sold to provide part of the family’s income, bamboo culms can be used for farming and utilitarian applications (housing, fencing, implements).
4. Plant anywhere
Most bamboos can grow marginal lands, such as degraded land and steep slopes, leaving better land for more demanding crops.
5. Easy harvesting
Although harvesting bamboo is labour intensive, it is relatively easy and is usually done by hand. Bamboo is very suitable for women to process because the culms are lightweight, and easy to split by hand.
6. Multipurpose
The broad range of uses to which bamboos are put means demand remains high. Culms are widely used in agriculture especially in low income countries, and where processing is possible production of a large range of bamboo products become viable. Bamboo’s ability to replace high demand wood-based products such as furniture, housing and fuel are of particular relevance in tackling climate
change.