• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 04 / 26 / 2011

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2011.04.25 - 12:28:48 /radiorebelde.icrt.cu. SANTA CLARA, Cuba. - Almost 6,000 hectares of bamboo plants have been sowed over the past six years in Cuba as part of a strategy for the protection of the soils and the production of timber for construction and for the manufacture of pieces of furniture.

The national program for the expansion of bamboo is mainly taken forward in hydrographic basins that have suffered environmental damages.

The head of the Center for Research and Development of Structures and Materials (CIDEM) at the Central University of Las Villas (UCLV), in central Villa Clara province, Fernando Martinera, told ACN that this plant contributes to the revitalization of damaged soils.  

Martinera explained that CIDEM specialists developed a technology applied in 37 Cuban municipalities, in more than 200 small- and medium-size enterprises that use bamboo as raw material. He added that this program generates job alternatives and thus it brings about new resources and contributes to the local economies.  

He noted that bamboo is used in crafts, furniture, pressed wood, and in agricultural and livestock constructions; as well as in the brick-making process, and in the construction of aisles for small livestock farmers.

Martinera announced the celebration of the First Regional Conference on Bamboo, on May 17-19, which is organized by the Construction Faculty of the UCLV, CIDEM, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and ECOSUR.  

A specialist from the Center of Studies of the Botanical Garden of Villa Clara, Cristobal Rios, pointed out that this institution preserves 17 bamboo species that have multiple applications in the economic and social spheres.

According to Wikipedia, bamboos are some of the fastest growing plants in the world. They are capable of growing 100 cm (39 in.) or more per day due to a unique rhizome-dependent system. However, the growth rate is dependent on local soil and climatic conditions.(ACN)