I have written about Lucky Bamboo and the luck it could bring to your home or business but there are many other uses for bamboo.
Bamboo is very interesting in many ways. Depending on who you talk to it is either grass or a tree. One thing for certain, it is a tribe of flowering perennial evergreen plants in the grass family Poaceae yet often it is specifically harvested as a tree exclusively for the wood it produces. This wood can be used for housing material as it is often more readily available than steel or other materials, can be produced faster than steel and is just as strong. But more on its’ uses in architecture later.
Bamboo is some of the fastest-growing plants in the world as certain species of bamboo can grow 35 inches in a 24-hour period. That is approximately 1 millimeter (or 0.02 inches) every 2 minutes! Of course growing conditions determine rate of growth with a more typical growth rate for many common bamboo in temperate climates in the range of 3–10 centimeters or 1.2–3.9 inches per day during the growing season. Bamboo is found all around the world in diverse climates, from cold mountains to hot tropical regions. I have successfully grown it in Las Vegas! They occur across East Asia to Northern Australia, and west to India and the Himalayas. You can find variety in sub-Saharan Africa and in the Americas from the mid-Atlantic United States down south to Argentina and Chile. Continental Europe is not known to have any native species. Bamboo is a food source for the giant panda of China, the red panda of Nepal and the lemurs of Madagascar as well as mountain gorillas of Africa which also feed on it. Chimps and elephants of the region also eat the stalks. The larvae of the bamboo borer feeds off the pulp.
Bamboo is usually found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia and used for building materials, as a food source, and as a versatile raw product used for items like bed sheets and clothing. Still, bamboo has a higher compressive strength than wood, brick or concrete and a tensile strength that rivals steel. Like true wood, it is a natural composite material with a high strength-to-weight ratio useful for structures.
The Ibuku design team, lead by creative director Elora Hardy, is an international team of skilled artisans, architects, engineers, and designers creating homes, structures, and interiors crafted of bamboo. They have even designed and built the amazing Green Village, a master-planned community of eighteen dramatically unique homes. Each home is custom designed and rigorously engineered to embody the inherent strengths and versatility of bamboo. They are simply amazing. The things they do with the material really makes me smile. Check out this article in the Huffington Post about Green Village.
Please explore the websites for Green Village as well as Green School.
Bamboo has traditionally been used to make a wide range of everyday utensils such as chop sticks, particularly in Japan. It has a long history of use in Asian furniture. Several manufacturers offer bamboo bicycles, surfboards, snowboards, and skateboards. Bamboo is used to make clothing and bed sheets, footware and even toothbrushes and drinking straws. I have felt bamboo bed sheets and they are as nice as any sheet you will find.
Since it grows so quickly and so densely it is often used as a barrier from the elements…
…or from the prying eyes of neighbors.
In my dream house I will have plenty of bamboo all around the yard and garden…which will always bring a smile to my face.
What about you? Do you have any bamboo where you live? Have you used items manufactured from it? Would you live in a house built from it? Click here to leave a comment and share your opinion and experience. Would love to hear from you.
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I don’t have any bamboo stuff around the house Troy. I remember my dad using bamboo though as tomato stakes. They lasted for years.
I also remember how surprised I was to see builders using bamboo as scaffolding when during the construction of multi storey buildings.
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Did you read that article? Green School and Green Village are amazing! I could totally live there!
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I didn’t follow any of the links Troy, I just read your post.
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Wow, very nice post. It’s really awesome information for me. Thanks for this post because it’s helpful for me.
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Glad you liked it Albert. What was your favorite part? Feel free to come back anytime!
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Great article and awesome photos.Thank you Troy.
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Oh. Glad you liked it. Have you had a chance to use anything bamboo yet? Good stuff and good for the environment.
Let us know will you?
Thanks for visiting and hope to see you again soon.
Troy S. recently posted…History of Tiramisu
Will use grow this in my hometown Kenya. Love the idea of using it on the garden or as a fence.
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Hmmm. I wonder if it will grow well in Kenya? Let us know ok?
Thanks
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It’s good to know this, so good to know that Bamboo is either a tree or a grass. Amazing read, amazing post, amazing facts. And yes, who doesn’t enjoy these products….
Glad you found this interesting. Thank you for stopping by and for your comment. Hope to see you around again soon.
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Great choice of photos and thanks for the informative article.
Glad you liked the pictures. Bamboo is an amazing resource for those of us with access to it.
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yes, the very useful jungle product.
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Great post Troy,
Of a truth I’ve enjoyed some of the cooking utensils in my hose that are made of bamboo. they are quite light in the hand. bamboo utensils are part of the things one can have in her home and not think of buying another because they will so serve you until you are tired of using them. i look forward to seeing the bamboo bed sheets i will love to use them too.
Thanks for the article. I’ve stayed in a couple of Bamboo houses in Thailand, I do like the organic and eco-friendly feel of the houses. Bamboo products are the way forward.
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I could not agree with you more Sir. Just that Americans are so stubborn to accept new and better ideas. Everyone else in the world uses the metric system right?
I am going to go check out your Everything Bamboo website right now!
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Hi Troy
We use metric and imperial in the UK, plus miles and kilometres. Gets a little bit confusing sometimes. This is a new website of mine, facts about bamboo and bamboo products. My other website is a travel blog.
I used to live in Germany and on a British Air Force base in Cyprus. It does get a little confusing at times. Then throw in driving on the ‘wrong side’ of the road…
I like your bamboo site. I added it to my Feedly account so I don’t miss a post.
I also like http://thetravellingphase.com/. Good stuff.
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Thanks for the feedly add. Another bamboo facts post for you, taken me most of the day to write!
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Not a problem. Your bamboo site is really good and people should visit. They can easily do so by using the CommentLuv link you provided.
We have ‘Lucky Bamboo’ all over the house. I use spent scented candle glass to grow them.
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Thanks for sharing us this great information …. i m waiting for your next article .. keep it up (Y)
We post quite often so keep checking back.
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wow very inspiring
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Right? You can do A LOT of stuff with bamboo. Better for the environment as well.
Thanks for visiting.
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wow very beatufull, nice article, thanks,
🙂
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Glad you enjoyed it.
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wow so beautyful
We think so too.
Thanks for stopping by and for your comment.
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Hi, thanks for your interesting article about eco-friendly bamoo and it’s uses. I’m in Southeast Asia at the moment and you can see many products made from bamboo including scaffolding, furniture and even toothpaste, yes bamboo toothpaste, haven’t tried yet!
Bamboo Bazaar recently posted…Bamboo furniture reviews – blinds and shades, a guide to the best
Toothpaste? What the…? Hmmm. You have my attention though. Please do try it and let us know. I will try to get ahold of some here in Las Vegas as well.
Thank you for visiting and for leaving your comments. MUCH appreciated!
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Hi Troy, thanks for your sharing post about bamboo! We use bamboo for lots of things in Thailand, bamboo shoots in our noodles, bamboo flooring for our houuses, scaffolding and furniture too. I named my website after a bamboo closet that parents had in their house in Nonthaburi province, Thailand, Noi.
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This is very interesting blog, Thanks for sharing this information. It was really an amazing post.
Enjoyed reading the article above , really explains everything in detail, the article is very interesting and effective. Visit wooden blind Thank you.
My country, Vietnam, have many bamboo. We use bammboo for construction house, decor inside house, small ship, table, chairs… all are very beautiful and art!
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The only thing I would to this wonderful post is to plant bamboo where you want it, because it doesn’t take much for it to spread. If you don’t want it to spread, keep it in its container when you plant it.
Bamboo Furniture is always in higher demand in all over the World but it is a little costlier.
I hope in your region it is affordable. thanks for sharing such tips