Bamboo Farming - Seeking experts / training / workshops

[rflusser]

Hi all,

I've been following this forum since my first visit to Thailand and I am so glad it exists! Thank you for all the great information you guys put up!

I am a Sustainable Development student at the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York. I have been extensively researching bamboo as I see it as the answer to many environmental challenges. Specifically, I've been researching the feasibility of bamboo as a biofuel feedstock and energy crop and what I've found seems to make a lot of sense financially and environmentally.

I am working on a series of grant applications as we speak to fund my travel and research of bamboo, and I wanted to see if anybody has any advice or suggestions about organizations, experts, farmers, etc. who might be helpful to my research operating in Thailand. I love Thailand and Thai people, and I know that bamboo has been part of the landscape for many, many years. While I have done much in the ways of academic and feasibility research, I am looking for hands-on experience in the form of training, a farmstay, courses or workshops concerning the cultivation of bamboo or even just sustainable agriculture (which might overlap with bamboo).

I am a lifelong city-dweller but I have always prided myself on my proclivity for manual labor, so I really want to bridge the gap between my academic research and real-world experience. If you have any advice on where to look for these kinds of experiences, it's much appreciated!!!

[cooked]

Well good luck with that. Googling International Bamboo Society gives a few results, contacting the American Bamboo Society might help.

We have a few guys here that cultivate bamboo for the shoots, The typical farmer will have planted one or two for construction purposes, I think that's about as far as it goes. Training in English?

Your first problem (after realising that very few people speak English) will be in identifying bamboo species.

https://dokmaidogma.wordpress.com/ has a few links to Permaculture associations in Thailand, you might try there.

By the way, if you want to stay here for more than three months, things start to get complicated, a work or business permit even more so.

[rflusser]

Thanks for the quick reply cooked! I do recognize the language barrier may be challenging, you are right. I have been emailing with the American Bamboo Society and I am planning to visit some operations in the US but most are for landscaping purposes only and are quite small due to the non-tropical environment and limited exposure to large timber bamboos in the US. I am also awaiting a reply from INBAR, the International Network of Bamboo and Rattan about opportunities. However, considering my love of Thailand, I was hoping to spend some of my research time in Thailand if it makes sense, so I thought this forum might be a good venue for sussing that out. I am aware of the 3 month stay limits, however I imagine that might be enough time. But that's the last step for me to figure out if I find something worth traveling for!

Thanks!

Anyone else?

[CLW]

Contact the Faculty of Forestry at Kasetsart University

http://www.forest.ku.ac.th/forestry/en/index_en.php

[rflusser]

Thanks CLW! That's a great tip! I see they have english language programs which is great. And my understanding of bamboo management, even on a commercial agriculture scale is more aligned with forestry management than agriculture, so this looks great! I will have to do a bit of research to figure out who to reach out to in the program.

Of course if anyone has a personal connection with someone doing work with bamboo in Thailand, the referral always helps!!

Thanks!

[fvw53]

the world leader has a subsidiary in Indonesia

http://en.oprins.com/products/bamboo.html

[somo]

It grows wild in the hills where I am in Chayapoum and we have some on our land. We have also planted a little more for personal consumption. We also do a little business in it. We pay 10-12 Baht/kilo for collecting the shoots then cook it up and store it. Once the rainy season has ended the price in Bangkok can hit 40+ Baht and we sell it there. No big amounts but it more than pays for my trips to the big smoke when I absolutely have to endure them. I know nothing on the technical side other than it seems easy to grow. Don't know of anyone growing commercially it is just a natural resource around here providing occasional income/food for locals.

[rflusser]

Thanks for all your suggestions!

fvw53 -- I did not realize they had an outpost in SEA! They were on my list to contact because they were the first to test the viability of converting bamboo to oil! I was thinking I'd be going to Belgium if they were welcoming! But I'll have to ask them about their subsidiaries now. Thanks!

somo -- thanks for sharing. I am aware that most bamboo in SEA is just an unmanaged natural resource, which is why it is tough to find what I am looking for. 90 percent of bamboo cultivation is in Asia, but it's mostly been part of the landscape for centuries, and not commercially cultivated...that's why I'm fishing for leads!!

Thanks!

[drtreelove]

My friend Greg is Mr Bamboo of Sydney Australia, and a true believer in the wonders and uses of bamboos. http://mrbamboo.com.au/

He is a regular long stay visitor to Thailand and has explored many resources and met with authorities in the region. I went with him to the Royal Projects nursery in Chiang Mai where they are growing many varieties for distribution to growers at their several ag outposts in the north.

Check with him. PM me for direct contact information. don

[Issangeorge]

This thread is dormant, I hope this will revitalize it. Is anybody growing bamboo for either the edible shoots or for the lumber?

[Smithson]

This thread is dormant, I hope this will revitalize it. Is anybody growing bamboo for either the edible shoots or for the lumber?

I am, what variety are you interested in?

Sent from my i-mobile IQ II using Tapatalk

[somo]

I would interested in any advice you can give. Are you doing it large scale and how do you find the economics of farming bamboo shoots.

I have just planted 6 rai of a variety call pai leeang (apologies for spelling) Also know od someone with 17 rai of pai indor ?? with some pai inju as well.

From what I have researched pai leeang seems the most in demand but I am a novice at this game.

As usual you get a lot of conflicting info from the locals but also a lot of good stuff. It is a question pf filtering it.