Have you ever walked in a bamboo forest? Some are open and light, others are dense and shady. The stalks clatter gently in the wind. They smell grassy.
On the island of Maui, there are several bamboo forests, and when we lived there I loved to visit them. There’s one where you can walk for about a mile through the bamboo, then you come out at the top of a very tall waterfall with huge rocks to sit on and a view of the ocean.
Aside from being amazing while alive, bamboo is also one of the world’s up and coming building materials. If you are not familiar with bamboo as a building material, it is wonderful for many reasons. It grows fast, it’s beautiful, it’s VERY strong, and termites don’t eat it.
For example, the company CO2 Bambu is doing extremely cool things in Haiti and Nicaragua with bamboo: post disaster reconstruction, shelters, houses, schools, etc. As a Central American business, they are having a huge impact in that part of the world.
Some friends of ours on Maui are doing a somewhat more upscale version and creating gorgeous temple-like buildings. This video from Bamboo Living includes our friend Kutira and some buildings on her property.
And you know what’s even cooler? The folks from CO2 Bambu and Bamboo Living are joining forces in Central America to provide a broader spectrum of available bamboo housing.
More about Kutira: she is an amazing singer and teacher, and her husband Raphael is an incredibly talented musician. If you want to find out more about them and the Kahua Institute, click here.
Hasta pronto, aloha nui loa, until next time.