Bamboo or wonder grass has many uses

Transcript

00:00 It's been dubbed the "Wonder Grass," which for all intents and purposes is really a tree

00:04 and perhaps the most versatile of all. It's used range from primary building material

00:10 to put up shelters or houses, to setting furniture to home decor like vases, bags,

00:16 ashtrays, smoke pipes, placemats among others, or even a food source like bamboo shoots for veggies.

00:24 PTB correspondent Rod Laguzad dwells on more innovations one could make on this wonder grass.

00:30 Bamboo, which is also called wonder grass as every part of it from its roots to its leaves

00:38 is beneficial. Its roots is used in handicraft or as a charcoal. The middle part of it is used

00:43 for making chopsticks or toothpicks. The branches is used for making textile while the leaves can

00:48 be made into a tea or other drinks such as bamboo beer. Its base part, the thickest one, has its use.

00:54 And this is what Forest Products Research and Development Institute or FPRDI of the D.U.S.D.

01:00 is being pushed. Using it, good quality products just like laminated bamboo can be made.

01:05 These are the bamboo sticks that are attached together to make a plywood. From the natural

01:12 form of bamboo which is round and hollow, we make this into a board or plywood.

01:19 That's why we call this engineered bamboo. It is used to make a standard.

01:25 Here, we know the requirement of a laminated bamboo for furniture. For example,

01:31 the strength properties like bending strength. Bamboos are rich in starch but if not processed

01:37 properly, there is a likelihood microorganisms will eat away and affect the quality of the bamboo.

01:42 And with the set of standards put in place, high quality of bamboo products can now be assured.

01:48 Dr. Rico Cabangon, the first Filipino to receive the International Organization for Standardization

01:53 or ISO Excellence Award for his contribution, his leadership in the use of bamboo as a material

01:59 for making furniture. And with the recognition Cabangon explained, this will help in producing

02:04 a high quality laminated or engineered bamboo. To be able to adjust to the proper processing of

02:10 our bamboo, using mature bamboo and there is a quality that we can increase in the international

02:19 market, particularly in indoor furniture products. So, we are looking for quality here so that we

02:25 can compete in the global market. From this, technology transfer as part of the mandate of

02:31 the DUST to make this innovation available to the public through commercialization with the

02:36 help of an entity interested in such technology. It's like grass, so it can grow anywhere.

02:42 In one plant, there are many shoots growing. So bamboo is very sustainable. It's a renewable

02:52 source. Within three to four years, you can already have harvest unlike trees that you have

02:58 to wait in 10 to 15 years. These are just some of the benefits from using bamboo, a good alternative

03:04 source of wood, Rod Laguz said from the National TV for a new and better Republic.