MATERIAL PALETTE

  • BAMBOO

    Bamboo is a material we have worked with for over two decades. It is integral to everything we do because of its incredible potential to impact sustainability holistically. It is a highly-renewable grass, being one of the fastest-growing plant species. Unlike trees which have a single trunk, bamboo has several poles. Therefore, mindfully harvesting bamboo does not cause a complete loss of green-cover, such as when trees are felled. 

    Bamboo is a super carbon sink incorporating up to 30% more carbon than other fast-growing wood species. Bamboo controls soil erosion. Its underground root and rhizome system creates a ‘mesh’ which holds the soil together and reduces soil runoff. 

    Bamboo rehabilitates degraded land. Its rhizome network captures water, and its leaf fall creates mulch—which retains moisture and rehabilitates soil. Bamboo also purifies water. It absorbs high amounts of nitrogen which makes it a good solution to treat wastewater.

    We believe that bamboo is a socially sustainable and pro-poor material because it an ideal choice for small farmers without access to irrigation. Bamboo shoots emerge at the onset of the rain, unlike other agricultural crops. This makes it less vulnerable to erratic rainfall, rain-fed farming, and climate change. Bamboo adds to small-farmer security, because it can be harvested as required. Unlike agricultural crops, it does not provide a one-time flush income. Since it is a perennial plant, it can be harvested on demand during lean periods and crises. This allows small farmers to plan and save adding to their economic security.

    The poorest of the poor can work easily with bamboo, because it has linear fibers. This means it can be processed by the low-cost and simple tools available to marginalized communities. Women can process bamboo easily, since it is lightweight. This allows them to participate in production, including at our atelier. 

    We avoid using industrially-processed bamboo, where the bamboo pole is broken down into smaller components and then pasted together to form standardized forms, boards, and panels. These industrial bamboo avatars generally use glue for lamination—which is often formaldehyde-based and very unsustainable. Industrially laminated bamboo composites are also more difficult to deal with during their end-of-life phase. We stick to handcrafting as far as possible to draw on the legacy of bamboo craft traditions and also because industrial bamboo value chains diminish the value added by bamboo-working producers, forcing them lower in the bamboo value-addition chain. 

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Do you have a project you think we might be perfect for? Is there an idea or a query that you want to discuss with us?

Email us at info.rhizome@gmail.com or rohityagi@gmail.com, and our team will come back to you. Let's get together and bring your design dreams to life.