Thomas Edison when working on his light bulb had this idea that a carbonized bamboo filament may do the job. Guess what? It did. His first successful prototype used a carbonized bamboo filament in his experiment with the first light bulb. The trick had been choosing a filament that would be durable but inexpensive, he tested more than 6,000 possible materials before finding one that fit the bill - carbonized bamboo. He was so fascinated by it that he also used bamboo as rebar for reinforcement of his swimming pool.Alexander Graham Bell made use of bamboo for his first phonograph needle.

Divulging into the history of bamboo, products made from it such as arrows, paper, building materials, and booksexisted as far back as about seven thousand years. Even in the early years, bamboo had been used in many ways, not to mention the traditional use of bamboo in the daily life of the early people especially in Asia.

With advancement in the knowledge about this special grass, applications of bamboo seem to be endless. Furniture, sheets, yoga blocks, flooring, building materials, bridges, bicycles, skateboards, helmets, computer keyboards, speakers, clothing and Fabric you name it, bamboo might be an eco-friendly and even a better alternative source of raw material as against wood, metal, plastics etc.

So what about it? Lets look towards answering a few questions. Firstly, so what exactly is bamboo & why is it eco-friendly? Secondly, what are the features that make it unique? Lastly what are the newest applications of bamboo? 

So what exactly is bamboo & why is it eco-friendly?

Bamboo, technically is a GRASS which grows everywhere in the world but for areas with extremely cold climates.The species of bamboo that we know today evolved from prehistoric grasses between thirty and forty million years ago. With respect to India about 50 percent of bamboo resources are in the North Eastern States that has 63 species of 20 genera. This is also 50 percent of India’s species and 87 percent genera. Besides, there are 11 exotic varieties.

As bamboo is a grass it can mature in 60 to 180 days and minimizes CO2 gases and generates up to 35% more oxygen than equivalent stand of trees. It not only cleans the air but does miracles for the soil and ground water as well. Bamboo helps reduce water pollution due to its high nitrogen consumption. It has a widespread root system as well as an enveloping canopy that makes it a great water barrier to control soil erosion.

When compared as a source of raw material against wood, bamboo comes on top with flying colors.

Wood has become more and more scarce, simply because to produce a full grown tree can take up to sixty years, and another sixty years-time for a replacement unlike some species of bamboo which equal in height and width to some trees but take as little as sixty days to mature completely.A harvest of a single bamboo stand can yield over 200 poles in 5 years, so there’s no scarcity added to its abundance that keeps prices low, making it very affordable. Using bamboo instead of hardwood will assist in arrest deforestation.

Substituting Bamboo for plastics and metals is advantageous as bamboo is 100% biodegradable as against plastics that may take years and years to degrade while polluting our environment. 

What are the features that make it unique?

Features of bamboo may vary from one species to another and from one region to another. Some common features strength of the culms, their straightness, smoothness, and lightness combined with hardness and greater hollowness is what makes it unique.

The lignifying cell construction of the bamboo texture and its technical conditions are very similar to the original texture of wood. Whereas wood has got a hard centre [Hirnholz] and becomes weaker towards the outer parts [Splintholz], the bamboo is in its outer parts hard and in its inner parts weak, what causes a much more stable construction. While there are many interesting features about bamboo but you will be fascinated to know that the tensile strength of plated bamboo cables is as strong as or stronger than a steel cable of the same size. Hemp rope loses 20% of its strength when wet while bamboo cables increase in strength by as much as 20% when wet.

What are the newest applications of bamboo?

Due to its unique features and its carbon friendly nature scientists have been devising new technologies and products to make wide use of this gift of nature.

Bamboo Fabric is one such space. Bamboo fabric is anti bacterial. This implies that clothes made from this fabric are usually odorless additionally the fabric keeps warm in winters and cool in summers. Bamboo Fabric is finding extensive use in undergarments socks and towels due to these features.

The construction and design industry are investing in bamboo raw materials in a big way. Wooden flooring, walls, furniture etc

Not to be left behind the electronic industry as well has been looking at this with the intention of replacing plastic that they use. Some innovation in this space is calculators, keyboards, mouse, speakers, phone covers etc

Please watch our blog space as we cover the above-mentioned industries for their innovative use of Bamboo.

At last but not the least, did you know specie of Bamboo was the first plant life to return after the atomic bombings of Japan?