Aborka, Rio Rina

Gange, Gay Margarett

The Green Bamboo Exhibit: Bamboo as Furniture and Other Products

Today, bamboo is considered as one of the most used renewable land resource. The most

popular use of bamboo today is construction material for furniture. Many considers bamboo as

good material for furniture because of its durability, strength and environment-friendly

characteristics. Bamboo is one of the most durable hardwood there is, it is even stronger than

oak, and bamboo when laminated can be as strong as soft steel. Bamboo is also a renewable

resource, which for many means it is a sustainable investment, thus a fortified business for an

individual or a company.

The growing demand for bamboo as material for furniture has spread across the globe,

and is also flourishing here in the Philippines, in particular here in Iloilo. In connection with this,

last week during the recent celebration of UP presence in Iloilo, we got a chance to witness a

bamboo furniture exhibit at the New Administration Building here in the Miagao Campus

brought by the UPV Green Bamboo Project. Among the furniture we saw there includes,

benches, chairs and tables out of bamboo wood. The exhibit occupied the whole first floor of the

New Admin building, the exhibit lasted for four days, from Tuesday to Friday. The blossoming

industry of bamboo making furniture here in Miagao and in Iloilo was showcased in the exhibit.

We saw the beauty of the bamboo as furniture, we saw how sophisticated bamboo

furniture looks in the eye and we saw how a simple resource such as bamboo can be turned into

something as high class as those furniture. It was truly a majestic piece of art. Every furniture
there has its own splendor, every piece of the bamboo furniture exhibit stood out for us, it was

hard picking favorites.

We went around the first floor, carefully admiring each of the bamboo furniture pieces, it

was an amazing view to us seeing all the bamboo furniture there, for some it was their first time

to experience a bamboo furniture exhibit, and furthermore to see a furniture that is made out of

bamboo wood. It was a learning experience for all of us.

The exhibit as a whole, made us appreciate the uniqueness and the magic of bamboo as a

furniture. It showcased how a renewable resource such as bamboo can be turned into an eco-

friendly and sustainable business venture. A business promoting both our environment and our

own local made products.