A few months ago, as I headed West, I detoured to buy tree seedlings from a nameless ranch somewhere in Narok, Kenya, to gift my hosts. None of those I bought was bamboo. They only had grown bamboo trees in the ranch.
Later I went to a popular hotel in the outskirts of Kisumu and could not resist the temptation to touch. The aesthetic value that the bamboo trees dotting the vast property offer, is incredible.
The trees, with green and yellow stems, blended with the other species, acted as wind breakers, home for insects and birds, while underneath holding the soil together in that area prone to floods.
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Earlier in 2019, I had participated in some advocacy project that sought alternative locally-led climate solutions to climate shocks that had rendered many a farmer poor as a result of recurrent crop failure.
Our survey in parts of Meru had revealed how bamboo trees had positively impacted the lives of farmers, who now practised agroforestry.
There is beauty where bamboo trees thrive. The aforementioned farmers fed their livestock on the tree’s leaves. The tree is a source of timber, which has been used in construction, fencing, furniture, even musical instruments and decorative items. The tree is therefore a sure support in the fight to increase climate resilience, and boost livelihoods.
Statistics show Kenya has approximately 133,000ha of indigenous bamboo in the Aberdares, Mt Elgon, Mt Kenya, Cherangani Hills and the Mau Forest Complex. These are water towers, the sources of rivers that hydrate us, our farms, livestock, the wildlife, while watering our cities and villages, and maintaining their hygiene.
Kenya’s classification of the bamboo tree as a crop in 2020 and launch of National Bamboo Policy two years later “to guide the tree’s expansion, value addition, and integration into Kenya’s broader environmental and economic strategies” were a commendable and acknowledgement that the tree is key in Kenya’s resolve in its 2020 Nationally Determined Contributions to increase forest cover to 30 per cent by 2032. Add this to the 15 billion Panda Miti initiative.
But why bamboo? Compared to other trees, it grows fast, with some data showing a rate of 91cm per day.
Besides, when you plant one bamboo tree, you get others free, all grown and others growing by the time it matures in three to five years. Still, even if one were to be cut, another one would grow.
This tree has immense conservation power. Communities can meet their timber and fuel needs without destroying indigenous forests. It is a renewable means to ending deforestation. It offers communities alternative to hardwood forests, and helps conserve the biodiversity wherever they grow. Several stories in East Africa highlight the declining numbers of key species such as elephants, colobus monkeys, and birds. With richer forests, courtesy of the bamboo trees, these can be revived.
Reports have it that at least 20 exotic bamboo species, out of which 12 are thriving, have been introduced in different ecological zones.
The agroforestry efforts in parts of Central Kenya, Rift Valley, and Western must be encouraged to enable communities in places where the tree can thrive to harness its beauty and other benefits.
This tree is an industry on its own, and an agent of carbon sequestration. But how many Kenyans know about the beauty of bamboo? How can they access seedlings?
Where can the tree grow? Is it in all those areas? How are market structures around the tree? The government must increase research and positive action around this tree.
The writer is a Contributing Editor at Mongabay.
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By Lynet Otieno