Resource Spotlight | Environmental Bamboo Foundation — Yayasan Bambu Lestari

 

Portrait of the village chief of Galumpang with his wife and sister. Ir. H. Wolvekamp (Fotograaf). Toraja, 1910-1916. | TM-10005898
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

 
 
 

Founded in 1993 by renowned environmentalist and interior designer Linda Garland, the Environmental Bamboo Foundation is an Indonesian non-profit organization that promotes bamboo as a sustainable alternative to timber, amidst the growing concerns over the world’s diminishing tropical forest resources.

The foundation has a long-standing partnership within Indonesian public sector and private enterprises, with trustees which included Dr Emil Salim, former Indonesian Minister of the Environment, Dr Elizabeth Widjaya, a notable researcher in Bamboo Taxonomy, Mr Trisura Suhardi, Director General of the Department of Small Industries, and many others.

In 1997, the foundation launched its first national strategy for the conservation and utilisation of bamboo in Indonesia with the full support from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. In the years that followed, Linda Garland’s youngest son, Arief Rabik, joined the foundation to drive the program. Trained in environmental sciences, Arief is considered as the world’s top bamboo forestry and harvesting expert. With Arief’s expertise, we worked to combine sustainable bamboo production with community empowerment and land restoration efforts.

Under the guidance of Dr. Walter Liese, of the University of Hamburg, a 2-year research project was conducted to develop the modified Boucherie treatment against the powder post beetle. This has had a significant impact on extending the life of bamboo to be used in the place of timber.

 
 
 
 
 

Incised Bamboo Container | Borneo
© Weltmuseum Wien | Austria

Bamboo Container with Carved Aso Stopper | Borneo
© Yale University Art Gallery | Connecticut, USA

Incised Bamboo Container | Borneo
© Yale University Art Gallery | Connecticut, USA

Incised Bamboo Container | Borneo
© Yale University Art Gallery | Connecticut, USA

Engraved Bamboo Pipe | Borneo
© Kulturhistorisk museum Universitetet i Oslo | Norway

Incised Bamboo Container | Borneo
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen | The Netherlands

Bamboo Hair Comb | Flores
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen | The Netherlands

Incised Bamboo Container | Sulawesi
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen | The Netherlands

 
 
 
 

Bamboo Pioneers:
An Interview with Noer Fauzi Rachman

Noer Fauzi Rachman is an expert on population, agrarian policy, and political ecology. He is a member of the Board of the Environmental Bamboo Foundation and has great enthusiasm for the development of bamboo in Indonesia. Noer Fauzi Rahman received his PhD in Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, USA, 2011.

 
 
 
 
 

Bamboo bridge over a swirling river at Pujon, East Java. N. (Neville) Keasberry (Fotograaf), 1900-1930. | TM-60028677
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Portrait of the Kayan Dayak porter Mering Loewang carving bamboo. Mr. Dr. H.A. (Hendrikus Albertus) Lorentz (Fotograaf), 1909-1910 in Papua. | TM-60014920
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Megaliths, altars. and bamboo houses in Bena Village. Drs. F.A.M. (Frans) Welman (Fotograaf). Ngada Regency, Flores Island, 1990. | TM-20018338
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Dense bamboo forest in East Java. Ohannes Kurkdjian (Fotograaf), 1924-1932. | RV-A440-y-54
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

The construction of a house from wood and bamboo in Badung, Bali. Circa 1935, Carel L. Dake Jr. | TM-30016292
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Landscape with mountains in the background with bamboo as decoration on the left and right. The villages of Ruteng and Potjomandwasswae can be seen in the distance. Flores Island, 1925-1928. | 7082-nf-700-1
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Two young water carriers from kampong Ranggoe, in the Manggarai area of Flores | 7082-nf-700-24
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Offerings at a temple in Bali. Two white temple flags have been placed at the front of the temporary bamboo staircase. Bali before 1943. | TM-10001221
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

Two women from Donggala, Sulawesi fetching water in bamboo tubes and gourds, 1924-1932. | RV-A440-v-280
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen

A bamboo suspension bridge over the Brantas River at Glondong near Blitar, East Java. | TM-10007596
© Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen