Bamboo Housing National Project

Background:

The National Bamboo Project was started in 1986 as a new technological approach to prevent deforestation in Costa Rica. The idea was to replace the use of wood with an alternative cost-effective and seismically sound building material. The project has been monitored in three phases. The preparatory phase saw the pilot-project being transferred from experiences in Colombia and Ecuador.

During the following two phases an intensive construction scheme in the rural areas was developed including technical training, massive bamboo cultivation, community and labour organization, environmental assessment of the technology and production of furniture and handicrafts for export. The project has fostered the sustainable use of bamboo as raw material for an indigenous housing programme and for the industrialization and marketing of by-products.

In July 1995 a foundation was setup (FUNBAMBU) to assist and eventually take-over the whole program, thus ensuring its sustainability. Up to now 700 low-cost houses have been built and 200 hectares of bamboo have been cultivated.