Here is his email, and my reply, so please read it and lets keep up the brain storm and get something going this time...rr
| 12:02 AM (12 hours ago)  | | ||
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Hi. My name is Cliff Jarrell. Originally from Ms. with a farming background, I have spent 26 years in W Africa. I have a variety of interests, but my main focus is caring for orphaned children and other disadvantaged groups. I have for the past one year looked for land to help establish timber plantations, in the hope of generating long term cash to help fund our orphanage. One area has offered over 15,000 hectares for long term lease here in Nigeria, and we are in discussions with other countries as well. I have some background in construction, and am interested in low cost, sustainable housing solutions, especially in crisis situations. Could we talk about ways we may help each other? Thank you for the good work you are doing. Cliff Jarrell
| 12:05 PM (10 minutes ago) | | ||
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Hello, Cliff....I am very interested in your great project, and suggest that Bamboo and the grasses in general, will be "the next big thing"....I have made the case for that transition to a sustainable alternative economy, in the website, and perhaps you can use some of the information in your search for help in your area.
Are you familir with INBAR? Dr fu (not kidding) is working in Africa and has access to resources and would probably do a workshop on bamboo cultivation, and low tech products that might be taught to your kids...I would like to be involved too, but am not sure what I would have to offer. I am a builder here in California, and have plans for a "flat pack" seismic and storm stable building system based upon a simple "smashed' bamboo panel that has been tested and certified by Western Washington State University as superior to wood Plywood. It would be easy to duplicate in a low tech area with unskilled labor...machines to do it are available from china, but could probably be made in Nigeria too...simple chain driven splitters and peelers are use in rural China to produce the basic pieces for laminated flooring and many of the bamboo home products that are common here in the USA. I have samples from India of a simple 3 ply panel that would make very nice structures and could be developed into disaster relief efforts easily...I tried to get it going during the Haiti disaster, and watched as the "professional NGO"s blew $$millions and failed to rebuild the towns while earning nice salaries from donors, and staying in air conditioned emergency "trailers" that were dropped shipped in for them while the people lived under blue tarps for years. Now the rush is for Nepal, and since it is a very popular place for adventure tourism, there is a lot more interest in fund raising...every little NGO has set up web donation sites, and soon there will be all sorts of new projects and many more "executive directors" trying to set up to help the people recover and rebuild...If we had been able to demonstrate the advantages that simply providing stacks of plyboo on the street corners and giving rudimentary instructions and a few hand tools; the Haitian people would have been living in their safe new homes within a few weeks, but its been many years, and people are still in flimsy shanties on land that they do not own, while new luxury hotel are being built for the elite Eco tourists...We could do both with bamboo panels, better stronger cheaper, in Nigeria or any place with enough material...15K Hectares would be a world record plantation, and would take about 10 years to develop to profitability, if you are lucky. It can be done with mini propogules of bamboo that can be made in clean rooms that would take trained technicians to produce. Hundreds of thousands of "starts" must be "Hardened off" in one gallon pots under shade for a year before planting in the ground...they are available fromGrowmore Biotech in India and come in lots of several thousand in a small cardboard shipping box...Dr Barathi
growmore@vsnl.com would be able to tell you about his prices and delivery times...It would take about $100,000 to duplicate that company in Africa.
A man named Troy Wiseman (not kidding) is now the biggest bamboo grower in the Americas. He has 12 hectares going in Nicaragua, and a research branch in South Africa...his website is: ecoplanet.com and he "wants to do good", and make it pay, so I don't know if he would be of use to you, but it couldn't hurt to inquire...
I have a few friends in Africa that I met on an INBAR tour in China, but so far they haven't done much for orphans...I tried to get them to help my friend Cory Richardson, who is working with orphans in Uganda...cor.contact@gmail.com
do you know him? They make hammocks for sale and need building supplies...real nice guy, tell him about your project, because he is a true armature with a good heart.
So, that is my first list of ideas and contacts for you. Please check out the website:
bambooisgrass.com and get back to me if you want to talk about the possibilities...I'm not to keen on being the "great white hope", but am a pretty good advocate for sustainable alternatives an believe that we could help kids get in on the ground floor of this inevitabletransition...thank you for your work. Cheers sorry about the spelling, my checker seems to be off for the day...I'm getting a new computer in a few days, and will have the usual trauma getting it running, si I might not be on line for awaile, but please keep on keepin on with this thread
Rob Roark
bambooisgrass.com
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