The Bamboo Trading Co. Ltd

www.thebambootradingcompany.com

Bamboo: Local Communities.

The communities that live in close proximity to the forest consider it their property. They use the forest for grazing their sheep and cattle, for collecting firewood and charcoal, for hunting and fishing and for growing their vegetables.

The forest may belong to the nation of Kenya but most of the communities that live around the forest do not actually consider it a national asset. Remarkably few of themunderstand the importance of water catchment and wildlife habitat in a Kenyan context.

Throughout Kenya, Community Forestry Associations seek to legitimise their communities use of the country’s public forests.

In most election manifestos, the chairman pledges to bring greater employment to the forests .....he talks of bee keeping, fishing, tourism, bottled water and other commercial initiatives that he would like to develop in the local forest. But often he lacks the financial means and the capacity to bring his hopes and dreams to fruition.

When the chairman of a CFA is elected, he has a grace period of a year or so to appease his community. Then when things don’t go as planned .....petty politics inevitably turns to infighting, allegations and disappointment.

The communities living around the forest often treat environmental endeavours with disdain. The poor will always place the needs of their family first and those of the environment second. Trees hinder the growing of vegetables and the grazing of livestock. As a result, reforestation initiatives are often thwarted and the CFA look the other way.

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Bamboo is a grass, it is eaten by sheep and cattle. Without fencing, bamboo plantations are often considered cattle fodder.

Any private investor that grows bamboo inside a government forest, will need to plan, budget and accommodate community grazing. A cap must be placed on the number of animals permitted to graze any given forest.

The successful CFA’s often have a private company supporting them. The Mukogodo and Ngare Ndare forests are largely successful because of their affiliations with Borana ranch and Lewa Downs.

The development of tea and coffee in Kenya took many years ... The development of a commercial bamboo industry will also take many years. Managing expectations both in the Kenya Forest Service and in the local communities needs to be done.

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There must be a mutual understanding that the private investor is not representative of Santa Claus. Communities must appreciate that investments in schools, clinics and cottage industries materialise from profits. The destruction of forest, through fire or livestock is counter-productive to everyone’s interests. The theft of tractor batteries, water pumps, tools and protective equipment is also counter-productive. Neither the community nor the private sector want to feel abused.

In our experience, the women in local communities work much better than the men. We also think, “piece work” is more productive than a daily or monthly wage. We currently offer Ksh 1 per Kg “cut, carried and loaded.”

The Bamboo Trading Company needs to protect its investments and develop a friendly relationship with the local community. It also needs to abide by the law and ensure that it works within the confines of its “Special Use Licence” with the KFS.

The Bamboo Trading Company is not obliged to work with or to invest in the CFA’s or in their projects. But the company attaches great importance to a dedicated, happy, healthy workforce that lives in close proximity to the forest. In any commercial relationship, there must be give and take.

The Bamboo Trading Company would like to trial:

1. The use of cattle bomas in the forest, which rely on zero-grazing and are fed on harvested bamboo leaves.

2. The production of bamboo charcoal inside the forest, using old oil drums as kilns.

3. The restriction of bamboo firewood collection. We suggest that the community is only permitted to collect old, fallen bamboo in designated areas of the forest.

These initiatives would help the forest to regenerate. They would create guidelines for forest management and they would allow the local community to legitimise their collection of woodfuel.

We humbly request that the Director of the KFS and his Board approve our trials.

The Bamboo Trading Company also requests that the local community be prevented from using heavy tractors, trailers and lorries on wet forest roads. The logging of timber and the transporting of vegetables should be undertaken during the dry weather.