Hello, from The Plantation Chapter of the American Bamboo Society!  We would
like to announce the formation of the newest Chapter of the ABS.  We are
presently seeking new members who would like to help create the first "Virtual
Chapter" (ie: non regionally based) designed to promote the technical
development of large scale Bamboo silviculture.

To that end, we will seek to establish a "Plantation Crop Substitution Project"
that may eventually demonstrate the viability of high value Bamboo in the place
of highly subsidized crops such as Cotton, and Corn.  This is an important goal
that has been neglected since the USDA Bamboo research program was canceled in
the early 1970's.  At that time, research centered upon the advantages of Bamboo
over Southern White Pine, for the paper/pulp industry, and the utility of bamboo
as an effective means of reducing soil erosion and resource depletion.  Today
that comparison can be extended to many other crops, and industrial
processes....

The Plantation Chapter {(herein, PC) ( is that acronym "too cool", and
irritatingly ironically on point?)} now qualifies for tax exempt, not for profit
status, as a "scientific research based educational organization" under the US
tax code.  That means that we can apply for Grant funding, to establish a
program that can address the issues that Victor, Richard, Kinder, and Raphael
have been writing about, and it is our hope that everyone in this group will
support the effort with their expert knowledge of all things bamboo. 

Just so we don't impinge upon the purposes of This group, we are starting a Blog
(probably on gmail, but open to suggestions from anyone who may know of an
appropriate place to put it) where we can discuss the wider implications of
Bamboo's place in the "New World Order"; that seems a little more Disordered
every day...We intend to provide a place where "independent academic studies"
can be nurtured, and where policy and economic aspects of the "Bamboo
Revolution" can be analyzed.  We invite everyone to open up their hopes and
dreams to the criticisms of those who prefer rigorous science to romantic
rumination, and who want to see Bamboo rise above the status of a "poor mans
material", to a position of  relevance in the struggle for environmental
sustainability (whew!).  Please respond to this aspect of the  work that
lies outside the scope of This group, at: bambooisgrass@...  where we can
talk about the politics and semantics to our
hearts delight; and set up an ongoing conversation aimed at working together on
the "Big Ideas" that will allow us to counter the present
anti-democratic efforts of the "Military Industrial, Congressional, Oligarchical
Complex"....

IF (that's a big "if", at this point) we can get a site to work on the Project,
we will need in the order of $1,000,000 to develop any sort of meaningful scale,
within a reasonable time, (7-10 years).  So for the present we are focused upon
issues of site selection, funding, and public awareness of the project.  The
Credit Crunch has definitely put a damper on the program, so any suggestions or
contact references are appreciated.  We in the USA, have a responsibility to, at
the least, lead the way toward cleaning up our pollution, and to work to provide
solutions that can be adapted to other  places....California is trying to put
together a "portfolio of solutions" for Climate Change and Water
Conservation problems, and has allocated some funds for Air and Water
remediation grants for which the PC can now apply, so that's a near term target
for our efforts;  but the chances are slim that we will get a positive response
without some support from other groups.  It is a fact that there are more people
on earth working on local "Eco issues" than at any time in history.  We will try
to enlist some of those groups as "co-sponsors" of the "Bamboo Revolution" that
we are starting, so please think about getting endorsements and letters of
support from your fellow "Eco warriors", to add to our proposals...."Green Tech"
is the new paradigms, and we will be working on companies which have a stake in
the solutions that we are seeking too.

We seem hell bent on "Cap and Trade" regulation of atmospheric emissions; in
spite of the potential for another financial "Carbon Credit" "Bubble"; so
we might as well push Bamboo as one of the best and easiest ways to create
locally grown Carbon Credits based upon the first year growth cycle....if we can
prove that it is a viable basis for an alternative fuel, like some of us think 
it is,  we have to demonstrate the processes.... so please think about that, and
all of the other uses for Bamboo that are being developed, as our path to a
"sustainable" future, and articulate your ideas so that we can present a
coherent argument for the inclusion of Bamboo in all of the latest plans.
---------------------------------------------------- 

We, (my wife Deborah, and I) were at the recent ABS annual meeting, where we met
A.C. Lakshimina, and his lovely wife Satatragatri (sorry about the attempt to
spell it, but it sort of sounded like that to me), and were reacquainted with
Dr. Fu Jinhe.  We were there trying to recruit new PC members,  and had some
success getting about 16 people to join.  We had  fun talking to Kinder and his
wife, they are both quite funny and droll, and it was good to meet the people
that frequently write to this group.

The highlight of the event for me, was meeting Craig Calfee, of Calfee Design. 
This is the man who builds those beautiful Bamboo bicycles that we have heard
about, and they are very impressive to see and ride.....But that's not the best
thing about this guy.  Craig is a man with a mission that we can all appreciate,
because he is actually doing his own version of an international cooperative
venture based upon local people using local bamboo to build local solutions to
local problems, and it is great to behold!  I urge everyone to check out his
website and to learn about his work in Ghana, Africa....this project is a great
template for the same sort of ideas that I have been trying to incorporate into
the long range mission of the PC Demonstration project, and we had a nice time
talking about all sorts of  things.  He is always "pushing the envelope" with
his cool designs, and using his own money, making a great contribution to rural
development
in Africa.  He intends to expand this program by making it grow and pay for
itself, so I am hoping that we bambooseros will support his work in any way that
we can.

He threw out one idea that I have been thinking about ever since he said
it.....He would like to use as much bamboo as possible for his bikes, but no one
makes a bamboo wheel, yet.  So there is a market for a product that hasn't been
created, and that I have been trying to envision.
So far, I have decided that it might be possible to use a combination of bamboo
laminates and hemp fiber to make a tension structure that could work, but alas,
I don't have the materials to build a prototype  I'm sure that some of you have
better ideas and access to facilities than I do, so maybe we could work on it
together in a virtual collaboration.  So check out the website: 
calfeedesign.com    if you need a little inspiration.

Regards to all,
Rob Roark
Plantation Chapter of the American Bamboo Society
bambooisgrass.com
bambooisgrass@...




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