Santo Domingo.- They call it the plant of a thousand uses, green steel, can measure up to 25 meters high and could be a fundamental element in the fight against climate change and to develop the Dominican economy.
Bamboo belongs to the grass family but it is much more resistant and versatile.
From houses, buildings and bridges, to human and animal food, textiles, bicycles, canoes, musical instruments or furniture. Helps eroded land, sewage systems and absorbs carbon dioxide.
There are more than 1,000 varieties of bamboo and the Dominican Republic cultivates it, but most people are unaware of this plant and its benefits.
According to Emilio Armando Olivo Ponce de León, an agronomist, bamboo was used “to safeguard gouache and sow on the banks of rivers, the commercial sense was not seen.”
Bamboo arrived in the country in 1972, when the Technical Mission of Taiwan introduced seven of its varieties.
The Taiwanese were responsible for training young Dominicans to treat construction and crafts with bamboo.