In an international first, Food & Trees for Africa’s Bamboo for Africa has been registered as a Verified Emissions Reduction programme under the international Verified Carbon Standard. This brings cost effective carbon sequestration to South Africa and addresses enterprise development, corporate social investment and black economic empowerment.

“This is one of the most exciting developments in our 21 year history of offsetting carbon emissions through our greening programmes that uplift quality of life and improve environments,” says FTFA founder Jeunesse Park. “The economic and environmental potential of bamboo is huge.

Bamboo for Africa, established a little over a year ago, already has more than 80 hectares of bamboo in the ground, thereby opening the door to sustainable living to a considerable number of previously unemployed individuals.

Bamboo is one of the most productive and fastest growing plants on the planet. It is this unique growing capacity that makes bamboo a valuable carbon sink: a single bamboo clump can accumulate as much as 1.7 TCO2 over a seven year planning cycle. This is the highest rate for any soil grown plant.

Over and above carbon sequestration there is much more, however, that this amazing plant – the largest grass on the planet - offers. It has 1 500 known uses so it’s not surprising that some 1.5 billion people globally, mainly in poor rural areas, depend on bamboo for their daily lives, leading to bamboo being referred to as the "poor man’s timber". 

As word spreads about the benefits of bamboo, FTFA has already been approached by some 300 communities asking to be part of the Programme. Fortunately, sponsors have begun responding as they too have become aware of the hugely beneficial role that bamboo can play, both in uplifting the lives of South Africa’s poorer communities and to sink carbon. This high carbon sequestrating plant brings cost effective carbon sequestration to South Africa and responds to triple bottom line investment. In this regard, FTFA offers carbon offset opportunities at SAR70 per ton.

“Socially, Bamboo for Africa enriches communities by creating sustainable livelihoods though this well designed Enterprise Development Programme,” says Willem Malherbe, Renewable Energy Solutions, FTFA’s bamboo development partner. “Environmentally, the Programme offers cost effective carbon offsets for contingent carbon risk liability and opens up the opportunity for ground and water phyto remediation where required.”

The uses of bamboo include renewable consumer products and renewable energy options. This opens up the opportunity for the investor to share in further developments for an additional return on investment. Projects are integrated with relevant government departments and this announcement follows the recent Bamboo Symposium hosted by the Eastern Cape government.

The programme does not promote mono-cropping, but is rolled out as low density agro forestry on disused land and does not use fertilisers nor irrigation.  All plant health issues have been addressed and Bambusa balcooa is a low water consuming plant that has been naturalised in South Africa over the past 300 years. 

The aims of Bamboo for Africa are to develop communities on community land, support and develop food security, while at the same time provide the emergent farmer with a sustainable and hedged commodity future. Project participants thus have an opportunity to enter the new Green Economy as enterprises.

“The motto is PRODUCTION BY THE MASSES and certainly not MASS PRODUCTION,” says Malherbe. “We see our well rounded and end to end planned projects as a solution for South Africa’s unemployment.” 

Meet some of project participants at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhuT3qWYmlg