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PEOPLE | A greener future with bamboo
LINK ... https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/people-a-greener-future-with-bamboo/
VIDEO ... https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1632069694651087
Melaia Korosigasigari’s path to forestry did not begin in a lecture theatre but in the forests she explored as a child with her father.
The 23-year-old Fiji National University (FNU) Koronivia campus student, who hails from Ogea Island in Lau with maternal links to Namosi, is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Forestry with a clear vision to promote bamboo as a sustainable alternative to traditional timber.
“My dad and I used to spend a lot of time in the forest when I was growing up,” she said.
“That’s when I fell in love with it, and it inspired me to choose forestry as my field of study.”
Beyond her academic work, Ms Korosigasigari is also involved in a small but growing bamboo craft enterprise, Sunnyville Bamboo, operated by bamboo specialist Sukulu Soko, widely known as “Mr Bamboo”.
The business focuses on a range of activities, including weaving, carving, charcoal production, furniture creation, and interior and exterior design work, often combining bamboo with traditional materials such as magimagi.
The team also conducts awareness workshops to promote bamboo’s potential.
Through her involvement, she has come to appreciate bamboo not only as a versatile material but as an under-valued resource.
“Many people don’t realise how valuable bamboo is,” she said.
“Almost every part of the plant can be used, the roots, the leaves, the stems, even the water inside. You can get so much out of it compared with many other materials.”
Her long-term goal is to specialise in silviculture, focusing on the management and cultivation of forest resources, and to explore innovative ways of combining bamboo and wood to create new products suited to modern needs.
“I want to work on blending wood and bamboo together so we can produce new materials and designs,” she said.
“There is a lot of potential there.”
Ms Korosigasigari believes the forestry sector, particularly bamboo development, offers promising opportunities for young people, even though it is not always seen as a popular career path.
“Forestry is not a field many youths think about, but it is rewarding,” she said.
“Wood resources may become limited over time, but bamboo keeps regenerating quickly. It could become an important replacement material, especially for housing and construction.”
She also hopes that increasing awareness efforts, including the work being done by bamboo advocates and community-based enterprises, will help change long-held perceptions of bamboo as merely a simple plant rather than a valuable economic resource.
“I think attitudes are already starting to change,” she said.
“People are beginning to see bamboo as something that can be used instead of wood and even concrete in some cases. With more awareness, I believe it will be taken more seriously in the coming years.”
The young woman from Lau believes her mission is both professional and personal, as it follows on from the work she grew up around and is now helping to shape a more sustainable future for Fiji’s building and craft industries,
“I just want to keep learning more about weaving and working with bamboo,” she said.
“It’s something I truly enjoy, and I believe it has a strong future.”
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FOCUS | When the forests fall, will bamboo rise?
LINK https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/focus-when-the-forests-fall-will-bamboo-rise/
A renewed call to diversify Fiji’s natural resource base has emerged from the Bamboo Weaving Workshop themed “Knowledge Transfer: Crafting with Nature, Sustaining our Future”, with facilitator Sukulu Soko urging the country to reduce its heavy reliance on timber and begin planning for a more sustainable future.
“Something that I wish to emphasise and promote widely in the public space is for us Fijians to begin to be aware of and appreciate the true value and importance of bamboo in our natural environment,” Mr Soko said.
His message centres on what he sees as a looming resource challenge.
“We cannot just be placing huge emphasis and have heavy reliance on timber resources only,” he warned.
“We need to realise that there will come a time when timber resources will begin to diminish and may not be able to support the huge demand of the future.
“When timber can no longer support the demand, where will we look to? What is our contingency plan?”
For Mr Soko, bamboo represents that contingency.
“This is why I am the biggest advocate for bamboo today, because I am looking to the future and this also ties into the concept of sustainability,” he said.
“We can save our timber and begin utilising bamboo, because it is cheap, durable, can mature in a matter of two to three years.”
His argument reflects broader regional discussions about how Pacific island countries can protect forest reserves while still meeting development needs.
Unlike hardwood species that can take decades to mature, bamboo’s rapid growth cycle makes it an attractive alternative for construction, craft production and potentially even maritime applications.
The workshop itself focused on practical knowledge transfer.
Mr Soko said he was involved “in order to help our artisans, especially our women who are skilled in mat weaving using voivoi to also expand their skill into using bamboo fibres for weaving various crafts”.
“Likewise for other traditional crafts,” he added, “just basically swapping the usual resources used for bamboo.”
Beyond its economic potential, Mr Soko pointed to bamboo’s ecological advantages.
“Bamboo sequesters more carbon than trees, approximately 25 to 35 per cent more,” he said.
“Because of its extensive root system, bamboo can stabilise up to six metres of soil.”
He noted that this root network helps control soil erosion on hillsides and riverbanks and can assist in land regeneration in drier areas.
“By drawing water upward, bamboo can also help raise the water table,” he said, adding that its presence in water catchment areas helps maintain both the level and quality of water.
These environmental benefits, he suggested, position bamboo not only as a commercial resource but also as a climate adaptation tool.
There has also been discussion around innovative uses, including the possibility of constructing a vessel modelled on a traditional drua canoe using compacted bamboo poles assembled in a similar structural style.
Knowledge and skills from Fulaga are being explored for such concepts, including sails made from bamboo materials.
At a structural level, a proposed Fiji Bamboo Farmers Network has been conceptualised, with the aim of bringing together village, tikina and individual farmer groups under a producer-driven model.
“As resource owners, these groups would be best placed to identify their own needs and address them within the network,” Mr Soko explained, emphasising that the intention would be for farmers themselves to run the network rather than rely on government administration.
However, he acknowledged significant institutional hurdles.
A “major challenge”, he said, remains “the limited level of commitment from relevant ministries”, including those responsible for youth, women, iTaukei affairs, environment and waterways, forestry and fisheries.
For bamboo development to move beyond workshops and concepts, sustained cross-ministerial collaboration will be essential.
The debate now is no longer simply about craft innovation, it is about long-term resource planning, environmental resilience and whether Fiji is prepared to diversify before timber scarcity forces the issue.
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Fiji, Indonesia in bamboo partnership
GO TO https://www.fijitimes.com.fj/fiji-indonesia-in-bamboo-partnership/
A RENEWED push to develop Fiji’s bamboo sector is gaining momentum, with government officials and international partners positioning the fast-growing resource as a future pillar of rural enterprise, green manufacturing and eco-tourism.
The focus was highlighted this week during the opening of a bamboo weaving workshop hosted by the Indonesian Embassy, supported by the Ministry of Forestry and staged alongside a bamboo product exhibition at the Fiji Arts Council.
Deputy conservator of Forests Operations and Services, Apisai Rinamalo said the initiative reflected a growing bilateral effort between Fiji and Indonesia to transform bamboo from an underutilised resource into a commercially viable industry capable of supporting sustainable livelihoods.
“This workshop is not only about craftsmanship, but about knowledge transfer, innovation and empowerment,” he said.
“It is about equipping our artisans, youth and community enterprises with the skills and confidence to transform natural resources into high-quality products that can tell a Fijian story while sustaining our forests.”
Untapped potential....................
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The use of bamboo | An alternative housing material
Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) Pacific recently launched a Fiji Bamboo Project aimed at developing an affordable, sustainable, and resilient construction material in Fiji.
The company said in a statement it hoped this initiative of innovative construction technology would increase the supply of affordable housing in Fiji.
“That is both resilient to climate related extreme weather events and is more environmentally friendly to construct than conventional concrete and steel based alternatives as these are associated with high embodied carbon emissions (the amount of GHG emissions associated with extraction, production, transport, and manufacturing of materials),” the statement read.
“Developing bamboo as an alternative construction material has the potential to create significant green jobs and new business opportunities in Fiji throughout the entire bamboo value chain-from planting, harvesting, treatment, processing and use of bamboo. To ensure all members of Fiji’s society can potentially benefit from these opportunities, the project will specifically seek to involve women and other marginalised groups in all aspects of the project.
“Incorporating traditional knowledge, the project will develop the evidence-base and policy environment to support the development of a bamboo ecosystem as a sustainable alternative construction material in Fiji while also providing practical training to build local knowledge and capabilities in how to sustainably grow, process and use bamboo in construction.
“To implement the project, GGGI will collaborate with key Fiji Government agencies, including the Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services, and Transport, Ministry of Forestry, Fiji, and Ministry of Women, Children and Social Protection – Fiji, with technical support from Fiji National University, BASE Builds, and the Fiji Bamboo Association.”
GCCI said the project was funded by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Irish Aid under Phase 2 of the Low Emissions Climate Resilient Development (LECRD) program.
“This program supports Pacific Island Countries to transition to low-emission, climate-resilient development through long-term inclusive planning and decision-making.”
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