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The Best Varieties of Bamboo for Building and Construction

The Best Varieties of Bamboo for Building and Construction

With all the talk about bamboo construction and building houses from bamboo, a lot of people are asking: What are the best varieties of bamboo for building? The best bamboo species for building and construction are going to grow very tall, usually more than 40 or 50...

Genus Phyllostachys: Prolific bamboo for all climates

Genus Phyllostachys: Prolific bamboo for all climates

The botany of bamboo is a vast and diverse world of its own. The Bambusoideae subfamily of grasses includes nearly 100 genera and more than 1,200 species. And to the casual observer, the majority of these grasses look strikingly similar. But if you're trying to wrap...

Clumping bamboo for cold climates: Ornamental options

Clumping bamboo for cold climates: Ornamental options

So you'd like to plant some bamboo in your garden. It's fast-growing, with an exotic flair, and it can add a great deal of ornamental elegance to your ordinary greenery. But there are two things you might be worried about. First, you get snow in the winter, and you...

Bamboo in Thailand: Tropical wonderland

Bamboo in Thailand: Tropical wonderland

Thailand's friendly people, exquisite cuisine and idyllic beaches make it one of the most popular tourist destinations on earth. The tropical climate appeals to international travelers as well as a prolific diversity of native plant species. And like most of Southeast...

Bamboo farming in the US in 2023

Bamboo farming in the US in 2023

UPDATE: This article originally appeared in January 2020, most recently updated in March 2024. In the past few decades, the variety of bamboo products has just exploded. From socks to towels to sheets to flooring, bamboo can do pretty much anything. And thanks to a...

On a mission to promote the prudent cultivation of bamboo by providing gardeners, farmers and policymakers with useful and accurate information about this extraordinary plant. Contact us to schedule a consultation.

Bamboo & beyond

Bambu Batu is the brainchild of Fred Hornaday, author and eco-entrepreneur. Since its inception in 2006, Bambu Batu has been dedicated to promoting bamboo for all its amazing uses. Whether you’re using bamboo to spruce up your garden or to build a zen temple, this remarkable plant has enormous ecological and economical potential. Peruse the hundreds of articles on the website, and discover for yourself the fascinating world of bamboo.

Bamboo & beyond

Since 2006, Fred Hornaday has been promoting bamboo with passion and sincerity. What began as a small eco-boutique in a charming California beach town is now an international network spanning six continents. Whether you’re planning a Japanese garden or a commercial plantation, Bambu Batu can help you understand this remarkable plant and its enormous ecological and economical potential. Peruse the website, and discover for yourself the fascinating world of bamboo.

our retail store

From 2006 until 2020, Bambu Batu provided a magical space in San Luis Obispo, offering an unsurpassed selection of bamboo and natural fiber clothing, as well as bamboo furniture and kitchenwares, and an eclectic array of spiritual items.

Today, our family has adopted the life of Digital Nomadism. But our website continues to bring you a wealth of articles about all things bamboo, including environmental insights, horticultural pointers and a slew of fun facts.

Bamboo clothing at Bambu Batu
Bamboo clothing at Bambu Batu

our retail store

From 2006 until 2020, Bambu Batu provided a magical space in San Luis Obispo, offering an unsurpassed selection of bamboo and natural fiber clothing, as well as bamboo furniture and kitchenwares, and an array of spiritual items.

Today, we offer our services to bamboo enthusiasts around the globe. Our website continues to deliver a wealth of articles about all things bamboo, and our one-on-one consultations provide specific guidance towards growing bamboo commercially.

BENEFITS OF BAMBOO

For thousands of years, people have been using and cultivating bamboo for food, construction, crafts and textiles. It grows faster than anything, produces more oxygen than trees, has a greater tensile strength than steel, and can be made into a fabric softer than pima cotton. At this challenging moment of climate crisis, bamboo is probably the earth’s most promising natural resource.

 

Best bamboo for poles

BENEFITS OF BAMBOO

For thousands of years, people have been using and cultivating bamboo for food, construction, crafts and textiles. It grows faster than anything, produces more oxygen than trees, has a greater tensile strength than steel, and can be made into a fabric softer than pima cotton. At this challenging moment of climate crisis, bamboo is probably the earth’s most promising natural resource.

 

Best bamboo for poles

Did you know that bamboo comprises a subfamily of grasses with more than 1,200 species, endemic to every continent but Europe and Antarctica?

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Growing Bamboo for Carbon Credits

Growing Bamboo for Carbon Credits

To encourage the reduction of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the carbon credit trading system incentivizes farmers and industrialists to initiate and operate carbon-negative projects, rewarding them with monetarily valuable credits. At the same time, polluting...

Gigantocalamus malpenensis: Malaysian bamboo hybrid

Gigantocalamus malpenensis: Malaysian bamboo hybrid

Genuinely majestic, Gigantocalamus malpenensis is a natural, intergeneric hybrid, a cross between Gigantochloa scortechinii and Dendrocalamus pendulus, found only in the forested hills of the Malaysian peninsula.  Gigantocalamus malpenensis with its furry culm...

21 of the World’s Best Bamboo Gardens

21 of the World’s Best Bamboo Gardens

So you're in love with bamboo, and you just can't get enough of it? Welcome to the club. My name is Fred and I'm a bambooholic. That's right. Without my regular fix of noble bamboo grasses, I get terribly wound up. When the monotony of ordinary life brings me down, or...