Bountiful Bamboo
by
George W. Sellers

 

A few months ago, the Tidewater Traveler featured the role of animals in motivating people to travel to various parts of the globe. It stands to reason that such commentary should eventually be followed by a similar article featuring the opposite of the living things spectrum – plants.
I could devote several pages to the world’s various botanical destinations that attract tourists. I could. It would be easy to describe a visit to the beautiful Butchart Gardens near Victoria, British Columbia; a river cruise along the tulip fields of the Netherlands; a stroll through Japanese gardens at the Irish National Stud Farm; or a Behind the Seeds tour at The Land in Epcot. Those are places I should write about. I should – and I might – someday.
I am just not a plant person. Plants turn brown and wither under my care. Yet I have several clients who travel exclusively because of plants. One consults natural resource ministers of foreign nations regarding forestry practices. Another travels on behalf of soy beans. Irrigating deserts to raise crops keeps another on the go. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy an occasional visit to Longwood Gardens or Winterthur, but those are not destinations to which I would purchase an annual pass.
There is, however, a plant that has attracted my attention while traveling – bamboo. It started with simple childhood fishing trips to some of Dorchester County’s quaint wooden bridges. On days that Dad’s shift work at the Vienna Power Plant permitted, he would tell me to get things together so we could go fishing. This process started with finding a spade and an empty Cheez-Wiz jar from the smokehouse. It took only a few minutes to produce about two-thirds of a jar of earthworms from the garden.
Side note: My family and friends chide me regularly about my dislike for spaghetti. If they could only see the image in my head – the image of a glass jar nearly full of plump, slimy earthworms! Please enjoy your spaghetti – I pass.
Moving on – the next step was to go to the back corner of the smokehouse to get the fishing poles – nothing fancy – very basic stuff. One of the poles was a long, rustic-looking tan shaft that Dad called bamboo. It had no reel. A piece of string was tied around the end of the pole. Near the other end of the string were tied a bobber, a hook and a bent rusty nail for weight. This became my favorite fishing pole – and my first exposure to bamboo.
Fast-forward several decades. I am on a bus from the airport into the city of Bangkok. Along the way I notice unusual structures hugging the exteriors of tall buildings. When I inquire, the host tells me it is construction scaffolding. I feel silly to have asked, but it does not look anything at all like the steel scaffolding I am accustomed to seeing in the States.
Following another inquiry about the structure, I learn that the material is bamboo. Bamboo! You have got to be kidding! These buildings are dozens of stories high, and the bamboo framework goes all the way to the top. The uprights, cross pieces and diagonal supports are all tied together with something that resembles rope. I am fascinated to learn that the strapping material is also bamboo – narrow, flexible strips of bamboo. Until now my knowledge base regarding bamboo has not extended beyond the fishing pole from the smokehouse.
Another fast-forward – I am walking along a dirt path in rural southern China. The walkway is elevated about two feet above rice fields on both sides. Other paths form a tan grid laid across a sea of tender green stalks of rice. Separate from the walking paths, a network of shallow ditches criss-crosses the field.
The purpose of the stroll is to see a waterwheel that takes water from the lower level of a ditch and delivers it up to the level where the rice is growing. I am captivated by the device as I observe that every part and piece of this waterwheel is fashioned from bamboo.
The framework of the wheel and the support structure are bamboo stalks about an inch in diameter, each of which could be my old fishing pole. The wheel is lashed together much like a child would assemble a summer camp craft project. The lashing material is similar to that used to hold together the scaffolding – thin flexible strips of bamboo.
Large diameter bamboo has been cut laterally to form nearly flat blades that are pushed by running water to make the wheel rotate. As the wheel turns, trough-shaped bamboo pieces scoop up water and, because they are attached at a slight angle, when they reach a certain height on their circular trip, the water spills out of the scoops. It falls into a long device shaped like a rain gutter, but made of – you guessed it – bamboo.
I started paying attention. I found bamboo furniture – both meager and upscale; tools – scoops, shovels, rakes, bowls, cooking utensils, baskets, steamers, decor, skewers and toothpicks. Bamboo is used for utilitarian objects such as bicycles, carts, ladders, musical instruments, fences and weapons. Certain medicines, textiles and paper are derived from bamboo. It is a food source for many. And, of course, all manner of fishing poles are bamboo.
An entire article could be devoted to bamboo boats. Simple tied-together rafts of all sizes are common transportation in tropical and subtropical regions. Bowl-shaped boats made from woven bamboo strips and coated with pitch are sturdy enough to hold hundreds of pounds of product headed to market.
Lest you think bamboo is a staple product prevalent only in less developed regions, consider that one of the highest quality and best looking interior flooring products is now bamboo. Bamboo has also become popular as an attractive and very durable product for exterior decking. Bamboo flooring and decking are said to be three times harder than oak. Carpenters report that the product is brutal on saw blades, wearing them prematurely. From dirt-floor huts to million-dollar mansions, bamboo floors, curtains, shades, mats, carpet, fans, decorative items, and yes, even clothes, can be found. Cloth woven from bamboo is luxuriously soft and pliable.
I am not sure which of the 1,450 species of bamboo was used to make my childhood fishing pole. I am not sure where my pole was grown. Bamboo grows in a variety of climates, from cold mountains to hot tropical regions.
Imagine a wide belt that reaches around the earth extending as far north as Mid-Atlantic America or Eastern Asia, and as far south as Northern Australia, sub-Saharan Africa or the Argentina-Chile area of South America. Bamboo will be found growing within this zone. Only continental Europe and Antarctica have no known native species of bamboo.
Bamboo grows fast, making it a quickly renewable resource. Full size can be achieved in a single growing season of three to four months. Though not the norm, it has been known to grow more than three feet in height in a 24-hour period, and has reached heights exceeding one hundred feet.
I had no idea that bamboo has contributed so much to the world economy. I wonder what happened to that old fishing pole!
May all of your travels be happy and safe!

George Sellers is a Certified Travel Counselor and Accredited Cruise Counselor who operates the popular travel website and travel planning service www.SellersTravel.com. His Facebook and e-mail addresses are George@SellersTravel.com.