Bamboo

It seems that Ethiopia is about to leave its mark in the flooring industry along with the United States and Europe. However, Ethiopia will not be using the common resource like wood, instead it will be using bamboo. Apparently, Ethiopia is going to revolutionize the market by using bamboo, a very abundant resource in this country.

Acquired At: http://www.motherearthnews.com/Green-Homes/2006-10-01/The-Lowdown-on-Bamboo-Flooring.aspx#axzz2QksRGH2H

Currently, Ethiopia has one million acres of bamboo, making it the largest region of unexploited bamboo in East Africa. This has some bamboo industries wanting to invest for what seems to be a gold mine. A European partnership will plan to invest 10 million euros for five years, which will luckily supply flooring products to United States and Europe’s markets. This company will first try to export 100,000 square meters of flooring in 2014, then by 2016 it will export up to 500, 000 square miles (McKenna).

Acquired At: http://www.motherearthnews.com/biz-bulletins/teragren-bamboo-flooring.aspx#axzz2QksRGH2H

Presently, bamboo is becoming an important resource in the flooring industry because it surpasses wood for many reasons. First, bamboo matures much more quickly than wood. While wood takes 30 years to mature, it only takes bamboo 3 years, which is great for businesses because time is of the essence. The second and third reasons are, bamboo is much more eco-friendly and reduces the number of trees consumed, which is essential in Africa. According to McKenna, the carbon emissions released by burning timber will reach 6.7 million tons by 2050 in Africa, and this is somewhat due to 90% of the population located in Sub-Saharan because they cook with wood (McKenna). 

Africa as a whole, along with Ethiopia will try to reduce the use of timber and other non-renewable resources. Hopefully they will succeed with this eco-friendly and abundant resource, bamboo.

Works Cited

McKenna, Ed. "Ethiopia Leads the Bamboo Revolution." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/apr/10/ethopia-bamboo>.