Isabela craftsmen make unique bamboo furniture using recycled materials

Posted at 5:26 pm September 26, 2011

Tags: Furniture

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By KC Santos

ANGADANAN, ISABELA – A community of bamboo growers in this town have found a unique way of making furniture by incorporating the use of recycled paper.

The bamboo species called butong is abundant in the town of Angadanan and is found in most river banks and water tributaries near the vast Cagayan River. Huge trees used to cover the town and most community members have only a few uses for bamboo.

When illegal loggers started to exploit the forest, the local government of Angadanan mobilized the community to plant more and preserve bamboo. Which is why this year, the Kawayanegosyo ng Angadanan was declared as the town’s One Town One Product (OTOP) showcase.

The Kawayanegosyo ng Angadanan uses a multi-stakeholder approach benefiting not just the townsfolk of Angadanan, but most especially poor bamboo farmers who have not only learned how to maximize their yield but also how to explore their artistic capabilities.

According to Yolanda Alog, OTOP manager for Angadanan, farmers were trained to see the many uses of simple materials such as bamboo and scrap items that are often thrown away.

With help from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) the farmers were taught how to process paper collected from offices and households into shades for use on lamps made from bamboo.

Yolanda says the designing skills of farmers was “surprising” considering that most of the farmers were all learning the craft for the very first time and with just so little time to learn.

“At first, consultants laid the templates but soon the farmers just incorporated their own ideas with the newer designs,” she shares.

The recycled paper is basically treated, and then applied with artificial coloring or dye to get different shades and hues and making the finished product resemble capiz shells.

From using perfectly shaped bamboos, the farmers started using deformed parts of grass like the putek and the bayog for the lamp’s base, body and hangers. “Nothing is really put to waste. Everything really has its unique uses,” Yolanda says.

The bamboo and recycled paper lamps, depending on the size and labor, sell from 850 to 12,000 pesos. One of the designs made by farmers, which used cogon grass instead of paper, was nominated as Most Innovative Product during the recent One Town One Product (OTOP) expo held at SM Megamall.

“We hope that people will acknowledge our new products because it says a lot about our town and our people,” Yolanda says.

Get more information about Kawayanegosyo ng Angadanan