F03A1 - MATERIAL GUIDES - HISTORY OF BAMBOO
Preface:
This study guide provides a brief and simple overview of the history of "bamboo" as a floor covering material.
THE HISTORY (AND MANY USES OF) OF BAMBOO
The use of bamboo as a building material is particularly prevalent in southern tropical climates where its abundance and utility make it an ideal construction material. Although today bamboo has become a popular flooring product, as a building material bamboo has been used over centuries to build simple shelters and huts as well as to construct fencing, retaining walls, animal pens, fish traps, piers, barns, towers, and even bridges as well as scaffolding and ladders used to build them. In fact, bamboo has been central to life in many cultures, particularly in Asian countries. In Southeast Asia for example, indigenous peoples have and still do live in bamboo houses, sit in bamboo chairs, and eat food stored and prepared in bamboo containers. They have and still do use bamboo mats for flooring, beds, and covers. Their sandals may be made from bamboo and their clothing such as hats may be made from woven split bamboo. Their livestock has been and is kept in bamboo cages and pens and a bamboo fence may be used to enclose their yard. In addition, bamboo shoots might make up part of their meal eaten with bamboo chopsticks. Their tools may be made from bamboo and bamboo may be used for implement handles. In fact this is still the case throughout areas of the world where bamboo grows.
With its hollow, watertight compartments bamboo is a natural choice for constructing rafts (one of its earliest uses) that fishermen still use today and in boat building it has been used for masts, booms, oars, rails, woven into sails, push poles, ropes, outriggers, etc. The Japanese used split bamboo to make a basket-like boat for fishing while the Vietnamese make a similar type of boat from plaited bamboo.
Most bamboo shoots can be eaten and in times of massive flowering of bamboo the seeds are used as grain. Besides being a food source bamboo has been used, and continues to be used, in the kitchen in the form of cups, bowls, place mats, chop sticks, skewers, egg beaters, tea whisks, forks, knives, spoons, canisters, rice cookers, salad bowls, napkin rings, and just about any other cooking utensil that can be thought of. Rice is steamed in sections of cane and woven split bamboo is used as dividers in steam cooking. Food and storage baskets are made from thin, woven strips of bamboo.
Bamboo has been and is still used today to make furniture (rattan) chairs, tables, beds, chest of drawers, wine and clothes racks, screens, matting, cabinets, and lanterns and lamps - the list is almost endless.
Bamboo has also been used in a variety of ways as musical instruments since humans first began to make music, most likely as percussion instruments first, and over time in many other forms from whistlers, flutes, panpipes, didgeridoos, marimbas, xylophones, gongs, rattles, drums, chimes, and even in pipe organs.
Bamboo has many other uses such as, fishing rods, and for constructing pergolas, domes, gazebos, garden trellises to bean poles, buckets to baskets, as writing implements (pens) and material (up to 2.2 million tonnes of bamboo used in paper manufacturing in India and some of the earliest known books were written on strips of split bamboo), walking sticks, crutches, and carts, for birdhouses, cages and feeders, poles for carrying, flags, and even pole vaulting, pipes to carry water and oil and pipes to smoke, and as firewood and for torches. It has been used for bows and arrows, spears, blow guns, and even canons, and when people get tired of fighting they can rest in a bamboo hammock and drink bamboo beer, or make windmills, jewellery, toys, or even a back scratcher or a rake for gardening. Bamboo has even been used as concrete reinforcement.
Although things change at a rapid rate bamboo is still used in the same way in many rural cultures as it has been for centuries. Hundreds of uses have been found for it. No other plant has as many uses and impacted so many cultures in so many ways. With today's evolving technology and the development of new flooring materials it is no wonder that this versatile material is now being used for flooring.
The use of bamboo as a hard surface commercially available flooring material is a relatively recent development that started in the early 90's in Southeast Asia (primarily in China) and then spread to Europe and North America about ten years later. There are now many importers offering a wide variety of bamboo flooring products.
Initially bamboo flooring was manufactured in a cottage industry setting without much quality control or marketing. With increasing demand, manufacturers have turned to more automated equipment and finishing processes. The average monthly production was from 420 to 975 square metres (4,500 to 10,500 square feet). Based on experience and success, and with accumulated capital from profits, manufacturers began to expand their production by purchasing more advanced equipment, better finishes, and stronger and lower formaldehyde glue from Europe. Currently (2005) production capacity is from 9755 to 13935 square metres (105,000 to 150,000 square feet) per month. There are now over 100 bamboo flooring mills in the southern part of China alone with capacity and quality still varying greatly among these manufacturers. Most of them are still cottage style manufacturing ventures with a monthly production capacity of up to 1580 square metres (17,000 square feet). Presently there are no more than 20 high-capacity mills in China with only half of them reliable. Even though the majority of bamboo flooring is grown and manufactured in China, other countries and areas throughout Southeast Asia and the South Pacific region are now entering the market. As bamboo can be grown in some areas in North America perhaps there will be bamboo floors produced "locally" in the future.
This study guide provides a brief and simple overview of the history of "bamboo" as a floor covering material.
THE HISTORY (AND MANY USES OF) OF BAMBOO
The use of bamboo as a building material is particularly prevalent in southern tropical climates where its abundance and utility make it an ideal construction material. Although today bamboo has become a popular flooring product, as a building material bamboo has been used over centuries to build simple shelters and huts as well as to construct fencing, retaining walls, animal pens, fish traps, piers, barns, towers, and even bridges as well as scaffolding and ladders used to build them. In fact, bamboo has been central to life in many cultures, particularly in Asian countries. In Southeast Asia for example, indigenous peoples have and still do live in bamboo houses, sit in bamboo chairs, and eat food stored and prepared in bamboo containers. They have and still do use bamboo mats for flooring, beds, and covers. Their sandals may be made from bamboo and their clothing such as hats may be made from woven split bamboo. Their livestock has been and is kept in bamboo cages and pens and a bamboo fence may be used to enclose their yard. In addition, bamboo shoots might make up part of their meal eaten with bamboo chopsticks. Their tools may be made from bamboo and bamboo may be used for implement handles. In fact this is still the case throughout areas of the world where bamboo grows.
With its hollow, watertight compartments bamboo is a natural choice for constructing rafts (one of its earliest uses) that fishermen still use today and in boat building it has been used for masts, booms, oars, rails, woven into sails, push poles, ropes, outriggers, etc. The Japanese used split bamboo to make a basket-like boat for fishing while the Vietnamese make a similar type of boat from plaited bamboo.
Most bamboo shoots can be eaten and in times of massive flowering of bamboo the seeds are used as grain. Besides being a food source bamboo has been used, and continues to be used, in the kitchen in the form of cups, bowls, place mats, chop sticks, skewers, egg beaters, tea whisks, forks, knives, spoons, canisters, rice cookers, salad bowls, napkin rings, and just about any other cooking utensil that can be thought of. Rice is steamed in sections of cane and woven split bamboo is used as dividers in steam cooking. Food and storage baskets are made from thin, woven strips of bamboo.
Bamboo has been and is still used today to make furniture (rattan) chairs, tables, beds, chest of drawers, wine and clothes racks, screens, matting, cabinets, and lanterns and lamps - the list is almost endless.
Bamboo has also been used in a variety of ways as musical instruments since humans first began to make music, most likely as percussion instruments first, and over time in many other forms from whistlers, flutes, panpipes, didgeridoos, marimbas, xylophones, gongs, rattles, drums, chimes, and even in pipe organs.
Bamboo has many other uses such as, fishing rods, and for constructing pergolas, domes, gazebos, garden trellises to bean poles, buckets to baskets, as writing implements (pens) and material (up to 2.2 million tonnes of bamboo used in paper manufacturing in India and some of the earliest known books were written on strips of split bamboo), walking sticks, crutches, and carts, for birdhouses, cages and feeders, poles for carrying, flags, and even pole vaulting, pipes to carry water and oil and pipes to smoke, and as firewood and for torches. It has been used for bows and arrows, spears, blow guns, and even canons, and when people get tired of fighting they can rest in a bamboo hammock and drink bamboo beer, or make windmills, jewellery, toys, or even a back scratcher or a rake for gardening. Bamboo has even been used as concrete reinforcement.
Although things change at a rapid rate bamboo is still used in the same way in many rural cultures as it has been for centuries. Hundreds of uses have been found for it. No other plant has as many uses and impacted so many cultures in so many ways. With today's evolving technology and the development of new flooring materials it is no wonder that this versatile material is now being used for flooring.
The use of bamboo as a hard surface commercially available flooring material is a relatively recent development that started in the early 90's in Southeast Asia (primarily in China) and then spread to Europe and North America about ten years later. There are now many importers offering a wide variety of bamboo flooring products.
Initially bamboo flooring was manufactured in a cottage industry setting without much quality control or marketing. With increasing demand, manufacturers have turned to more automated equipment and finishing processes. The average monthly production was from 420 to 975 square metres (4,500 to 10,500 square feet). Based on experience and success, and with accumulated capital from profits, manufacturers began to expand their production by purchasing more advanced equipment, better finishes, and stronger and lower formaldehyde glue from Europe. Currently (2005) production capacity is from 9755 to 13935 square metres (105,000 to 150,000 square feet) per month. There are now over 100 bamboo flooring mills in the southern part of China alone with capacity and quality still varying greatly among these manufacturers. Most of them are still cottage style manufacturing ventures with a monthly production capacity of up to 1580 square metres (17,000 square feet). Presently there are no more than 20 high-capacity mills in China with only half of them reliable. Even though the majority of bamboo flooring is grown and manufactured in China, other countries and areas throughout Southeast Asia and the South Pacific region are now entering the market. As bamboo can be grown in some areas in North America perhaps there will be bamboo floors produced "locally" in the future.