Bamboo: New trend in housing construction

The use of bamboo in the construction of houses is becoming the trend in Kaduna.

Users of bamboo to construct houses say the material is more environmentally friendly than other materials currently being used for home construction.

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They also agree that bamboo houses are more durable as they can withstand global warming and ecological challenges. Above all these, the promoters of the idea add that the houses can easily be mass-produced and used nationwide at a cheaper cost than wood and block house.

According to the Wikipedia online dictionary, “Bamboos are evergreen perennial flowering plants in the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family – Poaceae. The internodal regions of the stem are usually hollow and the vascular bundles in the cross-section are scattered throughout the stem instead of in a cylindrical arrangement.

“Its rapid growth and tolerance for marginal land make bamboo a good candidate for afforestation, carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. Bamboo’s strength-to-weight ratio is similar to timber, and its strength is generally similar to a strong softwood or hardwood timber.”

Daily Trust gathered that the interest in bamboo houses is rising in Kaduna State as a result of a campaign being championed by a horticulturist and entrepreneur, who is venturing into bamboo houses after some years in the flower business.

Malam Ibrahim Salisu, Founder of Teku International Farm Kaduna, said his firm embarked on the pioneering of the bamboo homes in order to add to the stock of eco-friendly house stock in the country.

The project, which is a one-storey building measuring 30 by 30 feet, is expected to consist of six rooms, three toilets, two kitchens and a store when completed.

According to Salisu, “I have close to 100 youth engaged in the construction of bamboo houses after they have been adequately trained on the innovative technology of using bamboo to construct affordable houses in the state to ensure the success of the project.”

The houses, he said, can withstand global warming and other ecological challenges bedeviling the environment. It can also last up to 100 years with proper maintenance.

“The storey building I am currently constructing with raw-bamboo trees is in the centre of Kaduna. I hope it would attract thousands of tourists from other parts of the world. I hope they will come and see the creative designs of a bamboo storey building that is cheap in construction and can last over 100 years without any problem,” Salisu said.

According to the promoter of the housing idea, “Bamboo is destined to play a major role in the green revolution campaign being pushed by him as more people and businesses choose to build with the versatile and sustainable materials.

“The structure can be used as a house or an office and bamboo is the alternative for people who cannot afford to build houses. Using bamboo to build, one spends less money and the building takes very little time to be completed once the raw material is available.

“We are creating amazing bamboo structures for schools, hotels, hospitals, homes, stadiums and even bridges, but we need the government to play a major role so the bamboo can be bought at a cheap rate,” he added.

He said bamboo buildings hold enormous potentials for future construction and the tourism industry in Nigeria as well as increases the hope for the poor to own houses in the country, adding “With N550, 000, one can build a befitting house using bamboo.”

He noted that if government can encourage the planting of bamboo trees in the northern part of the country instead of getting it from the southern part, it will go a long way in reducing the cost of the raw material.

“It also helps the soil retain water, aiding in moisture regulation throughout the rainy and dry seasons. Bamboo also absorbs more tons of CO2 than trees due to its extreme growth rate,” Salisu added.

The Director, African Climate Reporters, Comrade Nurudden Bello, said one of the best ways to reduce global warming is through the concept of building houses with bamboo.

“Bamboo represents a great resource for eco-friendly buildings, thanks to its rapid life cycle (it takes from three to five years to re-grow, while other plants generally need fifteen). It is suitable for building market and is increasingly respectful of the planet.

Nurudden, who is a climatologist, said bamboo forests are very friendly to the environment and called on Nigerians to stop bush burning.

He urged Nigerians to use the rainy season in planting trees.

According to him, desertification, deforestation and the extraction of natural resources force millions of wildlife including human beings to migrate, highlighting the need to halt cutting-down of forest trees to avert the spread of diseases from animals to human.

Already, Malam Ibrahim Salisu, who is spearheading the bamboo homes, has finished roofing the house. He has also put the windows and doors of the bamboo storey building at the Unguwan Sarki area of Kaduna, near the famous Folawiyo Pedestrian Bridge.

The project is expected to be completed by January 2021.

About one billion people are said to live in bamboo houses across the world.