A project in Ecuador is driving sustainability and empowerment in Amazonian communities through the management of bamboo. As part of the project “Strengthening the production and commercialization of guadua bamboo by the Kichwa Women’s Association of Napo – AMUKINA and producers of the Quijos Nationality,” financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and with technical support from the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Ecological Transition (MAATE) in Ecuador, INBAR is enhancing the capacities and knowledge of six communities in the Amazonian province of Napo in the sustainable mana ..read more

INBAR welcomes H.E. Mr. Teshome Toga Chanaka as its sixth Director General. INBAR is delighted to announce the Council’s approval of the appointment of H.E. Mr. Teshome Toga Chanaka as INBAR’s new Director General. H.E. Mr. Teshome most recently served as Commissioner of the National Rehabilitation Commission of Ethiopia from 6 January 2023 to 13 March 2024. During his long professional career, he has occupied senior leadership positions within Ethiopia’s government, including Minister of Public Enterprises and Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture. H.E. Mr. Teshome also has extensive experie ..read more

Field visit by important project partner affirms the “exemplary” work done in Ethiopia. The INBAR-AECID Ethiopia Bamboo Supply Chain Development project, launched in January 2023 and based out of the INBAR East African Regional Office (EARO), is funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). With the objective of contributing to building a circular economy and resilience to climate change through the development of bamboo-based reliable supply chain development, the project operates in three regions of Ethiopia: Southern, Sidama and Addis Ababa. A team from th ..read more

INBAR project in Latin America and the Caribbean Region leads to the discovery and description a new species of bamboo from Colombia. This research is the result of the study “Identification of bamboo species and their potential uses in the Amazon region of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru”, which was carried out thanks to the project “Innovation and promotion of bamboo through participatory action research processes for resilient agriculture in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru— Bambuzonia”, funded by INBAR and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. The new species of bamboo, Guadua bambu ..read more

Training empowers East African bamboo stakeholders with skills and knowledge to refine product development and build up the industry. INBAR’s East African Regional Office organized a three-day training on Bamboo Value-Chains and Industrial Product Development from 22 to 24 February 2024 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The training was organized under the Dutch-Sino East Africa Bamboo Development Programme and the AECID-supported project on Building Circular Economy and Climate Change Resilience through Bamboo Supply Chain Development in Ethiopia. Bamboo experts from the premier institute of Industri ..read more

H.E. Angellah Kairuki, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism (left) and H.E. Ali Mchumo, Director General of INBAR (right). A National Bamboo Strategy and Action Plan has been launched in Tanzania, paving the way for the country to fully utilize bamboo as a renewable resource and tool to combat climate change. The National Bamboo Strategy and Action Plan seeks to develop a framework for encouraging bamboo production, processing, and usage across several economic sectors, including carbon credit programs based on bamboo. The launch event occurred in Tanzania’s National College of Tourism ..read more

On Youth Day in Cameroon, students from the Gamaliel Bilingual Elementary School visited INBAR’s Regional Office to learn about cultivating and making products with bamboo. As part of the celebrations on Youth Day in Cameroon, INBAR’s Central Africa Regional Office (CARO) organized the first open day for the Gamaliel Bilingual Elementary School of Messamendongo. With the support of teachers and supervisors, this event was held on 13 February 2024 at INBAR CARO’s Regional Office. The day included of a variety of activities during which the 21 pupils of the school group learned about bamboo, ba ..read more

Important meeting helped in Nairobi to align actions for the Dutch-Sino-East Africa Bamboo Development Programme. The Fifth Steering Committee Meeting of the Dutch-Sino-East Africa Bamboo Development Programme was held from 17 to 19 January 2024 in hybrid mode in Nairobi, Kenya. Members approved the work plan budget for June 2024, which is set to be the no-cost extension period. The program has established a steering committee though its governing framework, which includes the INBAR Secretariat and representatives from the governments of the five participating nations. The steering committee ..read more

Capacity building workshop in Chad set to inform future resource survey work.  From 15 to 17 January 2024, a workshop was organized under the theme “Bamboo value chain analysis” in Chad. The event was jointly organized by the Ministry of Environment, Fisheries and Sustainable Development (MEDD) of the Republic of Chad, with technical and financial support from INBAR’s Central Africa Regional Office (CARO). The overall goal of the three-day workshop was to build the capacities of enumerators and stakeholders on the research methodology and tools required for conducting surveys investigatin ..read more

A new digital platform seeks to build a new virtual marketplace for bamboo and rattan to deliver benefits to Cameroon. The 21st century brings both new challenges and promises to people around the world. One of the promises is in the digital economy, which is an exceptional tool to boost trade in bamboo and rattan products at national, regional, and international levels. For both buyer and consumer, the digital economy, in this case, e-commerce, and its related benefits are multifaceted including but not limited to a faster buying process, stores and product listing creations, cost reduction ..read more