Global Bamboo ProductsSubstituting timber, creating sustainable livelihoods and reforesting with bamboo



Global Bamboo Products Ghana relieves pressure on dwindling forests through reforestation and bamboo agroforestry, producing and marketing bamboo and other non-timber forest products (NTFP), and training rural community members in handicraft production and alternative livelihood options such as bee-keeping and bamboo charcoal production.
Global Bamboo Products Ghana Ltd. (GBPL) owns and operates a bamboo plantation and nursery and a handicraft training centre. It also markets bamboo and rattan handicrafts. The initiative provides the community with a kiln for producing bamboo charcoal, which GBPL then buys and markets. The plan is to expand into industrial bamboo products such as flooring, panels and plyboard.
The bamboo plantation is innovative, being the first in a degraded forest reserve in Ghana. In addition, the production of high-quality industrial bamboo products creates a new local industry: timber substitutes.
Partners
Global Bamboo Products Ltd. (GBPL) is involved in bamboo cultivation and the production of bamboo and other non-timber forest products.
The Bamboo and Rattan Development Programme (BARADEP) of the Ghanaian Government provides technical assistance and in-kind support.
The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) provides capacity-building and technical assistance.
BNARI Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute acts as a research partner in the area of bamboo tissue cultivation.