Date: December 4-6, 2009
Place: Kayu Manis Hotel, Kaliurang, Faculty of Civil Engineering of Gadjah Mada University,
Sahabat Bambu Organization
Participants : 40 (male, female)
The goals of the training:
Students understand the problems and bamboo potency mapping in Indonesia with all usage.
Learning bamboo treatment technology
Observing bussiness chance on bamboo furniture and handicraft.
Being aware and willling to be pioneer of bamboo cultivation and promotion.
Being a motivator on bamboo usage as alternative wood with advanced technology.
Ir. Yustinus Suranto, MP, a lecturer in Faculty of Forestry of Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta is one of sources for Bamboo in Bamboo programs of Stube HEMAT. He is also Bamboo activist in PERBINDO (Bamboo lovers’ community) organization. In fact, bamboo is multifunction plant covering food sources, building construction, household furniture, energy sources, cloth fiber, water distributor, decorative plant, soil protection, environmental conservator, erosion preventer, tsunami barrier, even toothpick.
The superiority of Bamboo may be described as easily grow in many location condition either tropics or temperate climate, once planted forever, fastest vegetation growth (50 cm in 24 hours), much absorbing CO2, many varieties, harvested in short age (1-4 years), many diameter sizes, lignocelluloses, light, hard and strong with strong fiber. Further, participants are learning about Bamboo in detailed.
Bamboo has 1000 kinds in 80 genuses in the world and 145 kinds in 20 genuses are in Indonesia as endemic and exotic plant. Sumatera has 75 species, Java has 60 species, Sulawesi has 23 species, Kalimantan has 22 species, Bali has 19 species, Nusa Tenggara has 14 species and Maluku has 13 species (Elizabeth Wijaya, 2000). It is fact that Indonesia has big potency on Bamboo. Then, what is the problem?
There are some reasons for people not to use bamboo as their wood references regarding to its durable, scarcity, modern ideology that leaves local material replaced with plastic, and the changing of life style orientation. It is worse that government does ignore this potency and bamboo crisis, no effort for prevention and cultivation. Government involvement is exactly demanded, especially Department of Agriculture, Forestry, Industry and Tourism and Culture as protector body of this plant. Unluckily, we can see that Bamboo is still waif.
Technology of Bamboo Treatment and the Usage
(Construction, Connection and Lamination)
Prof. Dr. Ir. Morisco opens his office although it is Saturday, the free day for him to take a rest. He accepts students following Bamboo program. Before guiding students to his laboratory and his workshop, he delivers technology model for bamboo treatment and some techniques of bamboo conjunction in class. He also shows many chances doing with bamboo either bamboo cultivation or bamboo industry. It has good prospect especially to open job chances in the future. Students are interested and ask many questions to the Professor. He declares that he has begun to observe bamboo and does many researches since 1994. He makes data all bamboo in Indonesia and makes research on it. Actually if we want to be honest for the forest damage there will be no any longer permition for cutting tress in Indonesia in great scale. If so, disaster will be daily problem for Indonesia. Bamboo is one potential alternative to replace wood. Just in two months, bamboo has its maximum growth to be old and strong. Bamboo is in good quality when it is cut in 3-5 years. Farmer then can cut every year without any area expansion. People can plant 250-300 Bamboo ‘Petung’ in one-hectare area. In the harvest time, one bamboo will be Rp. 50.000, - until Rp 70.000,-. From this assumption, people can predict the profit. However, there is no one to be the pioneer for such work. Students watch treatment for bamboo to make it durable at laboratory.
The strength of Bamboo tug may be compared with steel. In the laboratory Prof. Morisco has researched, that 1 cm bamboo will break out when it is pulled by 4 tons mass. Indonesian bamboo, especially ‘petung’ is stronger than other bamboo in the world. Tug and curve capacity of bamboo is higher than woods actually. However, weevil-making bamboo porous easily is the weakness of bamboo. It is the important of bamboo treatment to reduce starch substance as weevil food source. ‘Ori’ and ‘apus’ are bamboo with low starch substance. Cutting bamboo has special schedule based on the time of the lowest starch content. Submerged bamboo in 2 weeks or injection on chemical substances into bamboo body may reduce starch content to make it more durable. The chemical substance is made of borax, boric acid and water to make 10% saturation.
Bamboos are cut in order not to be over 12 hours after cutting. In 12 hours, chemical mixtures can perforate bamboo cells easily as they are still alive. Then the consequence is then in the price that will be 4 times higher than without treatment. Market will select the condition and people will be free to choose. Producers must be honest to say about bamboo condition. Bamboo with treatment may last more than 20 years.
Students learn how to connect bamboo effectively with strong construction. Commonly people connect bamboo using rope or axis. Such traditional connection is not strong. Gadjah Mada University has developed bamboo construction since 1994.Using bolt and cement filling is assumed as good model of connection. Wood or concrete filling is also other model for filling with smooth gradation of pebble and cement.
Bamboo Lamination
Bamboo will be much exotic in natural condition. Although bamboo has become stronger but innovation in the performance must be developed. Lamination technique is one model to make bamboo more durable and exotic. Bamboo is cut into blades in square then unified using adhesive glue then pressed into lamination bamboo. Lamination products are board, partition, or furniture or even wood block. Up to now, lamination bamboo is for export market since domestic market is not so good for lamination.
It is still in a plan for fabric scale to produce lamination bamboo since good future prospect. Promoting and socializing bamboo as Indonesian wood asset may raise bamboo prestige to attract people’s interest to use.
Here with the picture of lamination bamboo in use is very different with the origin of bamboo. The production is still limited as it is not mass production. Government and other stakeholders should be alert in this potency and good prospect.
Entering laboratory of Prof. Morisco, students observe the process of bamboo treatment and lamination. The above pictures are board and block of lamination bamboo. Lamination product for TV set is very nice and simple. Prof. Morisco is surprised to know Stube HEMAT program and community, especially the interest of students in bamboo although they are coming from various study background and regencies in Indonesia. He has a wish that students will be the next generation that has known bamboo potency and prospect that someday when they have finished their study, they can apply the knowledge to promote bamboo in use.
After visiting laboratory and having discussion with Prof. Morisco and some workers in laboratory, students visit his workshop. Before leaving, they took a photo together.
‘Sahabat Bambu’ – How to make durable bamboo
‘Sahabat Bambu’ is a commercial bamboo firm. It works with treatment bamboo for construction. Indra Setiadarma is the director of this bamboo firm. He is well trained about bamboo and has experiences in bamboo construction. Students visit ‘Sahabat Bambu’ to know a real business with durable bamboo and it is the only firm in Yogyakarta working with durable bamboo for construction.
He was interested working with bamboo after looking the useful bamboo as alternative wood when earthquake occurred in Yogyakarta in 2006. Bamboo has economical potency besides it can conserve soil and environment.
The treatments done in ‘Sahabat Bambu’ are VSD (Vertical Soak Diffusion), Vacuum Pressure, Buchery System, and Submerging. Each system has its positive values. VSD takes low cost but takes time for treatment about 10-15 days. Vacuum pressure is fast in process just 24 hours, but it takes much cost. Students look at the bare house where durable bamboo is vertically placed for the VSD treatment.
Indra Setiadarma is a young person with good sense of entrepreneurship with local asset that nearly neglected by its people. He also has co-partner working with Professor Morisco to enhance the quality of bamboo production. He motivates students to do with what are available in surroundings. His experiences working with expatriate doing bamboo construction opens students’ mind that actually we have low appreciation with what we have already. Modern trend and consumerism has changed minds by appreciating new trend and leaving the previous one. Below is VSD process done in ‘Sahabat Bambu’.
Indra says that everything done must be unique to distinguish from others. He welcomes students whoever wants to work with bamboo as he has done now. It will motivate him more to do the best not to be assumed as his rival, but motivator instead.
Bamboo, an eco-friendly source for archiitecture
Ir. Eko Prawoto, M.Arch, an architectural lecturer of Duta Wacana Christian University of Yogyakarta is a bamboo promoter in architectural design. Image that bamboo is wood for poor must be changed through design. It is a challenge for students of architect to use bamboo in their designs. Besides it is a renewable source, bamboo construction is also compatible with country having just 2 seasons like Indonesia. Effort to promote bamboo is students or participants of this training’s task since they know well many things about bamboo. The problem is pioneering work as example for others. Eko Prawoto shows his designs using bamboo construction for churches and bridges that may motivate students to know bamboo in use. He reminds the participants to make real action in promoting bamboo to change people’s old assumption on bamboo. They should be part of bamboo promoter, especially students from regions having bamboo potency.
Developing Motivation of Entrepreneurship
Knowing good potency of bamboo will be stagnant without any action and no impact made for others. Dra. Umi Murtini, M,Si, an economics lecturer of Duta Wacana Christian University delivers her session about developing sense of entrepreneurship. Following bamboo training held by Stube H.E.M.A.T, participants know chances doing something with bamboo. Become an entrepreneur is not impossible for everyone. However, it requires a will to be different from others. First, an entrepreneur should formulate his/her vision then he/she should motivate herself/himself that what is done will be succeed although there are many obstacle in front. Communicative and creative in informing his/her product to others in any conditions is also one of the requirements. Students ask many interesting questions to Umi Murtini, such as, how to make financial capital to run a business for the first time, how to create market of a certain product, how to solve the feeling of bored to do the same thing, and to create a new business.
Innovations, risk taker, original idea, self-confidence, appreciation to other’s criticism are spirits to challenge the chances. However, one must regard on capability, financial capital, market and legal protection he/she has before doing something. One must analyze and judge the four aspects for feasibility.
Experience Sharing with Business Practitioner
One networking Stube HEMAT has is Bamboo Shop of ‘Karya Manunggal’ run by Sumarno. Sumarno is just senior high school graduate. He cannot find good job to earn his family just working as a bookkeeper in one credit unit in his village. Then he quit from his work and began to make a job for himself by making bamboo furniture. First, he began with three other friends of his in 1996 but in the process, his two friends resigned and since March 4, 1997, he opened his own shop ‘Karya Manunggal’.
First, he did not enough financial capital so he pawned his land certificate to get some loan. Hard working and never despondent is the key of his success. He admits that he does not good management and no certain skill to manage but he learns from experiences and does not want to fail for the second time. Preserving trust and product quality may promote his shop. Networking with Stube HEMAT brings good impact for him to open larger colleagues. Now, government gives attention to bamboo workers for some training on technology and treatment. Recently he gets order bamboo furniture from Poland and he admits that the profit can reach 35%-45%.
This session is very interesting since the practitioner is not university graduate but he can exist doing his business in bamboo. With his good sense of entrepreneur he has 15 workers in his shop and fulfill many demand both local, national even international. It gives much impression to the participants that action is very important to gain the dream. Sumarno does not work for his own welfare but he opens job chances for others surrounding him.