This document discusses the potential for using bamboo in housing construction following the 2015 Gorkha earthquake in Nepal. It notes that bamboo is widely available and used in Nepal, and has advantages as an affordable, earthquake-resistant building material. However, negative perceptions of bamboo housing remain a challenge. The document recommends the Nepalese government introduce policies to promote sustainable bamboo development and cultivation, which could help meet housing demand while reducing poverty and supporting reconstruction efforts.

1. Bamboo in 21st Century - For Safe
and Affordable Housing
(In the Context of Gorkha Earthquake in Nepal)
Presented by:
Amar Raj Mishra
Senior Advisor
Nighbourhood Society Service Center,
Nepal

4. Bamboo in Nepal
• Available in natural forest and private lands;
• 12 genera and more than 52 species of bamboo occur in Nepal;
• Total coverage of bamboo area is approximately 63,000 hectares;
• 60% of this lies in the natural (government) forest;
• Available in Terai (plain lands) to the high mountains with an
altitudinal ranges of 50 meters to 4000 meters;
• Eastern part of Nepal has more varieties of bamboos compared to
western part;
• Most of the bamboo species of Nepal have Pachymorph type
rhizomes ;
• Estimated annual production of bamboo culms in Nepal is about
3.01 million.

5. Cultural and Socio-economic
Attachment
• Widely used for multi purposes since ancient time;
• A viable source of livelihood for many persons and families in
rural area;
• Essential for ritual functions like marriage, funeral and many
other religious activities and celebrations;
• One of the common sources of income in rural households;
• commonly used for fencing, construction of animals’ sheds,
farm sheds and small family houses, scaffoldings, vegetable,
feeding animals ; and fire wood;
• Used as raw materials for production of traditional items for
household use like Doko, Dalo, Kokro, Mandro, Nanglo,
Bhakari, Thumse, Chharti, Syakhu, Khotha etc.;
• In recent years it is also use for production of commercial and
exportable items i.e. handicrafts, decorative items and
furniture.

6. Demand of Safe and Affordable
Housing in Nepal
• Estimated demand of new houses are 40,300 every year, half of these
demands is in Kathmandu valley;
• Nepal having the highest urbanization rate 3.79% among the SAARC
countries, will have more demand in future;
• The number of residential houses completely damaged by Gorkha
Earthquake and its aftershocks in 2015 are 602,257 and partially damaged
houses are 285,099
• The Government of Nepal had hosted one-day International Conference
on Nepal’s Reconstruction that aimed to bring neighboring countries and
development partners together in a spirit of solidarity and partnership for
the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructures caused by the
April/May 2015 earthquakes.
• The mass reconstruction of those infrastructures is about to start;
• Priority has been given on the construction of damaged residential
houses in year one and two.

7. History of Bamboo Housing in Nepal
• History of bamboo housing in Nepal has been linked to ancient time;
• Bamboo mixed with wood and other materials like adobe, stone has
been use in constructing many houses to build as high as four stories;
• Around 35% of the houses constructed in eastern part of Nepal some
twenty to thirty years ago were made out the bamboo, wood and
mud;
• Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI) introduced modern bamboo
housing in Nepal in 2005;
• A Nepalese NGO, RES Nepal, who is also involved in promotion of
Bamboo houses, had constructed 18 houses under the Bamboo Eco-
housing Project in Kanchanpur district of the Western Terai region in
Nepal;
• Commercialization of Bamboo Housing: A company like Himalaya
Bamboo is involved in construction of bamboo houses commercially
since last 13 years, has built more than 35 different designs of bamboo
houses ;
• Research, design and construction : Organizations such as Abari and
Uttra have been involved in designing and promoting affordable
bamboo houses in Nepal since long time.

8. Earthquake Resistance Architecture-
A New Imitative in Nepal
• Nepal's Institute of Engineering's Center for Disaster
Studies has developed a retrofitting technology for
rural houses in Nepal;
• This technology would make each house
earthquake resistant for a direct cost of USD 20-30;
• This technology creates a one-meter square grid of
punched holes in the stone wall, which is then
covered with a 10 cm mesh of bamboo on the inside
and outside. ;
• This net is secured to the wall by means of 12-gauge
gabion wire, which is inserted through the holes
and fastened strongly.;
• It is covered with a stucco of mud, which is used in
rural areas in order to ensure longer life for the
bamboo mesh.;
• This technology has been developed by the center
in collaboration with the Civil Engineering Students'
Society, Action Aid Nepal, the Lutheran Federation,
and Oxfam-GB Nepal;
• The direct cost is only of the gabion wire, because
bamboo and mud are available locally.;
• The technology is also very simple and can be used
by villagers.

9. Advantages and Disadvantages of
Bamboo Housing
Advantages:
• Bamboo houses are environment friendly, relatively cheap and affordable.
• Its quality to resist earthquake pressure is very good.
• People prefer bamboo houses in rural areas to avoid both heat and cold where no
electricification;
• It requires minimum technology; are based on existing local technology, doesn't demand
high-tech for construction;
• The construction period of bamboo house takes two to three months, extremely shorter
than concrete, brick/stone masonry house;
• The construction materials are locally available, cheap and processing and production
work consumes less energy compared to other building materials;
• With proper treatment bamboo provides service life of up to 50 years;
• Durability can be increased with careful choice of bamboo species, preservation, and use
of complementary construction materials and replacement of outdated or deteriorated
parts in a regular basis;
• It helps the nations to reduce trade deficit, as raw materials of bamboo houses are almost
locally available;
• Bamboo can be used as a substitute of timber, this will help reducing deforestation.

10. Advantages and Disadvantages of
Bamboo Housing (Cont.)
Disadvantages:
• The first setback of bamboo housing is perception of general people, the
people in Nepal believe that bamboo is a poor men’s timber and living in
a bamboo house is a social shame;
• Because of this sigma people’s perception towards the use of bamboo in
construction of houses is limited to a temporary solution;
• Limitation on availability of matured, seasoned and treated bamboo
culms for construction of bamboo houses;
• Lack of availability of trained skill manpower in the domestic( local)
market for construction of engineered bamboo housing;
• Immature modern engineered bamboo housing industries;
• Very limited companies are involved in research, design & construction
of bamboo houses;
• Has not been used much because the durability is always an issue.

11. Government Policy
• Master Plan for the Forestry Sector 1988
accepted Bamboo and Rattan as one of the main
NTFP species;
• Beside that there is no any other policy,
guideline, regulation and act that includes and
addresses Bamboo and Rattan;
• A policy paper for Bamboo and Rattan was
drafted by Department of Forest Research and
Survey in 2013, since then it is waiting for
government approval.

12. Current Activities on Bamboo
Research and Development
• The President Chure Tarai, Madesh Conservation Board
had signed a MOU with Kathmandu University that
established research and study center for bamboo species
under them;
• The University Research & Study Center has planned to
plant bamboo species on selected river corridors of Chure
region as a piloting for controlling flood and soil erosion;
• The MOFSC has planned to promote plantation of
different type of bamboo species to control possible
landslides caused by recent Gorkha earthquake and its
aftershocks in 61 districts of Nepal including 14 badly
affected districts in the fiscal year 2015-16.

13. Anticipated Challenges
• The overall assessment of bamboo business in the country is vulnerable;
• Traditional products like Dalo, Bhakari, Mandro, Thumse etc are
gradually replaces by metal and plastic products;
• Craftsmanship of these products is slowly eliminating trend and new
generation are less interest to continue their traditional business as they
think market is shrinking and profit is low;
• In many cases; to receive the required number of applications for such
training courses is big challenge to the organiser;
• The availability of bamboo culms in the forest lands is in decreasing
trend as there is no such policy and integrated programme at national
level for conservation, development and sustainable use of bamboo
resources;
• The bamboo culms are over and unscientifically harvested in natural
forests;
• The bamboo business in Nepal is almost limited to supply of bamboo
culms for scaffoldings.

14. SWOT
Strength
• The Government has decided that
the reconstruction of damaged
houses in both urban and rural areas
will be earthquake resistance at a
minimum requirement;
• People are looking for safe housing
within the affordable budget.
Weakness
• The main challenge for promoting
bamboo houses is negative
perception and belief of general
public i.e. durability of bamboo
houses and question of social status;
• Lack of availability of trained skill
manpower in the domestic( local)
market for construction of
engineered bamboo housing.
Opportunities
• The current situation developed by
Gorkha Earthquakes and the annual
housing demand in the country
indicate that the opportunity and
market of bamboo housing is
immense;
• The reconstruction of earthquake
damaged houses are about to start.
Threats
• The policy vacuum on promotion of
bamboo in government land.
• Uncertainty on regular supply of
bamboo culms from government
forest lands (60% bamboo
production lies in natural forests).

15. Conclusion
• Commercialization of bamboo housing industries cannot survive
alone;
• Should be linked with integrated program like rural poverty
reduction, nature rehabilitation, soil conservation, control of floods
and landslides, carbon sequestration, filtration of rain water etc;
• The scope of plantation of bamboo species in private land for
commercial purpose has very limited scope;
• The private lands are fragmented into small parcels due to the
property division among the family members. Only the degraded
and waste land (non arable land) will be available for the use of
such purposes;
• The scope of bamboo promotion depends upon the government
policy. The mass plantation of bamboo species are feasible on
community forests, leasehold forests, government managed forests
and river banks. The Chure region has big potential on plantation
and development of bamboo species;

16. Recommendation
• The government of Nepal has to introduce a separate policy
for sustainable development and use of bamboo and rattan
species;
• People participation in many development programmes in
Nepal has given good results and they are sustainable. It
should be continued in bamboo sector development;
• In the case of bamboo and rattan people will be attracted if
“Right to Use” policy or “Long Term Lease” for the
government land including forest land is in place; This could
be a causal factor to reduce poverty and sustainable supply
of bamboo.
• The priority should be given to the poor and vulnerable
families to achieve the national goal of poverty reduction.