INBAR TECHNOLOGY PAGES LAMINATED BAMBOO FURNITURE

AMINATED AMBOO URNITURE

NNOVATION AND OMFORT FOR OVERTY EDUCTION
Source of the Technology Eurniture Design and Manufacturing Group, Nanjing Eorestry University, China and others.
Expected Benefits Employment, environmental amelioration, skills enhancement, income generation.
Suitable for Community organisations, individual business persons.
Key Words Bamboo, Eurniture, Lamination, Environmental Amelioration, Poverty Alleviation.
Laminated Bamboo Furniture
Laminated bamboo furniture is a modern invention but has
already become popular in many countries. It is produced
from moulded bamboo components and to the uninitiated
eye the furniture is unrecognisable as having been produced
from bamboo. A huge range of furniture can be produced,
such as tables and chairs, bookshelves, beds, cabinets and
recliners. The furniture is durable, practical and has a
modern appearance and in recent years elegant designs have
been produced in China and Japan.
The laminated bamboo furniture unit is a relatively large-
scale venture requiring start-up capital and a number of
experienced personnel. By innovating new designs and
seeking out new markets the unit will be able to develop
rapidly and there are significant opportunities to open up
export markets for laminated bamboo furniture in more
affluent countries. The unit can easily be established at the
community level, ideally as a cooperative venture. In view of
the scale of investment required it may be preferable to
establish the unit with the assistance of state agencies or
NGOs to ensure the venture is successful and the community
are the true beneficiaries.
Impact on Poverty
Producing Laminated Bamboo Eurniture can reduce poverty,
generate employment and develop livelihoods. The factory
will provide employment for labourers, semi-skilled and
management staff whilst the forwards and backwards
linkages create employment in bamboo farming and product
marketing as well. The main development attributes of the
technology are as follows:
It creates a significant number of employment
opportunities.
Increases community welfare.
Promotes the efficient management and use of natural
bamboo resources.
Reduces dependency on timber wood and hence helps
conserve tree-wood.
Increasing plantations of bamboo can bring degraded
land back into productivity.
The forwards and backwards linkages required for
sustainabilty of the business support many more people than
work at the factory itself. A laminated bamboo furniture
factory can provide employment for:
Bamboo growers and harvesters.
Skilled, semiskilled and unskilled factory staff.
Miscellaneous raw material transporters and retail staff.
Key points for successful poverty alleviation
The furniture factory can bring significant long-term benefits
to poor rural communities. Successful poverty alleviation is
most likely with:
A community-based factory with equitable
shareholding, run by the community or by personnel
selected by the community.
Local availability of raw bamboo.
Start-up capital (specific financial support may be
available to community-based businesses). Machinery is
by far the largest capital outlay (approx. $35, 000).
Effective market evaluation and real-time market
feedback.
Suitable marketing mechanisms.
Reliable, inexpensive electricity supply.
Main advantages of the technology
Permits the formation of modern, ergonomic shapes and
designs of furniture.
Careful design can continue to improve the product and
innovative designs will maintain and develop market
presence.
A wide range of surface finishes can be achieved.
International Network Ior Bamboo and Rattan
INBAR TECHNOLOGY PAGES LAMINATED BAMBOO FURNITURE
The furniture is highly durable.
The mechanical properties of bamboo are better than
those of timber wood for furniture.
Producing Laminated Bamboo Furniture
Generally, five stages are required within the unit to
manufacture laminated bamboo furniture. They are:
Section preparing
Laminated blank-making
Unit shaping
Assembling
Einishing
Section Preparing
Bamboo culms are cut into lengths then longitudinally split
into sections of bamboo wood. These are boiled in
preservative to increase their resistance to pest and diseases
and to form a uniform coloration. They may then be heated
at high pressure to darken their colour if required. Einally
they are dried to less than 10% moisture content, planed
smooth and graded.
Laminated blank making
Prepared sections of bamboo wood are coated with glue and
then placed together in jigs to form the sub-sections of the
furniture. Straight sub-sections can be pressed together in a
standard hot-pressing machine, but curved sections require
specially shaped jigs and are pressed by tightening bolts
holding the jig-forming elements together. They are then
placed in a heated chamber for curing.
Unit Shaping
The various sub-sections are then planed and any specific
shaping required to form joints, such as making mortises and
tenons, is done.
Assembling
The sub-sections are assembled into the final furniture with
glue, and the pieces held firmly together with jigs and
clamps whilst the glue sets.
Einishing
Einishing involves the following stages, all designed to
produce a high quality, uniform surface finish: Bleaching,
prestaining, staining and coloring, wash coating, filling,
sealing or wash coating, glazing, topcoating, rubbing,
polishing and cleaning.
Addition of upholstery and other fittings completes the
furniture.
References and further reading
Laminated Bamboo Eurniture Transfer of Technology
Model. Available from INBAR via
http://www.inbar.int/totem/totemmain.asp.
INBAR Development Pages available at
http://www.inbar.int/livelihood/Devpag%20main.htm.
Eurniture Design and Manufacturing Group, Nanjing
Eorestry University, Nanjing, China http://www.njfu.edu.cn
Or contact: livelihoodsinbar.int
Notes
Producing laminated bamboo furniture is a relatively
industrialised process and care needs to be taken to ensure
those in the community excluded from direct involvement
are able to benefit. In fact many factories in Asia have been
established as private businesses with limited community
involvement. Ensuring ownership of the factory rests with
the community ensures it works for the community and
benefits are shared amongst all stakeholders.
INBARs Technologv Pages are designed for development
practitioners, profect designers and policv makers. The
povertv alleviation impact of this technologv mav depend on
a range of local factors. Readers are advised to consider the
suitabilitv of the information contained herein within their
own local context before adoption.
INBAR, P.O.Box 100102-86, Beijing 100102, China.
Tel: 86-10-6470 6161. Eax:86-10-6470 2166.
Email: inIoinbar.int
International Network for Bamboo and Rattan 2003