The Advantages of Eco-friendly Bamboo Furniture

Posted by HaikuDesigns on February 1st, 2018

The Panda Bear Meets the Organ Grinder

High in the thick forests of the misty mountainous region of southwestern China lives one of the world's most unusual animals, known as the giant panda. Sadly, only about 1,500 panda bears still exist in the shrinking wilderness of planet Earth. Panda bears spend most of their time reclining and eating bamboo leaves and shoots, which comprises over 90% of their diet. They eat so much so fast, you might think they were born with tapeworms. The real reason is that they only digest about 1/5 of what they consume. They have molars that are quite broad and flat, which allows them to easily crush the bamboo stems and shoots. They can chew on bamboo shoots that are as thick as 1.5 inches. Although they have no thumbs, the wrists of their front paws have large bones that allow them to grip things firmly, such as bamboo. Panda bears need to have access to at least two species of bamboo, or they’ll starve to death, and a present scarcity in bamboo is threatening an already at-risk population. They’re quite shy, so they rarely visit areas populated by humans, which limits their presence to locations that are bamboo & panda friendly. 

Fortunately, bamboo furniture can easily make the transition from food to musical instrument. The Las Piñas Bamboo Organ in St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Pinas City, Philippines, is a nineteenth century organ with singular pipes made almost entirely of bamboo. In 1824, it’s assembly was completed by Father Diego Cera, the mason/builder of the town's simple stone church and its first parish priest representing the Catholic Church. In 1972, after the ravages of time and a few damaging disasters prevented anyone from playing the organ properly, the local community and the nation’s government had it shipped to Germany to be restored. In 1975, upon its anticipated return, the home-church of the organ and a few buildings nearby were also restored to their ambient 19th-century state by architects Francisco Manosa and Ludwig Alvarez just in time for its return. The annual International Bamboo Organ Festival (a classical music festival) was launched to celebrate the singular sound of this born-again musical instrument. Then, in 2003, the organ was declared a National Cultural Treasure of the Philippine people. Today, it’s a popular tourist attraction for Filipinos and many foreign travelers who regularly visit Las Piñas.

Renewable Bamboo and the Big Bad Bang

Just like ancient Yoga masters, modern cosmologists tell us that after the Big Bang the universe began to expand, and at some point it’ll begin to contract, until it reaches its birthplace, Single Point, Infinity, 00001. The last time I looked, that was a deserted shore resort along the southern coast of Jersey, but try MapQuest. This might seem like a metaphorical stretch, but flexible bamboo may be the best example of the Big Bang’s enormous expansion. Because it grows so fast, you can almost trace its progress by the millimeter. It should be interesting to see what happens to bamboo when the universe begins to contract. That will be a sad day for the panda bear. Until that fateful or fatal day, consider supporting eco-friendly companies that use renewable resources like bamboo to construct their Eco Friendly bedroom and dining-room furniture.

About the Author:

This article was written by Mark Klosterman who worked at Haiku Designs.  Since its inception, Haiku Designs has provided the finest collections of modern furniture for home and offices. It offers all kinds of bedroom, living room, dining room, office furniture items and more. Apart from this, Haiku Designs also offers natural bedding, floor covering and other accessories.