5th World Bamboo Workshop in Guatemala                  26-29 October 2023

The theme: Building a climate-resilient future with bamboo

The coastal Caribbean community of Punta Brava on the shores of Lake Izabal, Guatemala has been chosen to host the 5th World Bamboo Workshop from 26-29 October this year. This village is a living example of how bamboo can help develop and sustain climate-resilient communities.

The World Bamboo Organization, a United States NGO, has teamed up with the Guatemalan-based construction firm CASSA, led by Tono Aguilar. CASSA has been working with Punta Brava since 2017, designing and building the village’s first ever high school, as well as beautiful climate-resilient bamboo houses with the help of its residents. Our combined efforts will teach the community how to grow and utilize bamboo to kickstart a local bamboo economy.

This World Bamboo Workshop will position Punta Brava as a star example of how to create a climate-resilient future for all Central American communities. Inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a bamboo-based community will not only be of immense social value, but it will also create enormous environmental and financial capital for the region and the planet.  

The Workshop will be led by engineer/architect Martin Mortera and bio-architect Peter van Lengen, who have been the leaders of the World Bamboo Workshop circuit. Both have mentored hundreds of students and transferred their passion and knowledge of working with bamboo and other locally sourced biomaterials to create functional yet brilliantly creative constructions.

Stay tuned for more details and registration!

www.worldbambooworkshop.com

Welcome World Bamboo Ambassadors! 

Just as #bambooisgrowing, our World Bamboo Ambassador corps is growing, too!

Staying on top of the newest technologies, opportunities, projects, potentials and research is a daunting task, and the only way it can be accomplished is with dedicated teamwork. WBO is fortunate to have this committed team of people who work independently yet collectively to support our mission to promote the sustainable utilization of bamboo on the planet. 

As of this month <March 2023> the WBO has a total of 51 dedicated Ambassadors who make up our corps. Thirty one of these ambassadors are male, and twenty are female, coming from 25 countries across the globe. These ambassadors volunteer their time and commitment to help WBO with its mission, and we feel so fortunate for their constant support. 

By invitation, we welcome 12 new ambassadors, coming from Canada, Colombia, DR Congo, France, Germany, India, Peru, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam: 

• Emme Kearns, a writer from Canada
• Luis Felipe Lopez, a housing engineer from Colombia, working in The    Philippines
• Frank Iragi, promoting agroforestry and policy in the Democratic            Republic of Congo
• Edouard Sherwood, a materials engineer and product designer in          France
• Delphine Herscovici, Communications and Network Advisor from          France
• Vinc Math, a builder and consultant from Germany, living in NYC
• Santosh Oinam, a specialist in bamboo shoot nutrition (and baker!) in    Manipur, India
• Flor Morocho, an architect and academic in Lima, Peru     
• Ching-fu David Chen, a horticulturist/botanist in Taiwan 
• Mei-wen Tsai, world-renowned public artist from Taiwan         
• Markus Roselieb, award-winning architect in Chang Mai, Thailand 
• Linh Tran, an event organizer with a focus on business and tourism, Vietnam

There's no question there is immense interest in bamboo around the world, as current research reveals positive results in climate mitigation, landscape restoration, carbon storage, sustainability, nutritious food, poverty alleviation, housing and economic development. 

The World Bamboo Organization is grateful for all people working to acknowledge and promote the potentials of bamboo everywhere. Thank you for your continued support! 

#KeepBambooStrong