Bamboo Nursery Proposal
Ampersand Green Box
DRAFT COPY
AN APPLICATION FOR GRANT SUPPORT
A PROJECT PROPOSAL FOR
BAMBOO NURSERY
In Brgy.__________
TO:
Proponent :
Email ad: kidapawanbamboo@yahoo.com
Contact Person: RIMMON A. PAREN
Bamboo Advocate
Contact Number:
E-mail Address: rimmonparen@yahoo.com
I. GENERAL INFORMATION
a. Project Title
Bamboo Nursery
b. Proponent
Kidapawan City
c. Contact Person
d. Project Scope
Locale: ________and neighboring Municipalities in Cotabato Province and adjacent region
e. Amount Requested
Amount Requested : P 90,000.00
Bamboo Inc. 10,000.00
Total Project Cost P 100,000.00
II. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
A. BACKGROUND / RATIONALE
Mindanao, the southernmost major island of the Philippine archipelago, has been devastated by
all the downside effects of economic exploitation, governmental mismanagement, corruption
and conflict imaginable. Add in centuries-long conflicts pitting valley against valley, community
against community, religion against religion and the result is chaotic.
In Cotabato Province, especially surrounding Mt. Apo, the forests are gone. The soil pours down
the hillsides collapsing the banks of rivers, washing out village and field in its headlong rush to
the sea. In the rural areas, about the only export activity left is banana plantations. Land reform,
although long overdue, is creating dislocations in the transition from monocropping as well as
the recently prevailing land tenure relationships.
On the banana plantations, few farmers saw an economic niche to be filled by bamboo. As the
huge banana bunches mature, their heavy weight needs to be supported, propped up. As long
as there had been wood, props came from the forests. With the wood gone or beyond economic
access, plantations turned to bamboo. Yet, buying prices are controlled by the banana industry;
planting of additional bamboo culms was not encouraging.
The wild bamboo groves were quickly threatened. The demand for strong, tough culms was
phenomenal--millions every year. By the early 80s, industrialists could see that there would not
be enough bamboo to meet plantation demand. Bamboo was needed in almost phenomenal
quantities.
In 1987, propagators of bamboo consolidated themselves in Davao Del Norte, the MACO
Cooperative Chapter, saw the critical step needed to open the way to large scale bamboo
propagation. With that breakthrough, propagation quickly resulted in hundreds of thousands of
propagules annually. The effort was increased and the community organization work to match
and by 1989, the Davao Bamboo Development Cooperative [DBDC] was on its way. Jose Caasi
and Rey Millan are now earning millions every month by their simple bamboo grass cultivation.
The advocacy champion Rimmon Paren was invited by DTI Region XI to attend a consultative
meeting at DTI National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center at Davao City last
July 21, 2008 about the bamboo industry and its future here in Mindanao.GM Edgardo Manda of
Laguna Lake Development Authority alongside with the Rotary Club of the Philippines is
initiating the campaign and is extending funds for those who will eagerly start the project.
DTI RODG Undersecretary Engr. Merly Cruz is very enthusiastic in how and when it will be
commenced that makes the schedule on October 22-24, 2008 in Manila to hold a National
Bamboo Forum that will aim to set a single unified direction for the Bamboo Industry. The core
group was created in strategically planning the bamboo industry advocacy campaign. Last
August 14, 2008 was the second round of meeting where issues and concerns were discussed
plus hearing the reports of the members of the core group. It was concluded with the statement
of the DTI Regional Caretaker Ms. Marizon Loreto to have a pacing on the discussion and
should come up with the establishment of the Nursery in Region XI and in the Cotabato
Province as well as the construction of an economic sized processing plant to materialize the
modernization of bamboo concept productions like plyboo and bamboo flooring tiles.
DTI Provincial Director Teolulo Pasawa will see to it that the issues and concerns will come to
the attention of the concerned forum. Technology Fair was then planned and yet to be
scheduled the soonest time possible.
DTI Special Concerns Division Mr. Romy Castanaga, which acts doubly as bamboo coordinator
is willing to be around to put it at hand the industry clustering and value adding program of the
bamboo industry.
We have this model which we want to replicate here in Cotabato Province. We do have burning
desire and in fact we already had planted bamboo culms for personal use. Now, the Bamboo
Inc. has the mission to expand bamboo propagation and utilization as a rural community
revitalization tool.
Bamboo will be planted on unutilized land areas, most especially adjacent to the flood prone
areas, First and foremost, to address global warming and environmental protection, secondly,
for sustainable livelihood and develop it for innovative products like plyboo, panels, flooring,
roofing, MDF tiles, pencil, charcoal, incense sticks, paper, clothing, strand board, toothpick,
chopsticks, matchsticks, medicines and other uses. There is a published book of 5,000 different
uses of bamboo.
The Bamboo Advocates wants to develop and settle on Laak and Giant Bamboo variety,
secondarily on other marketable bamboo varieties endemic in Philippines. With an annual
demand from banana plantations of over 12 million props, the market opportunity justified fullout expansion of cultivated bamboo. Additional effort will come into propagation of Kayali for
bamboo shoot production, and other variety for its special uses as well.
What can we learn from successful bamboo entrepreneurs are:
• First, large scale vegetative propagation of bamboo can be done without massive capital
investment or technically specialized workers.
• Second, bamboo can be the focus of equally large-scale community revitalization efforts.
• Third, to succeed, any bamboo-based development scheme must be based in an appropriate
and accessible end-user market.
• Fourth, to support bamboo development as an economic resource, infrastructure needs to be
developed in parallel.
• Lastly, addressing the Green House Gases that cause global warming or climate change and
maintain the symbiotic relationship of human and nature, simply called the principle of coexistence.
B. OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT
The Bamboo Inc. needs to lease/borrow an idle piece of land total to 2,500 square meters. This
area will be the nursery site, and all activities pertaining to nursery propagation and
development will take place. The area must be also suitable to be a nursery of young bamboo
propagules and must have plenty of water. The bamboo planting materials will be marketed to
Don Bosco Foundation for Sustainable Development, Inc., Metro Kidapawan Water District,
Antipas Water District and PNO-EDC, LGUs with riverbank rehabilitation projects as an
additional reforestation material and individuals who has passion for the environment and do
believes that what had you given back to the nature will reward you a thousand fold.
Moreover, to plant with bamboos all the unutilized land areas for re-greening of the province and
eventually, the development of a Livelihood and Economic Development Projects (LED
Projects).
A. Long Term
In the long run, the proponents are encouraging the spirit of sustainability, the defining of real
sustainable livelihood project since bamboo has a lifespan of 120 years according to study of
Dr. Felipe De Leon, thus the supply is very renewable and it creates more good than harm.
Livelihood projects as well as maintaining ecological balance for the project to be enhanced and
developed, the proponents will attend national and international forum on bamboo and other
related activities, and to share information with the group about: manufacturers, wholesalers
and retailers, exporters and importers; new products; product pricing; quality; product reviews;
market size of product; import and export statistics; comparison with non-bamboo products; and
other vital information crucial and beneficial to the industry.
The long term objective also is to establish an effective and efficient supply chain of raw
materials by providing adequate supply of planting material from the nursery. It is expected that
the advocacy leadership will be encouraging among members that they will continually
contribute to the existing knowledge about bamboo and provide useful information to business
people, economists, and anyone involved in the research and development, marketing, trade or
manufacturing of bamboo products and machineries to speed up the process.
B. Short-term
DEFORESTATION and increased CO2 emissions threaten the earth's biodiversity and the very
air we breathe. Perhaps the environmental crisis' at hand was not greatly appreciated or
misunderstood as the Global Warming means intense heat since we are experiencing rain
showers, flooding and devastating typhoons. Recently, there were sightings of tornado at
Visayan peninsula and hail storm at other parts of the region, a four hours continuous raining
will submerge low-lying areas, crops and settlements were affected, we should be addressing
then the food security, or the food and its security, secured and free from flooding and various
environmental damages.
Recent NASA reports of a 60% loss of ozone over the arctic provide an explanation for
increased severity in the world’s weather patterns; this has only begun to affect us whether
directly or indirectly. The social, political and economic implications are difficult to imagine as
our ozone layer continues to thin, forests disappear and desertization is occurring at an
alarming rate. Moreover, to address this situation, this gigantean task begins with a spark of
passion and action, we need to establish a nursery, a bamboo nursery for planting material.
C. AREA OF ACTIVITY
The Nursery will provide for the planting materials of Local Water Districts Forest Conservation
Area, National Irrigation Administration, and PNOC-EDC forest protected areas surrounding Mt.
Apo. Local Government Units of Kidapawan City, Magpet and Makilala. Barangays alongside
the river banks, deserted areas due to depleted soil nutrients in Alamada, Alesoan, Antipas,
Arakan, Banisilan, Carmen, Kabacan, Libungan, Magpet, Makilala, Matalam, Midsayap, Mlang,
Pigcawayan, Pikit, Pres. Roxas, and Tulunan.
In the near future, a Bambusetum Project of the Bamboo Inc.will take place in a strategic
location that would doubly served as Bamboo Species Reservation Area and a Tourist Spot.
Bambusetum is a collection of various varieties of Bamboo Plants which is endemic, rare and on
the extinction level.
There is 7,837(Cotabato Rice Industry 2007) hectares of potential land areas for bamboo
monocropping reforestation and unutilized for other agro-industry ventures. The farmers and
land owners will be encouraged to plant bamboo by conducting Green House Gases Awareness
Seminars and Livelihood Development using Bamboo as the main source of raw materials. In
the future, Bamboo Industry level raising and catering international market (INBAR 2008).
90 hectares (NSCB 2007) present supply of bamboo shoots can be processed for canned
bamboo to supply local demands. World Health Organization is supporting such advocacy in the
World Food Program since bamboo has Fiber, Calcium, Iron, Vit. C, Vit. B1, Protein,
Carbohydrates, Phosphorus, Glucose, Potassium, Vit. A and 17 Amino Acids. It could be
processed as canned products.
Bamboo industry will be the alternative activities of farmers in rice industry especially during the
period of between planting to harvest season, as well as providing employment to out-of-school
youth, Agricultural Engineers, Mechanical Engineers in fabricating bamboo processing
machines, bamboo craftsmen, bamboo artists on novelty products, bamboo musicians and
among others. Skills training will be handled by TESDA and Accredited Schools like USM,
NCFCI, NPCAT, KTSI, RDACC and other support industries in Center for Excellence.
500 hectares of Bamboo Forest is needed to build an Economic Scale Processing Plant for
bamboo panels, plyboo, bamboo ply boards as well as backyard industry stated above. This
500 hectares bamboo plantation will be the source for the rest of the organization’s income
generating project on putting up in the future a Processing Plant for Income Generating Project
of the province and locality. According to study, bamboo’s life span is 120 years and its biomass
growth per year is 10% despite of intensive harvesting of matured poles, justifying the
sustainability of this venture.
PLAN OF OPERATION
B. Organization and staffing
Ampersand Green Box is the significant ecology –working organization in North Cotabato
Province with a large base of stakeholders particularly among farmers. The organization will be
overseen by a component set of board of directors and the Executive Director – Mr. Rimmon A.
Paren who is an environmentalist by heart, a boy farmer, an MBA Student and a bamboo
fanatic.
Proposed project partners will be sharing their expertise in management and workforce. The
project will be managed independently by a Project Director who will administer the operations
of the purchasing/ sourcing department (source out nursery planting material, polyvinyl bags,
nursery equipments, organic based pest and fungal control), processing/ propagation
department (sorting, classification, bagging, watering, pruning, fertigation), and marketing
department (promoting, selling, logistics).
The staff of the Bamboo Nursery will be hired competitively from the best professional in the
province to manage the operations of the plant in the most competent manner. Government
agencies will be tapped to serve as advisory group in the effective management of the project
such as provincial offices of the Department of Trade and industry, Department of AgricultureCEMIARC, PCCARD-Department of Science and Technology, Bureau of Plant Industries, USMATI, Department of Natural Resources, National Statistical Coordinating Board, Metro
Kidapawan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation Inc., International Network of
Bamboo and Rattan, Bamboo Cooperatives and Bamboo Societies.
C. Project Activities
The major activities of the Bamboo Nursery to achieve its objectives are:
1. Information campaign and organize water districts, farmers, learning institution for skills
training, upland farmers to elevate the awareness of the usefulness of the bamboo as an
ecological balancer and defines true meaning of sustainable livelihood.
2. Establish, procure/lease/borrow a nursery site and facilities that includes
A. 2,500 square meters land area to be leased
B. Purchase nursery equipments and planting materials
C. Development of tissue cultured bamboo propagules
D. Construction of a greenhouse
E. Construction of various propagation methods facilities
F. distribution (trucking, delivery)
3. Establish formal linkages to LGU’s, DENR, GOCC”s, Ecologist Group and Private Sectors,
4. Establish workable linkages with DTI, DA, DOST-PCCARD, Bamboo Societies, UP-Mindanao
and University of Southern Mindanao for R & D and other government agencies, NGOs and
private consulting firm to effectively manage the operations.
D. Financial Plan
The estimated total project cost is One Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php 100,000.00), the break
down to viz:
Bamboo Inc. counter part:
Land (lease contracts) Php 2,000.00
Initial working capital 8,000.00
----------------Subtotal Php 10,000
Requested fund:
Bamboo culms (500 poles) Php 25,000.00
Gardening Equipments and fixtures 29,505.00
Admin. And Labor Costs 27,250.00
Mobilization Funds 15,000.00
Other expenses 16,300.00
Liquidity Reserves 3,945.00
subtotal 96,055.00
Total project cost Php 100,000.00
Pricing and income targets
Selling price of the Bamboo (RPM) ready for planting materials will be based on the prevailing
selling price of other durable trees. The initial price should be 100.00 per propagule. A one
hectare land could be planted with 500 to 600 propagules thus spending 60,000.00 per hectare.
A projection of 500 hectares or more to be planted by bamboo is expected for the future source
of raw materials of the organization’s plan of establishing an Economic Size Bamboo
Processing Plant.
Net income will set at fifteen (15%) percent after the cost, wherein the income will be plowed
back for salaries of the management, caretakers, expansion and maintenance of the facilities.
The cost will be maintained on its competitive level by benchmarking on existing cost of
production.
E. Project Evaluation
The project will be evaluated using a results based management tool to measure the impact (as
projected in five years), outcome (in 3 years) and output (annual evaluation on the attainment of
objectives and target indicators).
The evaluation tool format is as follows:
Results-Output Results-Outcome Results-Impact Gaps, Issues, & Problems
Activities
Risk Mgt.
Quality
Quantity
Tasks & Milestones
Area Coverage
Personnel
Development