Creating opportunities with bamboo

By Venessa Deosaran

Bamboos are some of the fastest growing plants in the world. Knowing this, Donrad Correia from Kabakaburi, Pomeroon is skilfully utilizing bamboo growing in abundance in his area to produce functional craft and also teach others to use this avenue to generate income.

Correia is a beneficiary of the Bamboo Technology Training conducted in Guyana by experts from China. He also attended a two-month training course in bamboo craft in China. He now uses his training and skills he developed using bamboo to help others to learn his art.
In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine, Correia said it’s the first time people in Guyana are utilizing bamboo to provide distinct craft. He added it is a unique material that has to be treated before working with. The bamboo, once properly treated, will last up to 60 years. The treatment involves boiling, steaming and preservation.
“In 2005, the Chinese were conducting the first training sessions in using bamboo at the Sophia Exhibition Centre. I saw the course published in the newspaper and I applied for it and was accepted. I spent six months training. Then at the GuyExpo, orders flowed in and it started from there. The Ministry of Tourism saw what I was doing and asked me to teach others from where I lived. I spent another six months teaching them. I was then offered by the Chinese Embassy a scholarship to go to China in 2005 to train in bamboo work. I have continued to teach bamboo work; the last session I had was in Kabakaburi, Region Two, and next month I will venture into other areas teaching this,” Correia disclosed.
The bamboo expert was a teacher at the St Monica Primary School in the Upper Pomeroon; he was also a carpenter and village Toshao, and is now into bamboo production. His great grandmother was a potter and his mother was also a teacher who was involved in pottery. Their creativity, he said, was passed on to him.
Correia produces chairs, bed frames and other functional items made from bamboo. The pieces from the big jobs, he stated, are recycled and used to make jewel boxes and other ornaments. He also strips the bamboo and uses it as weaving to make beautiful home items.
“This I’m doing here and teaching others is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s a very wide area to work in and has great potential. Bamboo can also be made into charcoal which is said to alleviate certain health risks. There is also the difference between bamboo and plastic combs. The bamboo comb provides significant massage therapy for your scalp as against the plastic combs we use. It is also said if you use bamboo combs from a tender age it helps to prevent gray hairs and this has been proven 6,000 years ago. It’s a multi-purpose material which garners income for those who want to get into it,” he advised.
Presently, Correia said, the bamboo products are made by hand. However, there are machines that work with bamboo and produce triple the amount of work in a few seconds. Work that takes days to produce, the machines can produce in minutes. He said if these machines can be brought into Guyana he thinks there would be a great boost in generating significant revenue.
“The demand is great and so with these machines we can meet these. Right now we’re limited because we can only do so much by hand. The bamboo is readily available because it grows a lot here and so it provides a wide opportunity for bamboo craft, organic foods and much more. I will be teaching more classes soon and with more support we can expand our work,” Correia revealed.
Kabakaburi, Region Two, is the first Amerindian village to be producing bamboo weaving and furniture. Much of it is accomplished with aid from the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.
For more information on bamboo craft, call Correia on 616-9692. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)