Bamboo as a building material for meeting East Africa’s housing needs : a value chain case study from Ethiopia

Abstract

This paper assesses the potential of bamboo building materials to meet East Africa’s urgent housing needs, with special reference to Ethiopia. A value chain and sustainability study entitled “Development and Promotion of Bamboo Housing Technology in East Africa” is central to the project. Traditional Ethiopian bamboo building processes are evaluated, and recommendations are made for enhanced government support of the industry through: 1) promotion of bamboo construction projects in urban and rural housing development programmes; 2) preparing building codes and product standards for bamboo housing and construction products; and 3) creating clear conservation and utilization policies for bamboo resources