Bamboo alleviates charcoal, fuel wood shortages

Marketwatch.com reports that US based EcoPlanet Bamboo Group has launched EcoPlanet Bamboo Southern Africa in order to expand their global operations. This follows the purchase of local bamboo plantation developer SA Bamboo Corp and the appointment of the company's founder Jan Adriaan van Zyl as EcoPlanet Bamboo South Africa's new president.

CEO of EcoPlanet Bamboo Group Troy Wiseman told Marketwatch.com that the acquisition of SA Bamboo Corp offers his company the benefit of existing research & development and operating experience. EcoPlanet Bamboo has now access to "established mature bamboo nurseries and a series of pilot plantation farming projects within South Africa's Eastern Cape which is one of the country's poorest [provinces]," Wiseman said, adding that the Eastern Cape is 60% rural, with a 27% rate of unemployment. EcoPlanet Bamboo Southern Africa expects to create over 300 jobs in 2012.

EcoPlanet Bamboo Southern African will focus on the development of commercial bamboo plantations and processing, offering solutions to the ever-increasing shortage of charcoal and fuel wood within the region, and exploring opportunities in high value timber markets, using its chosen species, Bambusa balcooa. Bamboo can be substituted for structural components, flooring, decking and laminates, and many other products conventionally made out of wood.

Read the full article on www.marketwatch.com.