Reaping Potential Of Bamboo, Bamboo Shoots

A Malay saying goes “if you want to bend the bamboo, do it while it was at a shoot stage” simply means if you want to mould your children do it when they are still very young.

Literally bamboo shoots are elastic and easier to bend while the stems which are stiff are tough nuts to crack. At whatever stages, bamboo and bamboo shoots are potential money-spinner.

Bamboo trees which used to grow wild in the jungles and along riverbanks in the villages are now cultivated on large scales due to their commercial values.

Bamboo can be made into building material such as plywood and parquet flooring, furniture, and handicraft products such as baskets.

Come Aidilfitri or Aidiladha celebrations, the hollow bamboo stems are widely in demand to make “lemang” (glutinous rice cooked in bamboo).

“Lemang” and gravy bamboo shoots cooked with coconut milk are two Malay traditional dishes served during festivals, gatherings and functions.

BAMBOO FARMS

Quick to take advantage of these potentials is Abdul Manas Itam, 64, from Johol who embarked on bamboo farm project on a four-hectare site on a trial basis in 2002.

He got wind of the idea when several Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) officers who visited him a few years ago convinced him on the bamboo potential.

“I heed their advice. Further more it’s not too difficult to grow bamboo. You just plant them once and you don’t need to re-plant them. You only just apply the fertilisers once a year.

“Bamboo are categorised as jungle produce and not timber. If we don’t plant them they will be depleted for the trees are cut off for their stems and shoots for all sort of purposes,” he told Bernama.

Abdul Manas started his bamboo farm project at Kampung Padang Jual, Serting near here covering an area of 0.8 hectare which had sprouted shoots last year.

His other bamboo farms are located at Kampung Kuala Johol, Kampung Solok Kelubi, Johol and Kampung Air Taling, Dangi near here.

With an initial capital of about RM7,000, Abdul Manas cleared the land and fenced up the area for his bamboo farm at Kampung Padang Jual.

BAMBOO SPECIES

Bamboo are planted between 8m to 9m apart to enable a clump of 350 plants to grow.

They can be grown either by cuttings from the branches or stems, and cultured tissues.

According to Abdul Manas, there are 60 species of bamboo in Peninsular Malaysia in which 28 are local wild species while the other 32 are grown on commercial basis.

Bamboo have a short harvesting cycle. It takes only two and a half-year for the bamboo plants to mature and can be harvested continuously for 20 years or more.

“Betung” and “tumpat” are the most popular species while other sought after species are “beting”, “duri”, “aur” and “brang”.

RICH PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO SHOOTS

Bamboo shoots are not only rich in vitamins such as vitamin B1, B-Carotene, vitamin B2 and Vitamin C but are also a good source of protein, fibre and carbohydrate.

The price of the shoots depend on their types, said Abdul Manas who also sells the shoots.

“I’m not selling a lot of them for I want the bamboo trees to grow unhindered for now,” he said, adding that he receives orders from as far as Melaka.

He said unprocessed bamboo shoots are sold at RM5 per kg while the processed ones are priced at RM8 per kg.

The spicy chilli bamboo shoots cooked with coconut milk is a popular Negeri Sembilan dish which can be taken with smoked beef or chicken.