Bamboo Treatment: Boric-Borax Solution


“Here’s a mild chemical treatment recipe: Mix 10kg boric+15kg borax for 200lts water (warm enough to dissolve the borax in it). Puncture the bamboo nodes and fill it up with this solution. Let it stand saturated for a week. Let it dry and ta-daa, it’s ready to be used!” Best for indoor nature-friendly uses.

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Bamboo Mat Design Options

Bamboo mat designs
Bamboo mat designs

There are many different uses for bamboo mat such as wall treatments, ceilings, floor mats, placemats, furniture and cabinet door panels. The natural textures and hues add a special touch to a home. Millions of low cost homes in the tropics use bamboo mat as the main covering over lightweight wall framing. The image above shows just a few available designs. Check your local suppliers or order online.

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Warka-Water, Ethiopia

WarkaWater is designed to provide clean water
WarkaWater is designed to provide clean water

The 30ft high bamboo ‘flower basket’ that can pluck drinking water from thin air
• Structures use condensation to take water from the air in morning fog
• Can be built by villagers and transported to most needed areas by donkey
• Designed to be used in Ethiopia where wells cannot be dug

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Building with Earthbags and Adobe/Cob

Our house mid-construction. Earthbags on bottom, bamboo frames for wattle-and-daub on top.
Our house mid-construction. Earthbags on bottom, bamboo frames for wattle-and-daub on top.

“As a little girl, and a young woman, I always dreamed of building my own house someday but I never had a specific desire for it. I knew that the right house would come along at the right time and with the right partner, and we’d build something that fit our needs, together.

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Natural Materials in the Workspace

Bamboo coworking space in Ubud, Bali
Bamboo coworking space in Ubud, Bali

Most of our blog posts are about affordable housing made with natural materials. The use of natural materials in the workspace is equally important since we spend so much time there. This coworking space in Bali is changing the way we work. It’s sort of a business incubator with shared office equipment and high speed Internet for digital nomads or location independent entrepreneurs. The concept seems to be catching on as other coworking spaces are popping up around the world. The bamboo design makes this one particularly inspiring.

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