For immediate release:

BBF NEWS - VOLUME I, Issue #1
Sunday, November 9th, 2003

PUBLISHED BY THE BAMBOO BRAZIL FOUNDATION (www.bambubrasil.org)

After launching BambuBrasil.org as a Portal for Bamboo Development &
Cooperation in Brazil, we have had over 500 visitors from 17
countries. Our Discussion Group hosted by YAHOO now has 40 members
compromising a multidisciplinary group of architects, artisans,
botanists, designers, ecologists, engineers, scientists,
permaculturists, researchers, university professors, and plant
taxonomists.

Why Bamboo and Why Brazil?
---
A non-profit 501(c)3 charitable institution to disseminate the use of
bamboo in Brazil, foster sustainable development throughout country,
create appropriate rural technologies, improve the lives of the poor,
through the process of promoting, planting, and educating about
bamboo.
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We reaffirm our mission for promoting sustainable development of
bamboo in Brazil through an innovative and democrative process known
as BAMBÚCRACIA (BAMBU + DEMOCRACIA). By utilizing free and open-source
PEER PRODUCTION METHOLODIGES, we aim to become a federation of already
existant bamboo NGOs in Brazil and bring them under one roof for
mutual cooperation, synergy, and benefit.

Our initial phase:

1) Registering the domainname www.bambubrasil.org at GoDaddy.com

2) Creation of BambuBrasil.org by Web Developer Ricardo Capistran
(EnterateNorte.com), located in Matamoros, Mexico utilizing an
open-source system known as PostNuke.

PostNuke, the =-Phoenix-= release (0.726)

PostNuke is a weblog/Content Management System (CMS). It is far more
secure and stable than competing products, and able to work in
high-volume environments with ease.

Some of the highlights of PostNuke are Customisation of all aspects
of the website's appearance through themes, ncluding CSS support The
ability to specify items as being suitable for either a single or all
languages The best guarantee of displaying your webpages on all
browsers due to HTML 4.01 ransitional compliance A standard API and
extensive documentation to allow for easy creation of extended
functionality through modules and blocks

Currently, we support Brazilian Portuguese/English/Spanish.

http://www.elciclo.com.mx/bambu/

2) Graphic Design of our logo and webcontent by Dimitri in Belgium. He
is responsible for maintaining our graphic identity, color schemes,
and CSS support.

3) Compilation of all existing bamboo research and newspaper articles
written in Portuguese and being translated by professional translators
through ProZ.com

4) Providing free email to members of bambu-brasil Discussion Group
hosted by YAHOO! and moderated by Raphael Vasconcellos
(BambuBrasileiro.com). If you would like , do
not hesitate to contact us at

5) Establishing our volunteer network of over 10 individuals from
various disciplines but similiar goals, to aid our Foundation with
it's goals in Brazil.

6) Collecting over 250 photographs of bamboo work in Brazil at our
Discussion Group at YAHOO, creating a CD of all existing bamboo
research, photography, and achievement in Brazil during
the past 20 years.

7) Linking our website to various bamboo organizations, nurseries, and
individuals. If you would like to link to us, please send us an email
at

8) Created an AMAZON HONOR SYSTEM PAGE to collect donations. Our goal
is $1,000 by December 31st, 2003. This fund will be used to cover our
web registration, hosting, development, and lawyer in Washington, D.C.
Our non-profit organization will be based in the future in Washington,
D.C.

http://www.amazon.com/paypage/P3I7LT2SPC2DTX

Special THANKS to those who donated!

9) Solicitation of select bamboo publications for immediate
translation into Portuguese

10) Request for affiliation with INBAR (International Network of
Bamboo and Rattan). Raphael Vasconcellos and João Paglione interned at
INBAR Headquarters in Beijing in 2001 and we attempted to lobby the
Brazilian Embassy to become a member country. Brazil is still not a
member country, despite having the largest potential for bamboo
development in the Western Hemisphere.

11) Send proposals to over 50 NGOs in the United States, including but
not limited to: The Rainforest Alliance, Earth Island Institute, The
Healthy Building Network, International Institute for Sustainable
Development (IISD) -- United Nations, Environmental and Energy Study
Institute, FiberFutures.org, New Uses Council, Flora.ca, The
Foundation Center, The Institute For Local Self-Reliance,
Idealist.org, Inter-Redes.org.br,REALICE PROJECT RESEARCH, and the
GATES FOUNDATION.

Much work lies ahead and we are grateful for those individuals who see
the potential in our organization and our commitment to

"To make a long story short"

In recent years, several NGOs were created in Brazil to address bamboo
development in Brazil. However, many of them were regionally based and
lacked sufficient funding from local governments. The Brazilian Bamboo
Foundation aims to create a federation of already existing bamboo
organizations under one roof for mutual synergy and benefit.

In March of 2000, the electronic discussion group Bambu-Brasil was
created by the industrial designer Raphael Vasconcellos
(www.bambubrasileiro.com) to address this problem. For over one year,
he researched bamboo through the internet and translated this valuable
information into Portuguese. He worked relentlessly for many years at
his university in developing design ideas to promote bamboo throughout
the country.

During this same time, I came across his discussion group online while
researching bamboo. At that time, I became involved with bamboo by
chance. A good friend of mine, an unemployed carpenter, had lost his
job and I was looking for ways to help him. At his home, he had
designed a "Balinese" style bamboo chair utilizing Dendrocalamus
Giganteus. People often walked by and complimented him on his "Bamboo
Throne" but no one gave any consideration to this Poor Man's Wood...

For over 2 decades, much research and work has been done in Brazil to
promote the use of bamboo. However, there was nothing to tie these
researchers together. Eventually, the electronic discussion group
Bambu-Brasil brought these people (researchers, academics, university
students, and curiosity seekers) together from around the country into
a forum to address these issues. At that time, I am sure none of us
realized the potential for embracing technology and social networks
for solving real-world problems through peer production methodologies.

Bambu-Brasil now has over 350 members which compromise the bulk of the
bamboo society in Brazil. It is the most active bamboo discussion
group online where members constantly exchange ideas, research, and
photos of bamboo developmental progress around the country. Currently,
there are well over 6,000 messages which deal with any subject
pertaining to bamboo possible. It is a remarkable achievement for a
country that doesn't even has a bamboo policy or Bamboo Society!

Academics, Agronomists, Architects, Civil Engineers,Researchers,
Scientists, Botanists, Taxonomists and many other quite curious
individuals use this forum to democratize bamboo information which is
mostly restricted to English and unaccessible by the general
population.

Just recently, INBAMBU (Instituto de Bambu do Brasil - Brazilian
Bamboo Institute) was formed out of a partnership of various
organizations: The Federal University of Alagoas, SEBRAE (Small
Business Association of Brazil), and BAMCRUS - www.bamcrus.com.br (A
national social bamboo non-governmental organization). Quite recently,
we can add to this growing list, the architect from Rio de Janeiro,
Celina Llerna who formed EBIOBAMBU - Bioarchitecture School of
Experimental Bamboo Use, and currently hosts Bamboo
Building courses in Rio de Janeiro.

Whereas bamboo was once the poor man's wood in Brazil, IBAMA
(Brazilian Forestry Department) now is beginning to recognize this
renewable non-wood resource as a vital component of sustainable
development in Brazil. Luciano Roitman, who together with João
Paglione, Raphael Vasconcellos (bambubrasileiro.com), and Marco
Antônio Pereira were at an international bamboo course in China, is
now a consultant for them in regards to bamboo.

For many years, Itapagé has used bamboo for paper making. They
cultivate over 40,000-60,000 (not confirmed)hectares of Bambusa
Vulgaris in Macéio, Northern Brazil. Now other micro-enterprises are
being created and bamboo cultivation and plantations are expanding.
Yet there are many natural bamboo stands that exist and are not being
used by the population because of lack of bamboo education.

For many decades now, many informal furniture making companies have
utilized "Cana d'India" (an expression used instead of "Bambu" to make
the bamboo furniture seem more resilient) for furniture production.
Our estimate is that anywhere from 1,000-5,000 artisans make their
living from bamboo furniture across the country.

INTRODUCTION

"Let's empower the poor to discover what's ALREADY in their
backyards!"

Brazil has the largest remaining area of tropical rainforest in the
world and arable land suitable for mechanized agriculture. However,
these areas are rapidly diminishing due to the non-sustainable use of
wood and timber for furniture making, construction and export to the
United States, Europe, and the world.

We also have one of the worst problems of social disparity, with 1% of
the population controlling 99% of the country's wealth. How can we
possible solve these problems? How can bamboo address such a large
socio-economic-educational paradigm?

The Bamboo is ALREADY there! Whether the Portuguese brought it from
India or China, or the Japanese brought môsso (Phylostachys
pubescens), there are uncountable areas of bamboo forests, natural or
exotic. These areas are being either inutilized or managed
unsustainably. The local population needs to be sensitized to bamboo
and view it as "Green Gold" as the Chinese see it and not as "The Poor
Man's Timber".

Perhaps by fostering sustainable development and reaching out to the
International Community, we can hope to achieve some remarkable goals
in Brazil.

1) Creation of a Brazilian Bamboo Society

2) Recognition of Bamboo as a Renewable Non-Wood resource by IBAMA
(Our forestry department responsible for auditing our national
territory and controlling deforestation/devastation of Brazil's
rainforest)

3) A decentralized democratic network which the Foundation ties
together to form a federation of charter members, brought together for
mutual benefit, synergy, and cooperation regardless of affiliation.

4) Creation of BambuBrasil.org as a Portal for ALL BAMBOO in BRAZIL,
not limiting itself to, free email for bambu-brasil yahoo discussion
group members, bamboo intranet, forums, events, calender, online
workshops, database system, dynamic content management system, photo
galleries, and whatever our imaginations and hearts can conjure..

5) Creation of a National Herbarium or regional centers to collect
native endemic species. We would like to partner with our friends at
BOTA (Bamboo for the Americas) http://www.bamboooftheamericas.org/ and
share their noble goals:

"The Bamboo of the Americas project is committed to accomplish the
following:

-Seek international and host country participation and assistance.
-Enhance the awareness of bamboo in the host countries while
attaining environmental objectives.
-Document the habitat of native bamboo in host countries.
-Assist in the construction and management of a native bamboo center
and a propagation nursery in the host countries.
-Collect and propagate native bamboo in the correct climate zone of
the host countries.
-Develop economic and distribution plans for the bamboo nursery in
host countries.
-Coordinate eco-tourism and educational groups in and to the host
countries.
-Develop a national collection of living native species, including a
herbarium.
-Begin research in the native species; including habitat, utilization
and range. Priority given to endangered species.
-Implement protection, propagation and restoration of habitat to
native bamboo species.
-Research and identification of the native species leading to an
educational display garden at a major eco-tourism resort.

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END

We are looking for contributors to this publication. Please contact us
for more information on how you can submit an article.

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BAMBOO BRAZIL FOUNDATION - FUNDAÇÃO BAMBUBRASIL
www.bambubrasil.org
www.geocities.com/bamboobrazilfoundation
Fone: 1-561-276-7327
Fax: 1-561-276-7327
eFax: 1-501-639-2695
2965 SW 22nd Avenue, apt205
Delray Beach, FL 33445
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