ANTEQUERA , Bohol – This interior town is not only the “basket capital” but also the source of well-crafted bamboo furniture that draws tourists every market day ( Sunday) but its makers and producers expressed concern over the diminishing supply of raw materials. Francisco Segovia , who is already in his old age and has been making sofa sets made of bamboo in barangay Sto. Rosario since his young age, said in an interview in his shop that raw materials for this cottage industry is becoming scarce. Whenever he can no longer harvest his own bamboo plants within his landholding and ran out of materials for the furniture he just sources out somewhere including Maribojoc town, he said. But he said that his daily chores in making sofa sets up to the last details and finishes of each part make him able to send his children in school.

He said that almost every household of about a hundred in this remote barangay engages in sofa-amaking. His claim is corroborated by his neighbor of group of makers being interviewed separately. He said he believes this barangay is the only one employing in this kind of craftsmanship and main livelihood. He said that his products are sold in Tagbilaran City only since they have no other access in other markets. They (his family) are renting a little area near the Island City Mall apparently for showcasing their bamboo made sets. Other barangays are into basket-making and other native products, thus the moniker, “basket capital,” it was learned. Whenever planting season, he attends to his small rice farm, he said.

Meanwhile, the provice of Bohol was not listed in having bamboo plantation in the country. Based on some studies including the Philippine National Report on Bamboo and Rattan, areas of concerns in developing bamboo are identified. These include the lack of concerted effort in plantation development; delineation of areas for plantation devt; inadequate technology mechanism; pre-mature harvesting as demand increases; inadequate support services; no standard grading and classification of raw materials; ineffective gov’t policies on cutting, transporting and monitoring of bamboo. “ Bamboo stands out among woody plants because it possesses unique qualities and offers a wide array of uses,” It has been used as an inexpensive source of housing materials, furniture, handicraft, banana props, fishpens and other innumerable products. It is also a source of food and culinary craving.

Through the years, bamboo’s uses have largely diversified and benefited many industries. “Bamboos   are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family  Poaceae , subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe  Bambuseae . Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family.” No one really could tell the origin of bamboo but legend had it that “the first man and the first woman were split open from a bamboo stem that emerged on an island created after the battle of the elemental forces (Sky and Ocean). ” Some 23 of these about a thousand species are said to be endemic in the Philippines.