How Bamboo is going to reduce the cost of living

A national-wide plastics ban takes effect from September 2017, yet no one is giving small traders and consumers viable packaging alternatives. This means that the cost of living is again going to rise for the common mwananchi.

As the national chamber of commerce, we suggest that the Government consider the bamboo as the most viable option in producing bags that are cheap, recyclable, and bio-degradable. The country has vast amounts of bamboo that have never been exploited.

The number of products that can come from bamboo are numerous, but for now, we can use bamboo to produce eco-bamboo bags to replace plastic bags. They are bound to be cheaper and to create more jobs for factory workers and the farmers supplying bamboo.

The Webuye PanPaper company would be the best place to fully use bamboo to produce these bags. It is cost-effective as it only requires a few upgrades to its machines to manufacture the correct bags and in different sizes for the business community.

Many farmers in western Kenya have bamboo plantations which they have no idea how to fully utilise. The company could open up a new economic frontier for them in the bamboo. This would reduce their dependence on sugar, whose fortunes have dwindled. Besides, planting bamboo across the region would increase forest cover and improve carbon credits.

This will go a long way in conserving our environment and reducing the cost of living. Counties must also look up to bamboo to create related cottage industries to tap this plant’s enormous but untapped potential. Geoffrey Vukaya, Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vihiga