Another drive-by shot captures this cliff hanger of a house!
For once, I will participate with Jake’s Sunday Post on the correct day! His theme is Natural Resources, an easy one for me on this quiet Sunday morning! Although all tropical countries value bamboo/canya, the creative use of bamboo in Ecuador catches my eye quite often.
Drive-by shot; how’s this for an artfully-painted bamboo design?
Strips of flattened bamboo transform a patch of sand into an instant bamboo floor!
The watering hole is an easy trek across the sand! San Vicente, Ecuador
Quarter sections of bamboo add visual interest inside the house as well!
How great it is to see bamboo, a renewable resource, used as scaffolding!
Nightmare property! The bamboo siding seems to have held up better than the wood!
This fence is simple, yet so grounded to the earth!
This slideshow, which includes the above images, also shows the stages of preparing the bamboo and palm-thatch ‘porch’ for the riverhouse.
Thanks, Jake, for an earthy challenge!
When I am finished with my present painting, perhaps I’ll do something Bamboo!
Z
I’ve seen the scaffolding before. Very cool. I have no luck with bamboo, but my mom has a nice-sized plant growing. I guess it’s not in the genes. ;-). Interesting post. Thanks.
thanks, gemma. it’s funny, i tried to root some bamboo, and it did not take. the dwarf variety did, by divisions, and it is lovely.
as long as i can get fresh bamboo from time to time, that’s enough for me! it’s so lovely! z
I love bamboo! It’s so gorgeous growing, and so useful. love all the pics!
thank you! yes, it is so stately, and i love to hear the various sounds that come from a cluster of established bamboo!
I love this post. I have a lot of bamboo growing in the back yard. It goes wild! Especially when it thunderstorms. Cracks the bamboo and beds more. It is very sturdy and I am glad you showed the different ways it can be used. Love the drive by shot and inside the home!!
thank you! i am especially distracted by the way they split it and split it until it opens into a flat surface.. they notch each ‘knuckle’ all the way round until the entire piece has been treated.. then they take an ax and begin to split down one side.. after about a foot, they twist the ax a bit and rip the seam and repeat twisting action over and over until they reach the other end.
This is Great my friend for this week theme ,Thanks for posting 🙂
thank you, jake! you are so very welcome! z
This is such another remarkable post, Z! You’re right, bamboo is their resource in that part of the world.
thanks amiga! i love what they do with the bamboo here! and it grows back so fast!!!
z
Great choice for this week! I don’t have anything bamboo, but would like to try something made of bamboo. The big thing here is Wicker. Great post z 🙂
i found some amazing ‘wicker’ sort of birds and animals woven from the straw used to make panama hats. they are so beautiful and so happy! they’re featured in this post: https://playamart.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/creative-alternatives-for-home-security/
thanks for your comment!
z
Those are very interesting designs out of bamboo. We have lots of bamboo in my hometown. I guess I need more creativity 🙂
Seeing the creative ways they use bamboo often inspired other cultures. Hopefully your area will learn to appreciate this amazing resource! z
Love all the pictures, especially the ones of inside your riverhouse. Seeing the use of bamboo here in Ecuador has been amazing, espevially love the bamboo ladders 🙂
Great post !
si! i agree about the ladders, but wow are they ever heavy! it takes a strong person to move one! my images of ladders were horrible, so i passed on sharing those!
thanks so much for your comment!
z
Your posts are always delightful: they take me away from the cold and wind of a Minnesota Winter to your wonderful part of the world! Thanks so much.
i often forget that it’s cold up there right now! i am proud to give you a little vacation from winter! z
Wonderful idea for the them, z. 🙂 I love bamboo furniture, and have quite a lot in my house. The hanging house though……..oh boy!
their creative ways of adapting often amuse me! thanks! z
Great idea for the challenge – I like the workers especially. Also thinking about the contrast in styles between the ebullient Equadorian spirit and Japanese restraint in using bamboo. And yes, the sounds – wonderful!
you are so right about the contrasts! z
What a versatile resource, Lisa, and completely integral to your life.
it certainly is! i also have bamboo holders for kitchen items!
Lovely to see what people in Ecuador do with bamboo. I love the flooring.
thanks, amiga! i love watching what they can do with their hands as well. The bamboo looks really nice when painted as well.
z
Great zingy post about bamboo around your neck of the woods – the world’s most versatile grass, an endless natural resource for everything from scaffolding and floorboards, to fabrics for underwear and other garments – perfect. 🙂
thank you! this morning when picking mint and hibiscus for tea, i glanced at a patch of vivid green dwarf bamboo and wondered, hmmmm, what would a tea from bamboo leaves taste like?
have you ever tried that? there might be some great health benefits from bamboo leaves!
z
Well, Pandas like bamboo leaves, though they say they’re like eucalyptus leaves, not very nutritious!
ha! thanks for that tidbit of info! z
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I love bamboo but I espacially love my bomboo socks 🙂 Bamboo feels really good at your skin. I whish the industry would to more clothing from bamboo.
how great! i’ve never tried bamboo socks but will keep my eyes out for them the next time i am in a city! thanks! z
The first thing I thought of when I came here was tatami – I couldn’t figure out what it was or where it was found, so I went off on a search and discovered that is the word for Japanese straw mats.
With that solved, I came back to be astonished by all the uses for bamboo. Here, of course, it’s considered an invasive and is heartily cursed. The zoo animals can only eat so much! I wonder, too, about the species. What’s used there for scaffolding and such appears much larger and more sturdy than ours. Pehaps we just need to let it grow more!
Such wonderful photos – and I do like that interior house trim with bamboo. Very nice!