BAMBOO WORKSHOP NEARING COMPLETION

We launched our GlobalGiving UK Crowdfunding campaign on 10th June to “Build a Bamboo Workshop for 19 East Bali Villages”, setting an initial target to raise $5,000 in 40 days. We were all very excited when we had reached our goal by early July, with just over half of the funds donated by regular donors directly to our Foundation bank account, and further funding enabled us to increase the planned size of the workshop from the initial 24 square metres to 32 square metres (4 x 8). The basic, but professional, equipment like an electrical saw, sanding machine, pillar drilling machine and some painting tools will bring technological resources to the people from Desa Ban thanks to the support of all the campaign crowd funders! In addition, 3 laptops were donated by our new partner, COMO Shambhala Resort, through their MasterCard PwP CSE programme and a copy lathe and a thickness planer machine were donated by a very dedicated Indonesian donor who started supporting our sustainable community based Bamboo Sustainability projects in 2015, as a sign of his continued trust and confidence in this project.

Groundwork started at the end of July with basic earthworks and sourcing volcanic sand and rocks from the nearby Daya dry riverbed for our construction. When the area had been leveled, our senior high school students, who have their COMO Shambhala Resort sponsored Bamboo Skills training every Saturday at our Daya Bamboo Centre, did the first heavy work for the bamboo workshop on 6th August by carting and placing the rocks ready for the main foundations. T the time of writing this report, all the walls are now built, windows in place and we do plan to have the building completed with roof and roller shutter doors at front and back by the 3rdweek in September. After that, all of the machines will be installed, professional trainers will be recruited to train EBPP Bamboo team. led by EBPP Organic Farming and Bamboo Team Leader, I Ketut, a Ban village resident who joined EBPP in 1998 as our 2nd local staff, in professional use of all of the new tools and equipment.

As we do have 3 main bamboo craft products that our team and students have developed over the last few months,we are in the process of recruiting a bamboo crafts specialist to work with our team and students,who are becoming the future community trainers,to assist with quality control training and new product development so that the first bamboo products will be developed and ready for marketing and sales. These products will be shared on social media to give you the opportunity to continue being involved, both through receiving your feedback and purchasing handicrafts.

The photo selection here gives the step by step progress of this great Bamboo Workshop

I’ll close by giving a huge thank you to all of you who have supported us to achieve this major milestone in EBPP’s goal of sustainable community based social and economic development – with the first generation of children to be educated leading their parents and communities to an empowered and self-reliant future