Updated September 23, 2022
Each year on 18 September, World Bamboo Day is celebrated worldwide. The day is observed to spread awareness across the globe for conserving a fast-growing plant called bamboo and promoting bamboo plantations along with the bamboo industry.
WBO (World Bamboo Organisation) marks Bamboo Day annually to conserve natural resources and large-scale environmental protection. The organization is also committed to wisely ensuring the use of bamboo and promoting the cultivation and traditional uses of bamboo for the economic growth of local regions.
Bamboos are tall tropical plants of the grass family found in warm, tropical, and subtropical parts of the plant earth. Bambusoideae is the scientific name for Bamboo. Young bamboo plants can be eaten, and the complex parts of the plant are used for manufacturing furniture, cloth, paper, pulp, and drinking straws.
History of World Bamboo Day;
World Bamboo Day was founded by Kamesh Salam on September 8 at the 8th World Bamboo Congress in Bangkok in 2009. From 2007 to 2010, Salam led the World Bamboo Organization as its president. In Bangkok, he organized the 8th World Bamboo Congress in 2009.
During this session, delegates from over 100 countries and Kamesh Salam decided to designate September 18 as World Bamboo Day. The date September 18 was chosen by them because the day is also marked as the Royal Thai Forestry Day.
As a result, the WBO’s Executive Director, Ms. Susanne Lucus, the Royal Thai Government’s Deputy Governor of Bangkok, Mr. Kamesh Salam, the WBO’s President, and others named September 18 the day World Bamboo Day.
Significance of World Bamboo Day;
Bamboo has to be one of the most versatile grasses of nature, from using it for feeding to making it an essential element for making a house. Bamboos are very strong and sturdy. Because of this, many people use bamboo in construction. Bamboo has high antibacterial and anti-fungal qualities, so it is used to prepare charcoal.
Several other Products manufactured from bamboo are furniture, musical instruments, toilet paper, biofuel, fabrics, cloth, paper, pulp, drinking straws, and skateboards.
Bamboo significantly contributed to the rural economy in both traditional and cultural ways, from birth to death, and as such, its importance is enormous. Most tribes and subtribes can be identified and recognized by the crafts they exercise and the bamboo huts they reside in.
Since 2009, World Bamboo Organization has been celebrating World Bamboo Day to generate awareness among the people about the importance of bamboo in the world. Also, on this day, the cultivation of bamboo is promoted.
The Theme of World Bamboo Day 2022:
Each year, WBO (World Bamboo Organisation) launch a specific theme for the celebration. The theme for Bamboo Day 2022 is “Bamboo for Green Life and Sustainable Development.” And the theme of World Bamboo Day 2021 was “#PlantBamboo. It is Time to Plant Bamboo”.
How World Bamboo Day is Celebrated?
There is no set rule on how to celebrate Bamboo Day. To mark this day, people from all over the world assemble to share their passion or love for bamboo. Some special events are organized, such as festivals, workshops, and webinars. Additionally, some communities host several concerts using bamboo-made musical instruments.
You can celebrate this day by participating in these events and visiting the workshops, festivals, and webinars. And if you are interested in learning about flora and fauna, then you can start learning more about bamboo on this day. Also, you can try to make some instruments from bamboo or buy bamboo-made kinds of stuff from the market.
Bamboo is the most versatile grass in nature. It has enormous importance to our local tribal communities. So, it should be used wisely, not relentlessly. You can start an online campaign on social media like #preservebamboo #conservenature #worldbambooday2022.
International Bamboo Day Quotes;
(I) “The young bamboo can be easily bent, but the full-grown bamboo breaks when it is bent with force.” – Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.
(II) “Mention that the most powerful tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow remains by bending with the wind.” – Bruce Lee
(III) “The bamboo that curves are stronger than the oak that opposes.” – Japanese Proverb
(IV) “There is one thing sure about life: Life will push us hardly many times! When you are pushed, don’t be surprised; stay firm like a plane tree or be elastic like a bamboo!” – Mehmet Murat Ildan
(V) “My mother always says, “The bamboo that bends is stronger than the oak.” I can be very focused and determined. But I can also be very stubborn. Be flexible be nuanced.” – Sarah Lafleur
(VI) “I wanted to encourage people not to work following a bamboo ceiling. Whatever you are — yellow, black, white, brown — you don’t have to let your skin determine who you are or how you perform your business.” – Eddie Huang
(VII) “Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the god.” – Derek Walcott
(VIII) “Destroy the man of wicked thoughts, Like a bamboo tree with its fruit.” – Gautama Buddha
(IX) “Bamboo is not a weed, it’s a flowering plant. Bamboo is a magnificent plant.” – Steve Lacy
(X) “Learn about a pine tree from a pine tree, and about a bamboo plant from a bamboo plant.” – Matsuo Basho
(XI) “Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind.”– Bruce Lee.
(XII) “I stopped using plastic cooking spoons years ago and love my bamboo spoons and spatulas by Bambuhome.”– Anna Getty
(XIII) “But I was also doing odd jobs around Portland, like spreading gravel and transplanting bamboo trees.”– Elliott Smith
(XIV) “Memory that yearns to join the centre, a limb remembering the body from which it has been severed, like those bamboo thighs of the god.”– Derek Walcott.
(XV) “Learn about a pine tree from a pine tree, and about a bamboo plant from a bamboo plant.”– Matsuo Basho
Frequently Asked Questions on International Bamboo Day
Ans: The theme of World Bamboo Day 2021 was ”#PlantBamboo, it is Time to Plant Bamboo”.
Ans: World Bamboo Day is celebrated worldwide. The day is observed to spread awareness across the globe for conserving a fast-growing plant called bamboo and promoting bamboo plantations along with the bamboo industry.
Ans: The theme for World Bamboo Day 2020 was ‘BAMBOO NOW.’