permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <london@metalab.unc.edu>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2000 17:31:19 -0600
From: Frederick Spielberg <fspielberg@oxfam.org.ni>
To: simonh@sos.net
Cc: permaculture@sunsite.unc.edu, fspiel@ibw.com.ni
Subject: Use of bamboo on flood-prone riverbanks

Dear Sirs/Madams:

I happened on your link via "Bamboo People."

A technical question:  I have recently toured communities in northern
Honduras devastated by floods following Hurricane Mitch in October 1998
and again last September.  Local governments in the fertile floodplain
around San Pedro Sula annually spend millions of dollars they can scarcely
afford repairing destroyed riverbank walls. Bamboo seems to be a common
site in the region, yet the riverbank walls are NOT planted with the
species.  Most often the banks are left uncompacted, or when compacted,
bare of trees.  Is bamboo a useful tool in securing the soil of a flood
prone riverbank? And what are the down-sides of utilizing the plant in
such an environment?

Thank you in advance for any help you can throw my way.

Sincerely,

Fred Spielberg
Regional Emergency Officer
Oxfam/Great Britain in Nicaragua

Please respond to:

fspiel@oxfam.org.ni