Trainees in bamboo, rattan furniture production pass out
Ghana is seeking the assistance of China to grow the various bamboo species suitable for the furniture industry as alternative to timber and other wood products to reduce the pressure on Ghana’s forest.
This is because the local species have been found not to be good for the manufacturing of furniture and other products made from wood.
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The Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources, Mr Benito Owusu Bio, who made this known, said the government was committed to developing the Bamboo and Rattan industry for export to the international market.
He stressed the need to encourage bamboo plantation in the country, especially the species used by the Chinese in their furniture industry to serve as climate change mitigation measure and preserve the nation’s forest reserve.
Bamboo plantation
At the passing out ceremony of participants in the Overseas Training Programme on Bamboo and Rattan at Akyawkrom, Mr Bio said the government was developing a model bamboo plantation at Juaso in the Ashanti Region and would soon expand the project to cover the other parts of the country to have more species to be used for furniture, plywood and other products.
He said it should be possible for the timber millers to also divert into bamboo processing and acquire the technology that would help to mill the product into the raw materials needed by artisans in the sector.
Appreciation
The deputy minister expressed the country’s gratitude to the Chinese government for helping to upgrade the skills of artisans in the bamboo and rattan sector as part of efforts to improve on the products from the sector and also increase Ghana’s share of the export from the sector.
He said the training had saved the country lot of resources and also helped to increase the number of beneficiaries.
According to him, Ghana was sending at most 10 participants a year to China to sharpen their skills in the bamboo and rattan processing.
He said since the in-country training started last year, over 150 artisans had benefited from it.
Industrial attachment
Mr Owusu Bio said the country was considering sending the trainees on industrial attachment in China to learn at first-hand how the bamboo and rattan were produced.
That, according to him, would further expose them to new technologies and ideas and would expand their knowledge in the sector for the benefit of the Ghanaian industry.
New skills
The Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy, Mr Chai Zhijing, also congratulated the trainees on successfully completing the training.
He was hopeful that the trainees would use the newly acquired skills to improve upon locally manufactured bamboo and rattan products.
