A display center of innovative bamboo products and novelty items is now open in the farming village of Balatong in this city to promote bamboo’s unlimited potential for business and job creation.

Coinciding with the celebration of Bamboo Month this September, the center is expected to attract bamboo enthusiasts with the increasing popularity of bamboo for its practical uses and aesthetic value.

“The showcased bamboo products at the center are for sale,” said Maricor Racela, senior trade industry development specialist and trade promotions officer of the Department of Trade and Industry-Ilocos Norte, in an interview Wednesday.

Racela said DTI tapped a design consultant and expert from Laguna province to train members of the Balatong Bamboo Processors Association in improving their bamboo weaving skills and craftsmanship and to come up with relevant designs that are in demand in the market.

Among the products are winnowing baskets, wall decors, and other novelty items that are most sought after by hotels and resorts.

“They undergo product development and are exposed to national trade fairs to inspire them further to improve their designs and the quality of bamboo crafts to attract a bigger market,” Racela added.

Bamboo production and processing are among the sunrise industries in this city and in the province that both the local and national governments want to focus on.

Aside from expanding bamboo plantations and capacitating bamboo weavers, the DTI is also assisting local players in marketing their products by joining government-organized trade fairs.

Balatong Bamboo Processors Association president Rosalinda Tugade thanked the DTI and the Laoag City government for revitalizing the bamboo industry, noting that it offers huge potential to Ilocanos looking for an alternative livelihood to increase their income.

“We are grateful for the support of the government, which inspires us to improve our craft,” she said in an interview.

Laoag City Mayor Michael Keon and several members of the City Council graced the opening and blessing of the display center as they encouraged the community to plant bamboo to address the demand for novelty items as well as a climate change mitigation strategy due to its carbon-absorbing capability.

A bamboo sanctuary is now being developed near the sanitary landfill in the village of Balatong as a future eco-tourism site.

“Bamboo is not only good to rehabilitate degraded lands and for protection purposes but it is also a carbon sink, which captures greenhouse gases from the atmosphere,” said Mylene Pascual, head of the Laoag City Environment and Natural Resources Office.

She said the sanctuary could offer an alternative livelihood for local communities and help solve the declining number of bamboo plants in the area. (PNA)