Guadua institutionalization processes in the coffee region

Abstract

This paper offers an overview of the emergence of bamboo (guadua) as a major natural resource in Colombia’s coffee region. Bamboo played a key role in rebuilding the region after the 1999 earthquake. The article describes why the bamboo is an important natural and economic resource in the foregoing geographical area and presents some of the technological uses of this resource. Finally, the paper shows the cultural impact that the use of bamboo is having in the region.