LUCENA CITY, Quezon — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Quezon has embarked on extensive skills training under the bamboo research and development program for designers and furniture makers in Quezon Province in a bid to make bamboo an export-quality and competitive product.
Grace Ledesma of DTI-Quezon told Philippine News Agency on Wednesday that their office has been coordinating and collaborating with product designers and furniture makers here to craft the skills and capability enhancement training on product designs and introduce new quality furniture products.
Ledesma cited Nikolai Njord Chua as one of the product designers who submitted designs and encouraged furniture makers on a test production if the prototype designs are easy and practical to produce.
She said the New Gumaca Woodcraft MPC furniture makers also responded to produce the prototype designs using the bamboo materials and discovered these are practical and cheaper alternative products for floor tiles.
She also reported encouraging results that this city’s hardware and construction stores have been looking for unique and attractive floor tiles, prompting the DTI-Quezon to include bamboo in its industry cluster and product development.
Recent meetings with the product designers and furniture makers also tackled ways to produce durable yet cheaper bamboo tiles as alternative to the common ceramic tiles.
DTI-Quezon is also adopting a system of producing the bamboo tiles based on the “economies of scale” including the value chain from the bamboo growers to the producers and manufacturers to make it cheaper than the commercial tiles.
Ledesma also said that they are supporting the bamboo tiles production to make it sustainable through assistance to organized bamboo growers and the establishment of bamboo nurseries in the province.
Farmers and farm workers here are also encouraged to sustain their bamboo growing livelihood like in Tayabas City, since the plant easily grows, is resilient and could lessen soil erosion and mitigate the effects of climate change. (Gideon Belen/PNA)
