Hi Cory - glad to see you here.

yes we have some bamboo at the farm. There's a smallish patch near the old (now destroyed) farm house though, and we were kind of wondering why it hadn't spread more over the past 20 years of growing wild.

what kind of soil conditions does bamboo grow best in - anyone know? We've already talked about planting some. Didn't know it would take 4 years to mature. For some reason I though bamboo grew quicker, but I don't have much experience to back that up.

>>yes we have some bamboo at the farm. There's a smallish patch near the old (now destroyed) farm house though, and we were kind of wondering why it hadn't spread more over the past 20 years of growing wild.<<

In Oregon it grows like a weed, overtakes anything, and is very, very hard to get rid of.

If I remember right, it does best in a faily wet locale, either from a waterway or like in Oregon where it is just wet a lot of the time. Maybe the area at the farm was too dry.

Maybe the area at the farm was too dry.

Yes, this particular patch is up on a ridge. There may be a lot more growing in areas closer to the river that we haven't yet explored.

Aren't there different kinds of bamboo, or is it basically all the same variety?

Most bamboos grow well in moist, well drained and fertile soil .... it says here. :)

The bamboo I used in the US gulf coast was called Moso, and it grows the full height its first year. After that its fibers get stronger each year.

This image shows a pile of it: http://actionhero.smugmug.com/ga llery/1557279#75160621

Maybe the type of bamboo you have at the farm is a "clumping" verity which doesn't spread like the "running" rhizomes.

I'll look into what kind grows in Uganda, and what would serve best for building. Could someone find out what kind you have on the farm and in the area?

Bamboo grows well in Kitgum in a place called Lukung.there are plently some are domestic and others wild.the one which grow at home takes about 4years as stated but the wild ones it's not specific and I believe in the farm it will grow well especiall the domestic.

munnu

I can't even begin to enumerate the uses I have seen here for bamboo. Almost all scaffolding is bamboo. I thought I could find a picture I had of the first apartment building I lived in. They painted this 11 story building and all of the scaffolding was bamboo tied together with plastic ribbon or rope. Cooking, drain pipes, flower pots, eating, building, ladders, broom handles, curtains, mats, musical instruments...maybe more uses than coconut shells!

And some of it makes incredible decorative plantings .... red stems...

Since opok farm is highly fertiled; i don't know whether baboo requires fertily or infertily i need some tips on it, but i think bamboo will grow well just like Munnu said in his suggestion and ours can be more than that of lukung, which is largely being on sale for the whole of Gulu town, yes opok can do as well.

Bamboo reminds me of my grandfather who had roofed his house using them.He also used the bamboo to trap rain water.

I almost forgot bamboo furniture

What looks like a good place to start to learn about growing bamboo.

Photos of beautiful bamboo structures:

http://www.deboerarchitects.com/ Bamboostructures.html

http://www.bambootech.org/showga llery.asp?catid=13#

http://www.deboerarchitects.com/ BambooThoughts.html

Lots of links to info about bamboo and other green building ideas:

http://www.greenhomebuilding.com /bamboo.htm

http://www.pacificbamboo.com/com munity

http://www.rainforestinfo.org.au /good_wood/bamboo.htm

I'm not yet a bamboo expert, but I'm sure it will not be hard to build a bamboo structure at the farm. We can get bamboo from somewhere else to begin with, then start growing more.

I'd like to be in Uganda this November. I don't know the Opok Farm project time line yet.

When are you planning to start building?

What do you think about making a bamboo dome?

It there funding to support such a project?

I have to say that a bamboo dome is not high on our priority list for funding right now, Cory. For now, with personal funds dwindling quickly, we're hoping to get some basics funded that can help us clear and plant more land. But anyway, how much do you imagine your bamboo dome would cost? And what would it's functional purpose be?

Here is a dream - how about $10,000 from the get 100 people in your group thing at Razoo? We are up to 73 ....

Dare to dream, I sure do. Be aware that Invisible Children has exploded to over 400 members in their Razoo group in the last few days and has the capacity to drive many votes for the $10,000 Razoo funding event. I think Opok can get to 100 members by 10/1 (the new extended deadline), but will also then be competing with IC, Peace Tiles and many others for the most votes.

Linda... tonight, I will ask everyone in my email list to join the opok farm group on Razoo and the action hero group. If action hero gets it, we'll make the dome. If Opok gets it, I hope we make the dome.

The dome would be a gathering place, dorm, workshop and playground. It is an open space shade structure. We could do anything with it.

The cost would be the cost of bamboo, rope and canvas. Hard to say what these will cost. I'll look into it.

Can anyone there look into the cost of bamboo that could be used for building?

Thanks for the info mark. And this is the power of unity... they have a large network.

What do you folks know about IC's work in Uganda? Someone said that 50% of the money they get goes to Washington lobbyists. Is this true?

I don't want to bash their work to get votes... but if this is true, it is a waste of a lot of money. I really don't know, so I'm keen to hear from you folks.

I believe that if we can come up with a concrete visible plan for helping visible people with the names of people doing the work....

Has anyone there any numbers on the cost of a well?

My mind is working...

As part of the speedgranting that Invisible Children got, I wrote to people asking for disclosure of how the money they have been collecting for the past couple of years was spent. I didn't get a response from a single person there. I want someone to show me where all of the money that is being generated by Invisible Children is going. I am really getting frustrated. :-(

This is really affordable construction! And it is SOOOOOOO beautiful!

While I understand IC frustration, given the history with omidyar.net, Omidyar Network, Life in Africa, Grace, Christina, myself and so many, amny people here with the Invisible Children org, I really would encourage us to not get into a negative IC mode here.

edit: spelling

I am sorry if that appeared to be my intention because it is not. I just think that with a workable, detailed plan and total transparency, we can set the bar at Razoo.

I love the idea of an alliance with your actionhero network, Cory! Here's a link to a razoo action I set up earlier today.

Join the Opok Farms group at Razoo

One question - how long do you think the canvas part of the dome construction will last in our equatorial storms? That's very likely to be the most expensive and yet most fragile part.

but ok... so this discussion of razoo ties into one of the things I've been wanting to discuss with Linda on community building. Seems to me there needs to be a two step process when we think about housing for the village. First, we need to get people out there and able to live in the wilderness, so that they can build their houses.

On another thought line completely, the eco-tourism ideas that we really think have the most potential are targeted at local community and school groups, with Opok Farm as an educational retreat-type destination within reach of Gulu and Murchison Falls national park. One of the things I dream of is an open space event center - in other words, large covered areas for group meetings, with a large kitchen capacity and dorm-like sleeping arrangements. Another thing we've dreamed about is educational play - treehouses, birdwatching platforms and info display points built into special features in the landscape.

So what I'm thinking right now is an enhanced version of what I was thinking before Cory's bamboo dome idea came up... if (and that's a big if) we can manage to get the $10,000 thru razoo, I'd suggest that we use it to build the dorms, latrines, meeting spaces, and kitchen facilities that can serve the eco-tourism purpose down the line, while temporarily housing the village population of child-families for the first 6-12 months they are there (ie, while they are learning to build their own homes).

Could be very cool to think about 1 or more bamboo domes serving the purpose.

Has anyone there any numbers on the cost of a well?

A borehole costs about shs13m (about $8,000)

There is one borehole that needs renovating (about $2,500)

There are several springs. It's recommended that we protect them with a cement structure at a cost of about $2,000 each.

Christina, you are right about the canvas on the dome. It could be the most expensive part, but I'm thinking about keeping the sewing to a minimum. That would reduce the cost a lot. I will use a bunch of tarps that tie together when I create one. When they get damaged, they will be easy to fix.

I learned a lot from setting up the 60ft dome on the US Gulf coast after Katrina. The dome cover had a lot of zippers that broke, and it was one huge piece with a sun roof, which was very heavy and hard to get perfectly in place. We needed a fire engine ladder truck crane to lower it on. That's me on the left: http://actionhero.smugmug.com/ga llery/1059510#53101224

Thanks for your messages about IC. I've talked to James at IC, who lives in Gulu. Do any of you know him? I told him that I didn't like this video ( http://www.invisiblechildren.com /theMovie/media/index.php?mediaI D=1003816137 ) and he said something like "Don't get me started." No point into going into the negative... I hear that loud and clear from everyone, so, back to creating want we want and not worrying about anything else.

There is so much openness and intelligence here, I see no reason why we can't unite and gather as much support as is need to re-create Eden.

As for eco-tourism... I'm all about it! I'm working on making a youth hostel here at home in Canada and one in Mexico. The project in Mexico is a bit like what you have in mind. Last year was the first year really. We had about 20 people there exploring and doing service projects. Mostly everyone just had a good time and enjoyed the cultural exchange. The family I live with there has given me a bunch of land in a remote location to create a school: http://tribes.tribe.net/roblito/ photos/b5136279-6497-4e26-896a-e 05738f33d5b

Christina... I liked what you wrote about youth from North America going to Uganda to help the needy, but really they will get so much out of it. We are better off looking at the volunteer opportunities as partnership building. I don't say that we are going to Mexico to help the poor, even though we buy them bikes and bring them soccer shoes. Others gave a guitar, a piano and a sewing machine, but we all gained so much from the experience.

Argon, a super hero bike rider from Portland, Oregon is visiting me this weekend. He was with us in Mexico too. I found this on his tribe profile:

In the Service of Life

Serving is different from helping. Helping incurs debt. But serving, like healing, is mutual. Serving is also different from fixing. There is distance between ourselves and whatever or whomever we are fixing. Fixing is a form of judgment. All judgment creates distance, a disconnection, an experience of difference. If helping is an experience of strength, fixing is an experience of mastery and expertise. Service on the other hand, is an experience of mastery, surrender, and awe. We cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected-- that which we are willing to touch. We serve life not because it is broken, but because it is holy.

-Adapted from Rachel Naomi Remen

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Also the discussion about what is wealth and how much do we really need money is very important. More please! These are the conversations I plan to have with kids in schools here before I go to Uganda, during and after, and I want your help with developing these concepts. We get so stuck on money, and money is certainly not the answer to why we are on this planet. Most of us here in Canada are environmental millionaires and don't even realize it.

It is 3am and I've been online reading and watching videos most of this beautiful day. I also finished off details on six hammocks. I do them assembly line style. I'm committed to this work and keen to play with you all. For me, the pay off is getting to be with loving people in beautiful strange places.

<3