Towns in Leyte province are encouraged to venture into bamboo production to respond to growing global demand for its by-products.

Palo Mayor Remedios Petilla, president of League of Municipalities-Leyte, said the promotion of bamboo’s social, economic, and environmental benefits will provide alternative income for locals and address the impact of climate change.

“Bamboo thrives well in Leyte but there is shortage of supply. We, in Palo town, have to find strong bamboos in the mountains of Burauen and other towns,” Petilla said in an interview during the opening of a bamboo show and exhibit at a hotel here on Tuesday.

“We will plant them in areas with slopes and near waterways. After few years, we can process the bamboo into anything we want,” she added.

Three bamboo geodesic domes, bamboo furniture and office tables, and planting materials of giant bamboo and guadua (iron bamboo) are featured in the exhibit.

On Wednesday, the town will host a bamboo summit to be graced by experts who will share inputs on how to promote and expand the bamboo industry in the province.

Mindanao’s leading bamboo furniture and products designer, Robert Palomares, will talk about the topic “Engineered Bamboo Designs and Innovations”.

He will join National Security Adviser Clarita Carlos who will discuss the impact of climate change on national security, and Development Bank of the Philippines president Emmanuel Herbosa who will present financing programs for local government to support bamboo industry development. (PNA)