After lunch,  my guide Gorett and Tess Magdalita (with husband Efren as our driver) toured me to the town’s Bambusetum, a 1-hectare bamboo reforestation project.  Bamboo, locally called kawayan, has about 150 varieties worldwide and here, 22 of these varieties are propagated and cared for by the Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) and the municipal government.   The complex aims to propagate new and improved varieties of bamboo.

Tess and Gorett at the Bambusetum

Under the energetic stewardship of town Mayor  Romeo Alvarez and, with the support of TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority), the versatility of bamboo was put to good use as a source of livelihood for the town’s 27 barangays. Started only January, these barangays have profited immensely from the manufacture of furniture, home decor and food products made with labong (bamboo shoots).  It was even made into artificial reefs.  As a tribute to the unheralded kawayan, the town has adopted it as the theme of its unique Kawayanan Festival, the only one in the country to do so.  They hope that  it will be included in the Calendar of Activities of the Department of Tourism.

Bambusetum: Sitio Balagbag, Brgy. Maligaya, Gloria, Mindoro Oriental