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Rabea talks to JJ Veight in the ThinkBamboo Podcast about the bamboo project in Ghana:

There’s also a great blog article on thinkbamboo.org:

https://www.thinkbamboo.org/2023/11/22/pioneering-a-bamboo-education-haven-in-ghana-to-empower-youth-future/

Participation in the One-day-Workshop: Learn from each other – Construction Projects in Ghana, organised and carried out by we-building e.V.

https://we-building.org/2023/01/09/online-workshop/

23rd September 2023: We present our organisation and the bamboo project at the Ghana Länder Forum! The event takes place annually and is organised by the Ghana-Forum NRW in cooperation with Auslandsgesellschaft.de e. V. and the Ghana-Council NRW e. V. We would like to thank the organisers and everyone who attended for the interesting, informative and inspiring exchange. We are looking forward to the next Ghana Länder Forum on 21st September 2024!

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It has been decided – we are going into the next round with the Rhein-Main University of Applied Sciences! The concept planning for the workshop and seminar rooms of the bamboo training centre in Ghana will begin in the winter semester. We are happy and looking forward to seeing the results!

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A decisive step towards improving the infrastructure of the project site in Guata: the drilling of a borehole to secure the water supply. This step is essential for the ongoing construction projects and bamboo treatment. It is also a sustainable resource for the local community and the future training centre.

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On 2 and 3 June 2023, GROW Colourful Ghana e.V. was represented at the first European Bamboo Expo in Dortmund!

The trade fair is not only an important meeting place for experts, stakeholders and decision-makers in the bamboo industry in Europe, but also offers a global perspective. As an association based in Germany and our bamboo project in Ghana, we were therefore very well accommodated there alongside a number of other global players. A particular highlight for us was the arrival of our partners Emil Fischer (BIDG) from Switzerland and Vincent Pratt (ABC) from Ghana. The unique and impressive “Bambillon” of the Rhein-Main University of Applied Sciences – an experimental pavilion made of bent bamboo arches, which was one of the main attractions on the outdoor area of the international trade fair – served as our information stand.

You can find more interesting information on the creation of the bamboo pavilion and the Rhine-Main University of Applied Sciences’ presence at the trade fair in the article of the university:

https://www.hs-rm.de/de/details/artikel/kompetenzzentrum-fuer-nachwachsende-baustoffe-auf-der-european-bamboo-expo-2023

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Our 5th Annual General Meeting will take place in Clarholz on 24 June 2023.

Completion of the roof for the treatment tank.

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07th May 2023: Chris and Rabea visit the Rhein-Main University of Applied Sciences in Wiesbaden to witness the construction of a bamboo pavilion live. The concept for the pavilion was developed in the winter semester 2022/23 as part of a series of seminars on climate-friendly construction by Prof. Sascha Luippold, lecturers Andrés Bäppler and Christoph Diekhans, and Dr Oliver Bletz-Mühldorfer from the HSRM’s Timber Construction Laboratory, and put into practice in a design-build workshop in the summer semester. The “Bambillon” is to be set up at the European Bamboo Expo in Dortmund in June and may be used by GROW Colourful Ghana e.V. as an information stand for the bamboo project in Ghana.

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In March, the construction of the roofing for the treatment tank and the construction of a toilet building made of the sustainable building materials bamboo and clay will begin. This is being done in cooperative collaboration with the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences and our local partner organisations BIDG and ABC.

Under the guidance of Professor Sascha Luippold and the two teaching assistants Christoph Diekhans and Jan Glasmeier, 17 students from the University’s Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering are participating in the construction project. In the last part of the three-part elective series “Climate-friendly building”, they get down to work with full energy in a hands-on workshop at the project site in Somanya.

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The intensive intercultural exchange about the different possibilities and techniques of clay and bamboo processing was particularly valuable for all participants. Procedures are discussed together and solutions are found for critical points.

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A construction site camp has been set up for the break times. In the field kitchen, our kitchen fairies Conny and Rose take care of the physical well-being with local dishes.

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The construction site facilities also included the erection of a temporary toilet in “scout style” with an additional urinal and a hand-washing facility.

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After previous treatment with boric salt solution in the tank, it is time to construct the supporting pillars for the hall roof. This consists of five frames that are mounted on the ground and then set up in concrete foundations.

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To build the composting toilet, the foundation is first prepared. Clay is mixed with sand and rice husks as fibre material during the “clay tamping” process. This mixture is used to make the mud bricks, which are then used to build the walls of the planned octagonal toilet house. A small porch for the hand wash basin, as well as the roof construction are made of bamboo.

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After eight days at the construction site, our helpers from the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences have reached the end of their excursion and can look with satisfaction at the progress made at the project site: Two frames for the hall roof have been erected and the shell of the toilet block is finished.

An important milestone has been reached. The bamboo treatment tank was completed. The treatment serves to preserve bamboo and is therefore a prerequisite for making it usable as a sustainable building material.

We wish you a Happy New Year 2023!