DOT Desk
Work had begun on one of the largest bamboo treatment plants ever installed in an emergency response, as International Organisation for Migration experts tackled a tiny insect that was devastating structures in the world’s biggest refugee settlement in Cox’s Bazar, reports The New Age.
An infestation of boring beetles meant the bamboo in almost every shelter in the Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar — home to around 240,000 families — needed to be replaced.
With just over four months to go until the beginning of the next monsoon season, the race was on to provide families living in the worst-affected shelters with new, more-durable bamboo.
To help meet the challenge, the International Organisation for Migration had launched a new treatment facility in the south of Cox’s Bazar, which will be scaled up over coming weeks until it had the capacity to treat around 40,000 pieces of bamboo per month — sufficient to upgrade between 6,000 – 7,000 shelters. Treatment at the plant relied on boron — a natural substance which will be filtered and recycled on site then reused to minimise environmental impact.
Plant residue from the treatment process could be used as a fertilizer by nearby farms.
‘We use bamboo because it’s cost effective and grows naturally in Bangladesh,’ said Yoga Sofyar, a bamboo expert working with IOM, who helped establish the treatment plant.
‘Once the infestation became apparent, something had to be done. This affects many people and involves a significant amount of money and we need an effective durable solution. No one has done anything on this scale before. That has been the challenge,’ he added.
Almost a million Rohingya refugees were currently living in shelters in Cox’s Bazar.
They lived in a rapidly constructed city of bamboo and tarpaulins built on the hills of a forested nature reserve in late 2017 after violence in Myanmar drove hundreds of thousands of people across the border into Bangladesh in just a few weeks.
During the emergency response in the weeks and months that followed, millions of pieces of bamboo were brought in from across the country to help build life-saving shelters and medical facilities.
Bridges, steps and handrails were also built with bamboo to keep vital access ways open and to shore up vulnerable slopes.
The scale and urgent need for supplies to upgrade shelters ahead of monsoon meant organisations were forced to rely on young bamboo that was more susceptible to attack by insects.
‘Even with the untreated bamboo IOM used, we would normally have expected the material to last between one to three years. The infestation is so large and has spread so quickly that within six months major damage had already taken place,’ said Sofyar.
While the infestation was evident in the dusty residue that covered the bamboo under attack, identifying a solution was less easy.
According to Sofyar, bamboo was a traditional construction material in Bangladesh, but its popularity had declined in recent years and there was not sufficient, high quality treated bamboo available.
The answer, IOM experts decided, was to treat the bamboo themselves. First a suitable site had to be found, as well as a treatment method, that could practically be scaled up to meet the immense demand, with minimal environmental impact.
Following the identification of a site in the south of Cox’s Bazar — close enough to the camps to allow easy transportation, but outside the already overcrowded refugee settlement — a pilot project construction of the treatment facility was launched with funding from the United Kigndom, the United States and Sweden.
With the first four treatment tanks now operational, and a pilot project undertaken, expansion work was now underway, according to IOM.
Installation costs for the plant will be $500,000.
Operational costs for the next 12 months to allow 100,000 families to upgrade the six core structural poles in their shelters will total $2 million.
The treatment would extend the bamboo’s durability from months to many years. If shelters were taken down or moved, the treated bamboo could be reclaimed and reused for other purposes, according to Sofyar.
‘Once it is completed, this will be one of the largest bamboo treatment plants ever installed in an emergency response and we will share the knowledge and experience we have gained here with our partners in Bangladesh and other organisations around the world,’ he noted.
The project had also been boosted by the efforts of Rohingya refugees working in a cash for work project.
Many were skilled in bamboo craftsmanship in Myanmar and were happy to be able to use techniques passed down to them through generations to use in their current situation.
‘My father and grandfather used to work with bamboo and wood. In Myanmar I worked with my father and that is how I learned my skills,’ said Mohammed Younus, one of the refugees working at the plant.
‘I feel good being able to do this work here and use my skills to earn some money for my family,’ he added.