Bamboo is an important part of people's lives in the Sidama highlands. The plant is used to meet basic household needs including house construction, timber, fuel, fencing, flooring, furniture, matting, basketry, and to generate cash income. False banana and bamboo are considered the farmer's ATM because the plants keep producing new shoots each year with little extra effort. However, income from bamboo is not as good as it could be, due to market access issues i.e. transportation challenges. As a result, bamboo is currently not well managed.

Our Smallholder Bamboo operations will therefore have a dramatic impact on farmer livelihoods, increasing bamboo productivity by up to 400%. When coupled with improved access to finance, agricultural inputs, bamboo seedlings, and technical advice, we anticipate that farmer livelihoods will become diversified and resilient, enabling them to adapt to the changing climate.