Bamboo Benchtops

WorldChanging writes about organic food and bamboo benchtops:

I must have walked south on First Avenue a dozen times over the past year, each time passing the small bakery Birdbath between 13th and 14th Streets (which we covered in January), and each time resisting going inside. What finally drew me in, in mid-November, was the sandwich board with the seasonal greeting “We have pumpkin pies and last day to order”. Even though I was going to be three thousand miles away for Thanksgiving, I was still curious about the pumpkin pie, and noticed the magical lure of samples. As I picked out an assortment of cookies for the party I was going to, I took stock of this diminutive store trying to make a grand political statement.

Birdbath not only serves organic foods, but is built entirely from ecologically-sound materials, making it possibly the first truly “green” bakery in the U.S. Birdbath’s walls are made from wheat and sunflower seed (hence the name); the floor is made from cork. The paint is milk-based, and its pigment is derived from beets. The counter is made of blue jeans and bamboo.

Lucky Bamboo

This post talks about lucky bamboo:

Ertesi gün vapurla Eminönüne geçtik. Eminönü’nün altından girdik üstünden çıktık dolaşmadık yer bırakmadık. Tabiiki önce kumaşçıları dolaştık. Sonra ben uzun zamandır Pasta Malzemeleri satan Nüans’a gitmek istediğim için dolaş dolaş yerini aramaya başladık. Aslında daha önce gitmiştim ama yol bulma konusunda hiç iyi olmadığımdan ve Eminönündeki bütün sokaklar birbirine benzediğinden uzun bir dolaşma sonucunda nihayet dükkanı bulduk iki renk (kırmızı ve yeşil) gıda boyası, eksik tart kalıplarımın devamını, truff koymak için renkli kağıtlar, baton ve rulo pastalar için altlık, yaprak jelatin ve krem tartar aldım. Sonra karşımıza daracık kapılı Rüstempaşa camii çıktı. Kapıdan girdik karşımızda merdivenler herhalde minareye çıkıyor dedik ama kapısı burası dediler siz devam edin merdivenler sona erdiğinden karşımıza harika uzun bir avlu çıktı. O merdivenlerden çıkarken insan böyle bir yer beklemiyor içeri girince ayrı bir şoka daha girdik bütün duvarlar inanılmaz güzellikteki çinilerle kaplı ama her duvar her kolon birbirinden güzel farklı modellerle kaplı çekmeye fotoğraf makinemin şarjı yetmedi ve tripodumu yanımda getirmediğime ne kadar pişman olduğumu anlatamam, bir gün özel olarak tekrar oraya gitmek üzere istemeye istemeye ayrıldık ama gözümüz arkada çinilerde kaldı. Gidip görmeyen herkese mutlaka gitmelerini tavsiye ediyorum.

O kadar gezmek yetmedi yemekten sonra üstüne bir de IKEA’ya gittik. Oradan da ne zamandır almak istediğim 4 adet Lucky Bamboo aldım.

Bamboo Flooring

Our Orange Oasis writes about bamboo flooring:

There was also a mysterious bullseye chalked onto the orange wall. And then Luke took a picture of me reclining on boxes of the bamboo, which are soon to be flooring. (Click on images to see larger versions.)Our kindly neighbors across the hall called us to let us know that two ceiling fans had arrived, so we went back to Orange Street to put them inside the apartment. Another neighbor did a fantastic job decorating the lobby for the holidays, with beautiful wreaths and garlands.

Bamboo Zanzibar

Travelpod writes:

My room was excellent, it was above the toilets which wasn’t a problem. But it had a view over the hostel and the bamboo walls let through a really cool breeze each night. It also had a brilliant balcony where I sat and watched the world go by for hours on end. The big minus point though was lack of hammocks, now that’d make things much better there.

Buy Organic

Get information on organic living at Buy Organic.

Organic products are produced without the use of artificial fertilisers, pesticides, growth hormones or routine antibiotics. Organic farming relies on crop rotation, improving soils by adding animal and plant manures, hand weeding, and organic pest control. Organic food is grown slowly, as nature intended, resulting in more vitamins and minerals and more flavour.

Although the quantity of pesticides absorbed from eating non-organic food is very small, they do accumulate over time. Pesticides absorbed from food are linked to many health problems including cancer, birth defects, genetic mutation, asthma, and nerve damage.

Organic farming also keeps animals healthy as the use of drugs is restricted. Salmonella, cryptosporidium, E.coli, and listeria are rare in organic foods.

More information is available at Buy Organic on organic food, organic gardening, organic skincare, organic wine, organic, pet food, and bamboo clothing.

Bamboo in India

Jen writes about bamboo:

The next day we took the popular Keralan backwaters
tour. Kerala is a state in India whose coastal areas
are made up of a lot of lakes and canals and channels.
We took the 8 hour cruise up the coast, but you could
spend 24 hours in a private bamboo boat with your own
chef if you wanted! It was very beautiful and very
relaxed. There were lots of fishermen and little
villages on the water. And of course, there were lots
of children chasing the boat yelling “Hello, what is
your name? Give me one pen! Give me one pen!”, all in
one breath. We met some really interesting Brits,
Matt and Lisa, on the boat ride, and we hung out with
them that night in Allupuzha, the end stop of the boat
trip.

and here:

Yesterday (Monday) we went on an excursion outside the
city. We visited two different tribes of people, the
Hmong and the Karen. They were basically stops to by
native crafts, so I duly bought a scarf We spent an
hour riding elephants, that was really fun. Ben and I
had the biggest elephant (I wonder why…), and all
the elephants kept stopping to eat. At the end you
could buy bananas for 50 cents to feed to the
elephants. They are grabby!! Chris’ elephant kept
trying to suck off my face unless I fed him. It was
fun though After lunch we went to another
waterfall in the area. It was a very strong
waterfall, and the water was very very cold. I’m
proud to say that I was the first to jump in, and
after that six or seven people came in too. Chris and
Ben managed to make their way behind the waterfall,
almost getting a concussion from the pouring water in
the process! I will stay sitting on my underwater
rock, thank you very much! Last we went bamboo
rafting down the river, very scenic.

Bamboo Clothing

Buy Organic writes:

Bamboo clothing is an excellent organic choice and it has many benefits and advantages over cotton. Bamboo fabric is softer than cotton with a texture similar to silk. It is a naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic product grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. It is also quick to absorb moisture, therefore keeping you dry and odour free. Pure bamboo clothes can dry twice as fast as cotton clothes. Bamboo clothes can be worn all year round as they keep you cool in summer and warm in winter.

The environmental benefits of bamboo clothing are numerous. Bamboo plants are very quick growers and do not require fertilisers or pesticides for a successful crop. They also require very little water and they can survive drought conditions as well as flooding. Bamboo is a sustainable and renewable resource as the bamboo plant is self replenishing. New shoots are continuously growing, ready to replace the old ones.

Another benefit of bamboo is that it releases a significant amount of oxygen into the atmosphere, more so than trees. Planting bamboo can help reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the air as well as reducing soil erosion and desertisation. The complex root system of bamboo plants makes them an excellent choice for planting in high erosion areas such as riverbanks and areas subject to mud slides. They are also suitable for planting in areas which have suffered significant soil degradation and deforestation.