竹は大変エコロジーな資源です。3~4年で成竹になり、非常に生命力が強く再生サイクルが早い循環型の植物です。
そして他の樹木と違い、伐採後も植樹する事無く新たに芽を出してくれます。また、その成長の早い事から、成長期には他と比べ4~16倍のCO2を吸収する特徴があります。
弊社はこの竹を新しい加工技術で商品化し、より多くの竹を使う事によって竹林拡大防止、CO2削減、里山再生に貢献する事を目指し、新しい竹の活用方法を提案していきます。
Bamboo is an extremely ecological form of natural resource. It takes
3 to 4 years for bamboo to be fully grown. Bamboo has extraordinary
life force, and its growth cycle is very rapid. Unlike other trees, after
logging, bamboo leaves and canes regenerate without being
replanted. Moreover, with its speedy growth, bamboo absorbs 4 to
16 times more CO2 during the growth period. Our company aims to
create bamboo products using new technology. By coming up with
new ideas and using more bamboo, we will be able to dedicate
ourselves to prevention of overgrowth of bamboo trees, reduction of
CO2, and reconstruction of“ Satoyama” which poetically portrays the
close relationship between people and nature in traditional rural
environments.
弊社では島根県との共同研究で、丸い竹を2つまたは3つ割りにしたものを平らにする事に成功しました。しかも、節と皮を残したまま平らにする事が可能です。
従来の技術では、竹の肉厚を削った物を集成材にして使っていましたが、竹の幅が10~15ミリ程度の為、これでは一見して竹とはわかりづらい物でした。弊社の平板化技術では、幅が約70~100ミリ、長さは約2メートルまで可能となりました。
(特許取得済)
Through a collaborative research with Shimane prefecture, our company was able to flatten cut pieces of bamboo successfully. W e were even successful at keeping the skin and nodes when flattened. With prior technology, we were only able to utilize stem cavity to create bamboo products, however with a width of 10 to 15mm, just by looking at them, it was hard to notice whether they were bamboo products or not. Our flattening technology allows us to create bamboo products with a width of 70 to 100mm, and a length of 2 meters. (Patent pending)
竹は昔から日本人にとって、竹ざるや竹かご等の生活用品の材料として欠かせないものでした。しかし、戦後にはプラスチックなどの代替品が普及し、竹製品は減少の一途をたどっています。
そして、需要が少なくなった竹林は繁茂拡大しその面積を増加させ、それに伴い放置竹林や地滑りなどの竹被害が増加しています。
島根県内では平成元年を100とした場合、毎年平均1ポイントづつ竹林面積が増加しています。全国的にも竹林拡大は進行していると推測されますので、早急な対応が必要と考えます。
In the old days, bamboo products such as bamboo strainers and
baskets were the daily necessities for Japanese people. However
after the WWII, products made by other materials such as plastic
became more popular, hence the need for bamboo products became
less and less. For that reason, bamboo trees have overgrown and
taken over a large area uncontrollably. There is a growing number of
abandoned bamboo forests and bamboo-related accidents such as
landslide.
In Shimane prefecture, if we set year 1989 as 100 points, bamboo
forests are growing by one point every year. It is assumed that
bamboo forests are continuously growing in number; therefore there
is a need to deal with these issues immediately.