How to make a bamboo wind chime

How to make a bamboo wind chime

Wind chimes are always a nice addition to any balcony, patio, window or outdoor seating area.  They add a touch of country class, and everyone loves the sweet, soothing sounds they make.  They can also let you know when a big storm might be approaching.

Many wind chimes are made from ceramic or metal tubing, but if you’re after a more natural look and a mellower tone, bamboo is one of the best materials to use.  And you can feel good that you’re using a sustainable resource to make your wind chimes.

To create a beautiful chime it only takes a few materials and some simple steps.  First find some bamboo.  You can purchase your bamboo at any plant store or possibly even a craft store.  You can also buy bamboo poles at any garden supply store.  If your bamboo is fresh you will have to let it dry out and harden.  This can take several weeks.

Once you have your bamboo, cut it into lengths with one end above the partition-like segment end, and the other below it, so you have an open tube to work with.  You will then need to split the hallow end of each piece.  This is best done using a sharp knife.  You’ll want to taper the cut at an angle to give you the best sounding chambers.

Next drill 1/8 inch holes just above the section on the solid end of each piece of bamboo.  You’ll want to make sure the holes are parallel to the sound chambers so when they’re hanging the sound chambers will be facing outward.

You will then need to get a round disc of wood or material of your choice about 7 times the diameter of your bamboo.  Drill holes around the circumference of the disk about ¾ of an inch from the edge.  Afterwards, thread some strong string or fishing wire through the holes on both the disk and the bamboo.

If you would like to have a second level to your wind chime create a smaller disk and again drill holes on its circumference to hang more bamboo poles.  You will need to drill a hole through the center of each disk so one can hang below the other.

Finally you can use a bamboo stick without any sound chamber in it to hang in the centre of the smaller disc. This will be the piece that will hit the chimes and cause them to make sound.  Make sure that it is hanging high enough so that when the wind blows it will strike the other chimes.

Finally find a good spot to hang your chime where it will be hit by the wind, but won’t get blown away.  You can secure it with an ‘S’ hook or even tie it off, but make sure you use a good knot.

Now you can have guest over for a sunny summer BBQ and both you and they will enjoy not only your green bamboo chimes, but your fun story on how to build one.

Bamboo in culture and legend

Bamboo in culture and legend

Bamboo has important cultural significance in many Asian societies. It has played an instrumental role in the development of so much—in building, in cooking, in medicine, in clothing, the list goes on. Accordingly, it has become symbolic for many cultures. In India, for example, bamboo is a symbol of friendship. And in China, bamboo is considered to be a symbol of longevity, as a result of its long lifespan.

There are even creation myths involving bamboo. Several Asian cultures believe that humanity emerged from a bamboo stem. The Japanese have a folktale called the “Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” which tells the story of a princess who, after living on the moon, emerges from a glowing piece of bamboo. Another bamboo-inspired tale is the Philippine creation story; in it, the first man and woman both emerge from split bamboo stems. Malaysia has a similar tale: In theirs, there is a man who, while sleeping under a bamboo plant, dreams of a beautiful woman; when he wakes up, he breaks the bamboo stem and discovers her inside.

Outside of legend, bamboo is intertwined with worship and ritual in other ways. For instance, Shinto shrines in Japan are often surrounded by bamboo forests as part of a sacred barrier against evil. Similarly, Buddhist temples often have bamboo groves.

In Vietnam, bamboo has very important cultural significance. It acts as a symbol for the Vietnamese spirit. It represents hard work, straightforwardness, optimism, unity, courteousness, and adaptableness. There is even a bamboo-inspired proverb in Vietnam: “When the bamboo is old, the bamboo sprouts appear,” it says. Its message is one of immortality: The Vietnamese nation will never die. Though its people might, there will always be a younger generation to take their place, to keep Vietnam alive. In this spirit, many traditional Vietnamese villages have bamboo hedges surrounding them.

The Vietnamese also have a famous love story that involves bamboo. The tale is known as “The Hundred-knot Bamboo Tree.” It is about a poor, young farmer who falls in love with his landlord’s beautiful daughter. The landowner promises the young man marriage to his daughter if he works hard for another three years, but then goes back on his word, promising his daughter to another man. The young farmer protests, and the landowner responds by cutting him another deal: If he can bring him a bamboo stalk with one hundred knots, he can have her hand in marriage. The farmer runs into a bit of luck. During his search, Buddha appears and gives him the magic to combine multiple bamboo stalks. This allows him to accomplish his task, and ultimately marry the landlord’s daughter.

So, as you can see, bamboo is, in many cultures, held in quite high esteem. And whether or not you believe the legends, there is one thing that remains as true in the myths as it does in reality: Bamboo is a wonderful and useful plant—whether it’s being used to build houses or as a means to marry the love of one’s life.

The Bamboo Basics: Introducing an Extraordinary Plant Resource

So get this: bamboo isn’t a tree, it’s actually a type of grass. Not only is it the tallest grass on earth, it’s also the tallest plant. Its list of achievements doesn’t end there. It grows faster than any other plant, about 3-4 feet or more per day. For this reason, it’s an amazing renewable resource. It can be efficiently reharvested every 3-7 years with minimal impact on the environment. The root system can be left intact when harvesting, and so the cycle of regeneration and cutting back in fact can improve the health of the individual plants.

Luckily enough, this abundantly renewable resource has an endless number of uses and already finds it way into our daily lives in many ways: in our food, gardens, clothing, linens, architecture, furniture, etc. Various methods have even been devised to produce fuel from bamboo. Still, despite its exhaustive prevalence, the most definitive image of bamboo for many of us is that of its culm (stalk). Sleek and staggeringly upright, we often picture it as one of many in a forest of cool and calming green vertical lines. What we often forget is that bamboo produce flowers, and their blooming is extraordinary.

The flowering of bamboo tends to be a remarkable event, although the flowers themselves aren’t too spectacular. They bear no petals, and are unable to attract insects to aid in pollination. What’s unusual about the flowering of bamboo is its frequency. While some rare types do flower annually, most flower only once over a period of decades—sometimes as long as 130 years. By some sort of scientifically unknown mechanism (probably genetic), all bamboo plants in a region will bloom simultaneously. This normally marks the end of the life cycle for whole populations of the plant, and in some cases can be immediately devastating for both humans and animals that rely on the local bamboo for their livelihood and sustenance. However, the bamboo flower deposits a huge number of seeds onto the ground that effectively renew the entire population of dying plants relatively quickly. Icing on the cake for an already resilient and virile species. Without a doubt they’ll continue to outgrow and outlast the infinite uses we can find for them.

Bamboo: a friend of soil and water

While bamboo does a lot for this planet on a large-scale level—such as helping fight global warming—it also contributes in more localized ways as well. Bamboo is a friend of both soil and water, and it can do a lot of good for its immediate environment. Let’s take a look at how bamboo contributes in this manner.

One example: Bamboo helps prevent soil erosion that occurs in flood plains, whether along riverbanks or on steep hillsides. Bamboo also can control landslides and keep flooded rivers along their natural course. It does this by slowing the speed of the river’s water flow. And, quite luckily, bamboo thrives in many watershed areas. The abundance of water makes the land around it a perfect place for bamboo to grow. And while this is good for bamboo, the benefit is mutual. Bamboo contributes to both soil and water retention, thereby helping the land that it calls home. A bamboo forest means healthy land.

In part, the reason that bamboo is so good for the land—the reason that it helps with water retention—is because of the potassium that it contains. Bamboo shoots are a great source of potassium, which is required for plant growth. Potassium promotes strong growth, a healthier root system, and, you guessed it, water retention.

For all of these reasons and more, bamboo is considered a great fertilizer, and is often used as such. Using bamboo as a fertilizer helps the soil retain more water. The result is a soil that is more chemically-balanced and oxygenated, which, in laymen’s terms, means healthier plants. But there’s more. The soil is improved in other ways too. Bamboo has a high level of gas production and circulation. This results in bamboo absorbing two thirds more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. And since plants and trees convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, this also means that bamboo produces 35 per cent more oxygen than most other trees, such as hardwoods. In addition, bamboo’s root system helps with preventing soil erosion, and it also improves the soil by removing any excess nitrogen.

For those of you now interested in trying out bamboo as a fertilizer, here’s how. It is really quite simple and there are two ways to go about it. Your first option: simply grow some bamboo in the actual area that needs the fertilizer applications. And your second option: just cut up a few bamboo shoots and spread the pieces throughout the area you want fertilized. Both options work well.  Happy gardening!

Shoo-Foo exhibits among fellow eco-friendly businesses at EPIC Sustainable Living Expo

This year’s EPIC Sustainable Living Expo in Vancouver drew over 300 exhibitors from eco-friendly toy companies, to recycled clothing and of course, bamboo towels and linens!  Shoo-Foo was there – as usual – showing off our luxuriously soft and organic products, perfect for any home.

The ticket-buyers were just as diverse as the exhibitors.  Along came viewers who were shopping, viewers who were looking and viewers who were ‘down to business.’  Almost every Shoo-Foo product was on display, from beddings to towels and robes, and let’s not forget our unforgettably cute baby layette!  Ah yes, and of course our brand new spa head wrap and head band (thank you bald mannequins for modeling those for us!)

Everyone who came by the booth also had a chance to win bamboo products every month by following us Twitter, liking us on Facebook, subscribing to our e-newsletter and/or starting a gift registry!  The offer is, of course, still extended to anyone who wishes to follow along and be a little social with us!

Was it fun? Oh yeah! While all tradeshows make for great samplers of products galore, the businesses showcased at EPIC were especially magnetic!  How calming, and yet exciting, to know that the eco-friendly choice is becoming so easily accessible to the modern consumer who wishes to ‘go green’ as they say. Not only that, we were so proud to see that many of our fellow exhibitors were also Canadian, like us! Go Canada!

EPIC is put on by Vancouver-based GLOBE Foundation, which is a non-profit organization supporting sustainability practices among businesses.  They put on events that draw thousands each year to focus on producing planet-friendly initiatives among businesses and government bodies.

For more information on EPIC, visit epicexpo.com.  For more on the GLOBE Foundation, visit globe.ca.

Check out our YouTube slideshow video of the event below!