Arief Rabik

Founder: Bamboo Village Trust

Arief was raised by a passionate bamboo pioneer, Linda Garland, who believed in bamboo’s exceptional qualities for solving environmental and social issues. Growing up, Arief was called “the bamboo boy” for his extensive knowledge on bamboo – he could name 1,000 species of bamboo by the time he was ten years old.

After completing his degree in environmental studies, Arief succeeded his late mother Linda Garland and became the Director of Environmental Bamboo Foundation (EBF). Arief strives to expand 1,000 Bamboo Villages in Indonesia and 10,000 Bamboo Villages in nine nations globally with a breakthrough strategy to tackle some of the world’s most pressing issues such as climate change and land degradation while creating economic opportunities and social inclusion for rural communities.

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Organization

Bamboo Village Trust

Active In

Indonesia

Cause

Land Degradation・Climate Change・Poverty Reduction・Women Empowerment

SDGs

• SDG 9
• SDG 10
• SDG 13

Support Started

2021

Support Ended

THE MISSION

"Building an international restoration economy through village-level bamboo agroforestry"

40%

global land have been degraded (UN)

40%

world population are affected by land degradation (GEF)

17%

Global CO2 emission from land degradation (UN)

87%

of global emissions, since 1850, contributed by deforestation and degradation (IPCC)

WHAT THEY DO

Tackling Four Social and Environmental Issues by the 200 Bamboo Village Vision

Creating the Village-Level Bamboo Agroforestry

Arief's life-mission has been about building bamboo villages across tropical belt that will restore the degraded lands by planting bamboo while reintroducing native species and growing food crops and cash crops within the larger agroforestry.

By also creating village-based bamboo factory, and cutting the middle men, the integrated forest-to-factory production system allows farmer cooperatives to produce value added bamboo products at the village level and sell at a fair price, enabling to tackle four of the pressing issues of the world: climate change, degraded lands, rural poverty, and gender inequality.

Cultivating the Infinite Possibilities of Bamboo

Scientifically speaking, bamboo is not a tree but a grass. Bamboo grows much faster than trees and can be used as a building material after about three years. Unlike trees which require replanting after being cut down, bamboo can be harvested indefinitely once established. Bamboo does not only absorb carbon dioxide but generates oxygen 30% more than a tree does. With these exceptional qualities, bamboo is being recognized as a viable and sustainable replacement for timber as a building material.

The global bamboo market is expected to grow to reach approximately US$100 billion by 2025 (US$70 billion in 2019).The growing international bamboo market is expected to reduce the risk of deforestation and climate change by decreasing the unsustainably high demand for wood as timber. In order to realize this breakthrough strategy to create a community-based restoration economy, Arief, under the framework of the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration, is working to build partnerships with international organizations and corporates.

OUR SUPPORT

Expanding the bamboo vision across the world

Opportunity Building - Japan Trip

Business Development

Grant Applications

For nearly three years, Earth Company has supported Arief Rabik, the 2021 Impact Hero of the Year. In October 2023, Arief embarked on a week-long trip to Japan with Earth Company's support team, aiming to promote his latest venture: the Bamboo Village Trust (BVT). Partnering with the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration program, Arief started the BVT to fund the establishment of ecosystem- and economy-restoring bamboo villages across the world’s tropical belt, starting in Indonesia, and expanding to 11 other countries. Arief's Japan trip resulted in positive responses from corporations, academia, and the media, where crucial connections for funding, expertise, and networking resources were established.

To reduce demand for lumber and curb deforestation, we are working on developing new Japanese wholesalers and business partners to expand sales channels for the 16,000 tons of bamboo building materials processed and produced annually in the Bamboo Village. We have also created Japanese-language materials and videos for them and reached out to web media to increase our media presence in Japanese.

To realize the ambitious '1000 Bamboo Villages' project, substantial financial support from various quarters such as governments, international organizations, foundations, and socially conscious investors is imperative. Earth Comapny provided advisory services and assistance in preparing applications for international grants, which, if approved, will bring in billions of dollars in prize money.