The beautiful bamboo homes built by Elora Hardy and her team in Bali – “twist, curve and surprise at every turn.” Because the bamboo is an organic material and no two poles are alike – every home, bridge, and piece of furniture is unique. Not only a resource for creative expression, it is also a sustainable source of building material that won’t run out in it’s native habitat.
Elora describes bamboo as “actually a wild grass. It grows on otherwise unproductive land – deep ravines, mountainsides. It lives off of rainwater, spring water, sunlight, and of the 1,450 species of bamboo that grow across the world, we use just seven of them… Each year, it sends up a new generation of shoots. That shoot, we watched it grow a meter in three days … so we’re talking about sustainable timber in three years. … And it’s strong: it has the tensile strength of steel, the compressive strength of concrete. Slam four tons straight down on a pole, and it can take it. Because it’s hollow, it’s lightweight, light enough to be lifted by just a few.“
You can watch Elora talk about the potential of bamboo and see some of the 50 unique structures built with her team in Bali at this TED Conference:
Freedom For Sustainability 
Elora’s parents John and Cynthia Hardy, founded the Green School in September of 2008. The school’s magnificent bamboo structures are in line with the sustainable principles at it’s core. You can learn more on the website and see if you can arrange a visit and learn more about working with local bamboo farmers, villagers and children: http://greenvillagebali.com/about/green-village/.
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