Bamboo Fencing and Problem Solving

Part of our work in creating Sustainable Communities for underdeveloped areas, we have several terms.

• Materials must be truly sustainable*.
• They must be able to be sourced locally.
• They must have some aesthetically pleasing qualities.

These being our principles, +Marissa Nieddu and I will install a privacy fence on our teaching & demonstration model sustainable home. We want to have a privacy fence on our property in the U.S. so that we can innovate without being hassled by local code enforcement before we were ready. We want to do things by the law. At the same time, we want to be able to show people that a technology works before it gets shut down.

To that end, we were deciding on different types of fencing. However, we hit a snag. As we read the code we realized that a privacy fence can only be 6 feet high. That is all well and good, but to a curious code enforcement worker or nosy neighbor, that is not too difficult to look over.

Thus, we then began searching for a work around. The idea arose to plant a fence. That's right, plant a fence.

I wanted to visualize how it looked so I drew this up quickly.

Bamboo was an obvious choice. It can easily grow 20+ feet high. It can be planted in one location and swiftly spread. The only challenge would be having controlled growth which can be accomplished with a lined bed of sort.

It naturally grows that high. It is not technically a privacy fence as much as it is landscaping. We will see how long that holds up.

No, this is not exactly on topic for Rookie Missionary or humanitarian development work. It does have to do with setting up our teaching and demo model. 

It is also insight into the problem solving necessary to implement the vision on your heart. Get busy solving problems!