I am on the way to Beijing to take on the responsibilities of Director-General of the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR). The Headquarters of INBAR are in China, and maybe surprisingly it is still the only inter-governmental organisation that has established its global seat in Beijing.
These first weeks will be a time of familiarising and learning, but already I have gathered that bamboo and rattan have amazing qualities not just for livelihoods improvement in the producing countries, but also for climate change adaptation and mitigation, for landscape restoration and enhancing resilience of local communities, for industrial construction and architectural design, for renewable energy production and more.
Bamboo flooring Copyright all rights reserved by INBAR
During the coming weeks and months, I will be reviewing many of these qualities, and provide examples of how bamboo and rattan play a role in sustainable development and in bolstering the green economy. I will talk about what INBAR and its members do, but my blog provides a personal take on the issues – it is not the official website of the organisation, and my musings should not be taken as institutional statements.
Let me finish by wishing you all a very Happy New Year.
Ah! We were about to mail to wish you both a Happy New Year, and ask if we would be seeing you both in Gozo sometime soon. But looks like you’re off to China! A new venture for the new year 🙂
We’re both ok – enjoying the new house. We survived Christmas in France (although we’re feeling a little like force fed frois grois geese) and we’re home for a few days before we head off on our holidays – a first time trip to Sri Lanka, and hopefully a hop over to South India too. Five and a half weeks – bliss! Then its back to work work work until we collapse in a heap again next November………
We wish you both all the best with the move and the new job – and we look forward to reading all about it! Rachel and Xavier xx
Dear Rachel and Cornil Yes – this was an unexpected change, but a very welcome opportunity. Four years in Beijing is fantastic, and working with bamboo and rattan will be very rewarding. We are looking forward to the new adventure! Best wishes to both of you for a wonderful 2014, and see you soon Hans
Hans Friederich China Office: +8610 6470 6161 Mobile: +4179 418 5523 Blog: hansfriederich.wordpress.com Twitter: @hansfriederich Skype: hansfr55 Office web: http://www.inbar.int
On Thu, Jan 2, 2014 at 8:07 PM, hansfriederich