Rizome Bamboo Reforestation

~1.8Mbamboo clumps planned

~9,000hectares

~3MtCO₂e by 2040

Philippines

Map focusing on Southeast Asia and the surrounding region with a marker-like crosshair centered over the area.

Rizome Bamboo Malaybalay City Landscape Climate Care 2020

Rizome Bamboo Water Buffalo Transport Climate Care 2020

A native bamboo economy built for generations.

Rizome Kawayan is turning bamboo into a long-term source of value for Indigenous communities in Mindanao - restoring ancestral lands while creating income, skills and opportunities for future generations. Developed in partnership with Indigenous communities, RIZOME and Climate Impact Partners, the project is planting native giant bamboo across Mindanao to create a productive natural asset that can support livelihoods, strengthen climate resilience and remove carbon for decades.

This is designed to be far more than a one-off tree-planting program. As the bamboo mature, selected poles can be harvested sustainably and sold into an established processing facility. The clumps regenerate, continue storing carbon and create the potential for a recurring source of income from the same land.

And the benefits begin well before harvest. Nurseries, planting, maintenance and monitoring creates jobs and builds skills across participating communities. Women are employed throughout the bamboo value chain, extending access to paid work and helping more people share in the economic opportunities the project creates.

Two adults sit side by side in a bamboo forest, each holding young bamboo saplings in plastic pots, smiling softly at the camera.

Why carbon finance is critical

Native bamboo takes around six years before sustainable harvesting can begin. Carbon finance helps bridge that gap, providing income and funding before commercial harvests revenues begin. It supports nurseries, planting, maintenance, quality control and long-term monitoring, while enabling participating landowners to share in carbon-revenues as the bamboo establishes and the wider supply chain grows.

Support this project Find out more about CCP Credits

From degraded land to a regenerative bamboo economy.

The project connects restoration, carbon removal and long-term community value through a productive native-bamboo system.

A person squats in a bamboo-framed garden shed, tending tall green plants with leaves overhead and leafy ground cover, in a rustic, sunlit outdoor setting.

A person crouches inside a bamboo-framed garden structure, tending tall green plants with vines climbing overhead and shaded by layered bamboo beams.

Challenge

Large areas of Mindanao have been left degraded and dominated by cogon grass following logging and intensive agriculture. With limited vegetation cover and little structural diversity, these landscapes offer fewer productive opportunities and are more vulnerable to erosion, flooding and water stress.

Solution

Rizome Kawayan plants native Dendrocalamus asper, or giant bamboo, across suitable areas of legally recognized Indigenous ancestral domains. Indigenous communities provide consent and local stewardship and participate in nursery work, planting, maintenance and monitoring. Once mature, selected poles can be harvested sustainably and sold into an established processing facility, while the clumps regenerate and continue storing carbon.

Impact

The model is designed to turn restored land into a long-term community asset. Bamboo stores carbon, binds soil, filters water and can reduce erosion, flood risk and exposure of crops to damaging winds. At the same time, the value chain creates income and employment in nurseries, field operations, harvesting, transport and processing, including opportunities for women and people rebuilding livelihoods after conflict.

Challenge: Large areas of Mindanao have been left degraded and dominated by cogon grass following logging and intensive agriculture. With limited vegetation cover and little structural diversity, these landscapes offer fewer productive opportunities and are more vulnerable to erosion, flooding and water stress.
Solution: Rizome Kawayan plants native Dendrocalamus asper, or giant bamboo, across suitable areas of legally recognized Indigenous ancestral domains. Indigenous communities provide consent and local stewardship and participate in nursery work, planting, maintenance and monitoring. Once mature, selected poles can be harvested sustainably and sold into an established processing facility, while the clumps regenerate and continue storing carbon.
Impact: The model is designed to turn restored land into a long-term community asset. Bamboo stores carbon, binds soil, filters water and can reduce erosion, flood risk and exposure of crops to damaging winds. At the same time, the value chain creates income and employment in nurseries, field operations, harvesting, transport and processing, including opportunities for women and people rebuilding livelihoods after conflict.

Restoring land. Growing long-term value.

Native bamboo helps Indigenous communities restore ancestral lands, create jobs, generate long-term income and build a resource that can support future generations.

1.8 million bamboo clumps planned

Scaling native giant-bamboo planting across participating community lands.

Around 9,000 hectares

Restoring suitable areas within legally recognized Indigenous ancestral domains.

Up to 3 million projected carbon credits by 2040

Creating long-term carbon removals through fast-growing native bamboo.

More inclusive livelihoods

Creating paid work and income opportunities across the bamboo economy, including roles for women and Indigenous communities.

Here at the nurseries we produce planting materials for bamboo, and most activities are done by women. Women water, weed and fertilize the plants, as well as many other activities around the nursery.

Myrna Decipulo, Head of Nurseries

Through this project, we’re not only restoring degraded land, we are also creating a foundation for multi-generational income, opportunities for marginalised Indigenous communities, and supporting the transition towards a circular economy in the Philippines.

Russell Smith, President & CEO, RIZOME

Dense cluster of green bamboo stalks with varying shades, vertical segmented joints, and subtle light and shadow creating a natural, lush pattern.

Contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Close-up of a coffee plant with clusters of green and red coffee cherries along woody branches, set among dark green glossy leaves.

1. No Poverty

Creating long-term income from planting, maintaining and sustainably harvesting bamboo in communities where poverty levels are high.

Group of smiling women in colorful hijabs outdoors, raising hands in a joyful gesture, with sunlit grass and blurred figures nearby.

5. Gender Equality

Supporting income opportunities for women through nursery operations and other roles across the bamboo value chain.

Dense close-up of dark green glossy leaves with prominent veins, some new light-green shoots, creating a rich, shadowed foliage texture.

8. Decent Work and Economic Growth

Creating jobs in nurseries, planting, maintenance, harvesting, transportation and bamboo processing.

Soft orange and pink sunset sky with hazy clouds near the horizon.

13. Climate Action

Removing carbon through fast-growing native bamboo planted on degraded land.

Aerial view of a dense forest with a mix of green and yellow foliage, including a few lighter, bare trees scattered among the verdant canopy.

15. Life on Land

Replacing low-diversity cogon grass landscapes with native bamboo while reducing soil erosion and supporting landscape recovery.

A person bends over in a field tending young plants, with a colorful patterned cloth wrapped around their back; tropical trees and other workers blur in the background.

17. Partnerships for the Goals

Bringing together Indigenous communities, RIZOME and Climate Impact Partners to build a long-term restoration and materials value chain.

Built for long-term restoration and community value

Rizome Kawayan combines Indigenous stewardship, experienced bamboo operations and long-term project oversight. RIZOME leads local delivery, bamboo cultivation and development of the processing value chain, working alongside Indigenous communities across legally recognised ancestral lands.

Monitoring, reporting and verification teams from RIZOME and Climate Impact Partners collects and reviews field information. This means the project benefits from multiple layers of review, combining community participation, field monitoring, land and carbon-rights checks, and ongoing technical oversight. Together, these help strengthen confidence in both project delivery and long-term carbon-removal outcomes.

Rizome Bamboo Nursery Activities Climate Care 2020 2

Project details

Community partners: Participating Indigenous communities across legally recognized ancestral domains
Registry: Verra VCS
Project ID: 4788
Project structure: Grouped afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation project
Species: Dendrocalamus asper, native giant bamboo
Operational review: Field data checked by RIZOME’s MRV team before final technical review by Climate Impact Partners

Bamboo stalk with green leaves in foreground, soft-focus background, vertical bamboo pole center-right, overall lush natural scene with diffused light.

Quality and delivery approach

Climate Impact Partners’ oversight covers due diligence, operational planning, land eligibility, carbon-rights review, consultation and consent processes, planting and maintenance controls, biomass and mortality assessment, and evidence-based milestone review. Together with RIZOME’s field monitoring and MRV processes, this creates multiple checks across project development and delivery.

An established bamboo-processing route supports the project’s long-term model. Once mature, selected poles can be sold into processing, giving participating communities an ongoing reason to maintain planted areas well beyond the planting phase.

No single element carries the trust case alone. Confidence comes from Indigenous stewardship on legally recognized ancestral domains, consultation and consent processes, land-eligibility and carbon-rights review, geotagged and traceable field evidence, separate operational and technical review stages, and Climate Impact Partners’ role as co-proponent and authorized representative.

Support this project How we ensure quality