NewsFirst bamboo school in Northeastern Peru
The classrooms of the Sol del Nororiente school—a space where education and sustainability come together to build a more promising future.
In Jaén, Cajamarca, classrooms for the Sol del Nororiente school were built using bamboo and natural materials. This initiative is part of the project Productive and technological innovation with bamboo in the economic border corridor of northeastern Peru, implemented by INBAR in partnership with the Bi-national Development Plan of the Peru–Ecuador Border, Peru chapter, and the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) in the departments of Piura, Cajamarca, and Amazonas.
During the last semester of the year, the Specialized Bamboo Construction Training Program was carried out in collaboration with the University of San Martín de Porres (USMP) and its Institute of Housing, Urbanism and Construction (IVUC). The program aims to strengthen qualified labor, train professionals in the construction sector, and certify them to help consolidate bamboo as a viable market alternative. The training program began in Cajamarca with 37 participants, including workers and construction professionals, trained through a hybrid model consisting of 15 virtual theoretical sessions and 20 in-person practical sessions.
The practical phase of the program was coordinated in collaboration with COOP Sol & Café, a cooperative of over 965 coffee and cacao-producing families in Jaén and San Ignacio, whose agroforestry practices include bamboo. In this context, the training took place at the Sol del Nororiente School—a social responsibility initiative by the cooperative to improve educational conditions for the children of the local community. Its mission is to offer high-quality learning that respects and celebrates the identity and natural environment of the coffee-growing region.
INBAR, through its Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office, collaborated with the Paris-La Villette School of Architecture and the student association “A School for Guayas” to bring this collaborative project to life in Peru. This partnership brought together 45 French volunteers and the IVUC of USMP to design the educational master plan and the first classroom modules using local materials, including timber from agroforestry systems, bamboo and earth.
The initiative also involved 13 participants who successfully completed the theoretical phase of the specialized bamboo construction program. These participants were certified by USMP after completing 120 hours of training—30 hours of online theory and 80 hours of hands-on practice. Participants engaged with bamboo construction techniques under the guidance of IVUC architects and experienced construction professionals.
Image: Bioclimatic design (IVUC)
Classes for the 2025 school year have already begun, and students are enjoying their new bamboo classroom. This initiative generated technical and instructional capacity in accordance with the current E100 standard of the National Building Regulations, incorporating bioclimatic principles and local materials to optimize thermal comfort, natural lighting, strength, and durability.
Peru, thinks bamboo!
