NewsINBAR deepens technical collaboration in Ghana
Strengthening partnerships with German institutions can further the bamboo cause in West Africa.
INBAR’s West Africa Regional Office (WARO), as part of its collaboration with German universities and partners in Ghana on bamboo technical, research and development, hosted 25 students and supervisors from RheinMain University of Applied Science, Germany. This event was organized as part of INBAR and Advocates for Biodiversity Conservation’s (ABC) collaboration with Grow Colorful Ghana (GCG) and Bamboo for Integrated Development Ghana (BIDG) under RheinMain University’s Bamboo Knowledge and Skills Exchange Workshop, 2025 in Ghana.
The workshop aimed to explore bamboo’s vast potential in sustainable construction, green entrepreneurship and climate resilience. It also enhanced international knowledge sharing and capacity building in bamboo cultivation, processing and innovation. Finally, the workshop brought together stakeholders from Ghana and international partners in fostering dialogue, facilitating skills transfer and promoting sustainable practices in bamboo-based construction, renewable energy and conservation.
The workshop, which was divided into theoretical and practical sessions, hosted students and supervisors at INBAR’s regional office in Accra for technical presentations on bamboo. In addition, the team went to Guata, a small community near Somanya in the Eastern Regional capital of Ghana to undertake a practical demonstration and gain hands-on experience in bamboo construction and sustainable resource management, putting their knowledge into action by constructing a guardhouse using bamboo.
Michael Kwaku, Acting Regional Director of INBAR WARO, led the students through technical presentations. He emphasized the importance of this year’s workshop as it opens avenues for broader collaboration in the areas of bamboo construction, livelihoods, climate change, environmental sustainability and plastic alternatives. It also offers INBAR the opportunity to shine a light on its contributions to the bamboo sector, especially in our West African Member States in West Africa, showcasing bamboo’s impressive impact on livelihoods and environmental conservation.
According to Kwaku, INBAR is continuing to share insights into its bamboo-related initiatives, projects and impact in Ghana, West Africa and beyond, given its extensive knowledge and contributions to bamboo research and development in Africa. Partnerships are growing between INBAR and German institutions in academia, research and technical fields on bamboo. There is untapped potential future national and regional project funding between INBAR and German institutions, with the support from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
