Bhutan's Bamboo Internet

From cradles and scaffolds to clothing and paper, bamboo has been Asia’s backbone. Pandas, meanwhile, stuck to eating it. But today, let’s learn about how the Drukpas went ahead to make bamboo carry internet signals.  

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Bhutan's Bamboo Internet 

Light, durable, and lightning-fast (grows up to 90 cm within 24 hours!) in growth, bamboo is nature’s ready-made engineering marvel. It bends without breaking, making it perfect for everything from huts to high-rises. Throughout history, bamboo has consistently shaped Asia’s story. But what if this humble grass could carry your Netflix stream or Zoom call?

Growing nearly a metre in a single day, it’s one of the fastest renewable materials on Earth. Needless to say, bamboo is alive with possibilities, and Bhutan is adding another chapter to this tale.

Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom renowned for its focus on Gross National Happiness, has been quietly leading experiments in eco-friendly technology. With the world drowning in plastic waste, especially from the fibre-optic cables that carry internet signals, researchers are exploring bamboo cellulose nanofibres as a sustainable alternative.

At the molecular level, with nanocellulose fibres as light as feathers, stronger than steel by weight, and most importantly biodegradable, bamboo can be made transparent enough to carry beams of light. This is the same principle of total internal reflection that allows glass or plastic fibre optics to transmit data.

The benefit of this research is not bounded to innovation; it extends to sustaining our futures. Asia produces over 30 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, much of which stays in landfills and oceans for centuries. A switch to bamboo fibre optics would reduce this burden whilst also making internet expansion cheaper and greener for rural communities.

For Bhutan, a country rich in natural forests but small in industrial resources, bamboo becomes both a cultural symbol and a scientific solution. And for countries across Asia, including Japan, Indonesia, and India, researchers are also exploring bamboo’s potential in green communication technologies.

The same material that made your childhood flute, your school bridge, and your festival baskets might soon be the thread connecting satellites to villages.

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I hope you found today’s blog interesting and learned something new. Thank you for reading! Please stay curious and alert for new blogs on Asian scientific contributions and inventions.

-Mihika Singhania

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Credits/Sources

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