Checking out Gianyar Bali part V: Bamboo in Bona & Beleka

The famous Balinese thatched roof that all tourists love, but none of the locals use is made from bamboo and alang alang (grass). If you ask some people where the bamboo comes from they will say Ubud. That is not actually true, the best bamboo comes from Bona, a small town in Gianyar regency, which is 3km SW of the town of Gianyar. For a roofs you need bamboo that grows straight and that doesn't get thicker. The road from Gianyar to Blahbatuh goes through Bona and Belega, 2 places that have a whole cottage industry based around bamboo. I stopped briefly to check out their goods.

Belega has bamboo furniture and big pieces like garden huts, couches, chairs, bars etc. I noticed that in Bona they have more of a selection of smaller decorative items too.

A friend told me that the Filipinos are experts with bamboo and soak the poles in the ocean for a while. That kills the bugs and after you dry them out you throw away the ones that crack and keep the others. I don't know what kind of quality control they have here but when shipping bamboo from Bali to a drier climate you can expect some cracking.