Can traditional bamboo construction 
be relevant in the twenty-first century?

This issue of Bamboo and Rattan Update includes features from some of the people at the forefront of modernising one of the world's oldest construction materials.

Contributors to the issue explain the inspiration behind the new Fish-Shaped Bamboo Pavilion in Yangzhou, China; discuss how earthquake-resilient housing is being used to build back better in Lombok, Indonesia; look at the reasons behind the surprise rebirth of bahareque bamboo architecture in Colombia; and introduce the new bioclimatic bamboo housing design which has been accepted into Ecuador’s National Building Code.

This issue also contains a summary of the latest news about bamboo and rattan around the world: from the women continuing Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai's bamboo legacy, to the first Latin American and the Caribbean diplomatic dialogue hosted by INBAR.