Introduction

Bamboo is a giant woody grass, belonging to the class Bambuseae, of the family Gramineae. Currently, 121 genera and 1 662 species of bamboos are recognized in the world (^{Canavan, 2017}), of which 100 are economically important (^{Ohrnberger, 1999}). It is a plant that adapts to different climatic conditions, from tropical and subtropical to temperate zones; grows in an altitudinal range from 0 to 4 300 m; it tends to develop naturally on all continents except Europe and Oceania (^{Judziewicz et al., 1999}). It is distributed from 47º south latitude (Chile) to 51º north latitude (Japan). It should be noted that the largest bamboo areas are present in Latin America, Asia and Africa.

In Latin America, 20 genera and 429 species of woody bamboo have been identified, which are distributed from Mexico to Chile (^{Añazco, 2013}). An estimated 11 million hectares covered by this plant in the region (^{FAO, 2010}); the countries with the greatest diversity of taxa are Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico.

Although in Mexico, the area occupied by bamboo is unknown, its greatest distribution is located in the south and southeast of the country, especially in the tropical regions of the states of Chiapas, Guerrero, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca and Veracruz (^{Dávila et al., 2006}). Also, there are records of its presence in the states of Puebla, Jalisco and Nayarit, among other entities. The largest number of taxa are located in Chiapas, Tabasco, Puebla and Veracruz (^{Ordóñez, 1999}), and only for Veracruz there are estimated approximately 1 500 ha established with 400 native species and 20 introduced taxa (^{D´Esezarte, 2016}).

Environmental benefits of bamboo. Woody bamboo has hard and vigorous stems that provide it with a great resilience ability, as it can survive and recover quickly after facing serious damage caused by natural disasters (^{Lobovikov et al., 2007}). These characteristics make bamboo an ideal plant to prevent soil erosion and for ecological restoration.

It has rapid growth, since it reaches its full development between 5 and 6 years (^{Ordóñez, 1999}); therefore, it has a high potential for carbon sequestration and mitigation of climate change (^{Song et al., 2011}). In this regard, ^{Mathewos (2017)} conducted an investigation in Ethiopia on the multiple uses of bamboo species and their contribution to the management of forest resources, and concluded that the bamboo forest has a high potential for carbon storage, due to its high biomass growth rate and high annual growth after harvest, which can contribute to efforts to adapt to climate change.

In this same sense, ^{Lobovikov et al. (2012)} point out that bamboo forests represent an important current and future carbon reservoir, which. due to their socioeconomic and environmental advantages, they left considering some of their taxa as trees under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); and with this, amend the reports and guidelines of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In addition, the authors point out that, due to its characteristics and versatility of uses, bamboo can help rural societies to obtain economic benefits and adapt to climate change, especially when these communities depend on their natural resources to a great extent.

Socio-economic benefits of bamboo. Bamboo is a very important non-timber forest product (NTFP), as it plays a significant role in the daily lives of the inhabitants of rural areas. As part of their traditional ways, various indigenous peoples have used it for basketry weaving, although, recently, it is used for other purposes based on its properties (^{Nirala et al., 2017}).

^{Morán (2001)} points out that each species of bamboo has a type of use; likewise the parts of the plant are used for different purposes by the local population: shoots, stems, leaves, roots, among others. For example, in Asian countries, bamboo is used as a raw material for the artisanal manufacture of basketry, furniture, various utensils and decorative elements; also, in the industrial production of strips for weaving and braiding, making rigid boards, plywood and chipboards; it is a resistant material used in construction; the food industry (consumption of sprouts); as well as fuel and in obtaining ethanol, cellulose and paper pulp (^{Liu et al., 2018}).

In regard to the socioeconomic benefits from the commercial use of bamboo, ^{Troya et al. (2014)} indicate that this crop is a fundamental support in the generation of income for poor families in the mountains of China, since it significantly contributes to their economy and local rural development.

^{Mathewos (2017)} refers that it is a renewable natural resource that is used in house building, as human food, firewood, fodder, in living fences and in the manufacture of furniture; therefore, it has a significant socioeconomic impact on the generation of jobs and income, not only for the families that produce bamboo, but for others in the same locality, in such a way that vulnerable groups such as women who seek monetary resources for their families get benefits too (^{Lobovikov et al., 2009}). The former description shows the great potential that bamboo has for its transformation into various products, the commercialization of which can trigger local development processes, as occurs in Ethiopia (^{Endalamaw et al., 2013}).

There are studies in Latin America that show that the marketing of furniture and handicrafts made with bamboo contributes to an increase in income and an improvement in family living conditions. An example of this is the one that occurs in Quimbaya municipality, Colombia, where the families organized in the Association of United Microentrepreneurs for Quimbaya are dedicated to the manufacture of handmade bamboo furniture (chairs, tables, beds, mirrors, mobile lamps, screens, baskets, among others), which guarantees them a constant source of employment and income throughout the year (^{Osorio and Parra, 2013}).

Around 42 traditional uses have been recorded in Mexico for wild bamboo species (^{Dávila and Brugger, 2012}); from these, the taxa that are distributed in the mountain mesophilic forest are used in handicrafts (^{Mejía and Dávila, 1992}; ^{Mejía and Castillo, 1996}). Among the taxa mostly used in the production of furniture and handicrafts, the following are worth mentioning: Rhipidocladum racemiflorum (Steud.) McClure (Chiquián), which is extracted from its natural habitat and, recently, has spread to the center of the state of Veracruz (^{Mejía, 2014}); Otatea acuminara (Munro) C. Calderón & Soderstr., traditionally called otate, from the carving of its culms; since Pre-Hispanic times, it has been used in the elaboration of baskets, tutors for tomato crops and in the construction of houses of the “bajareque” or “bahereque” type, constructions of walls filled with mud (^{Ruiz-Sanchez et al., 2011} ) and even in rural communities it is used in the manufacture of sleeping beds.

Guadua aculeata Rupr. ex Fournier and G. longifolia (E. Fourn.) R.W. Pohl (guada) are widely used in the construction of rural houses, mainly in the tropical regions of Mexico, due to the physical and mechanical properties of its culms or stems; which is why these species have great economic potential (^{Ordóñez et al., 2011}). They are also used to make furniture (^{Cedeño and Irigoyen, 2011}; ^{Zaragoza-Hernández et al., 2014}), in addition to a wide range of uses. An example of its economic value are the microenterprises located in Coatepec, Teocelo, Monte Blanco, Huastusco and Orizaba communities in the state of Veracruz (^{Dávila and Brugger, 2012}; ^{D´Esezarte, 2016}).

Opportunities for the use of bamboo in Mexico. The manufacture of handicrafts and rustic furniture, among other products, is an activity of great importance for some towns in Mexico; sometimes they represent an economic alternative for family sustenance (^{Rubín, 2013}). It is an option to reduce the negative impact of the intensive use of wood, since this is an overexploited natural resource, due to the poor management of forests, both in the national territory and in other Latin American countries (^{Cedeño, 2013}), which, in addition to the constant increase in the demand for timber products, constitute one of the important environmental concerns of the forestry agendas.

In this context, various researchers explore alternative materials, with properties similar to wood (^{Cruz-Salgado et al., 2015}). In this regard, bamboo, due to its woody culms, is a promising plant to replace it (^{Londoño, 2014}; ^{Kaur et al., 2016}); furthermore, since it has a rapid growth, about 75 to 400 mm per day, it is the vegetable for commercial use with the highest growth in the world (^{Kumar and Sastry, 1999}). This and the maturation of their culms allow their stems to be harvested selectively year after year, without cutting the entire plant (^{Añazco and Rojas, 2015}).

^{Ordóñez et al. (2011)} document that bamboo from plantations between 4 and 6 years can be used for various uses: material for house construction, elaboration of laminate floors and walls, elaboration of furniture, handicrafts, panels and activated carbon, among others.

As substitutes for wood, bamboos work as aids to curb deforestation (^{Añazco, 2014}), particularly in those regions of Mexico where the manufacture of furniture and handicrafts is important in the generation of jobs and income for families. Likewise, it is an alternative to counteract the deterioration of the forests and strengthen the artisan sector (^{Reyna, 2013}). Such actions would significantly facilitate the fulfillment of objectives 1, 5, 8, 9, 12 and 13 of sustainable development of the United Nations Development Program, whose purpose is to end poverty, contribute to the equality of gender, decent work, economic and industrial growth, innovation and infrastructure, responsible production and consumption, as well as improving the climate, respectively (^{UNDP, 2016}).

In regard to the benefits of using bamboo, the great potential of this non-timber forest product is evident. In Mexico, studies on the subject are still very scarce (^{Dávila and Brugger, 2012}). Therefore, studying, analyzing, documenting and disseminating the use of bamboo as a raw material for the manufacture of furniture and handicrafts by artisans in the state of Veracruz will contribute to the knowledge of its use. In addition, this provides elements to design strategies that allow to create options for the use of local resources that provide economic advantages to rural families in the country where the species naturally grows.

The objectives of this study were to analyze the transformation of bamboo in the manufacture of furniture and handicrafts, and to identify the social benefits for artisans and their families in the community of Monte Blanco, Teocelo municipality, Veracruz, Mexico.

Materials and Methods

The research was carried out from May to June 2017, in the community of Monte Blanco, Teocelo municipality, Veracruz, located between parallels 19°23' and 19°24' N and 96°58' and 97°02' W, with an altitude range of 500 to 1 181 m (^{INEGI, 2009}). According to the Population and Housing Census (^{INEGI, 2010}), there are 1 708 people living there. For 2016, the National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy registered 63.3 % of the population in poverty in the municipality, with a low degree of social backwardness, which put it in 158^th place at the state level, and a medium degree of marginalization. The employed population with an income of up to two minimum wages was 63.9 % (^{Coneval, 2016}).

During the field trips through the municipality, the following main economic activities were identified: services, agro-industry, handicrafts, coffee-growing, furniture manufacturing and bamboo handicrafts.

The Monte Blanco community is recognized as one of the regions of the country where there are plantations with different types of bamboo, although they are scattered in the backyards of the houses or among the other existing crops in the community (^{D´Esezarte, 2016}). For this reason there are no official records of the established surface, nor data of the producers; there is no production chain for bamboo either. During the field information gathering, it was only possible to observe the presence of plant suppliers, bamboo producers, processors, intermediaries and marketers of products made from this NTFP. However, the Veracruz Bamboo Veracruz Council was identified, as well as producer organizations in different regions of the state.

There are small workshops in Monte Blanco, where artisans make furniture and various bamboo products for marketing. Most of them display them in their homes, others transport them to sell them outside the community. In field work and in the bibliographic review, an official record of the number of workshops was not obtained, nor of the bamboo artisans present in Teolcelo.

With regard to the raw material (bamboo) used in the production of furniture and handicrafts, few producers grow the species, since most of them buy the material they require in the community; those who cultivate it, have surfaces that vary from 0.25 to 1.5 ha, and do not carry out any agronomic management of the plantations. The people interviewed indicated that the community has a favorable climate and soil for the cultivation and growth of any type of bamboo.

The scope of the research was descriptive, with a case study approach. The research techniques used were: participant observation, semi-structured interviews and survey. The participant observation allowed knowing the types of bamboo in the artisans' plantations (located in the backyard of their homes), the quality of the poles for cutting, the treatment it is subjected to in the workshops for its transformation into furniture or crafts, as well as the process for its elaboration.

The semi-structured interviews were applied to three key actors. One of them was the pioneer of the bamboo transforming activity in the community and two bamboo producers. The latter is also the owner of one of the highest producing bamboo nurseries in the state. The information provided by the key informants allowed to know the beginnings of the artisan activity with bamboo in the community, the limitations and potential that exist to develop the activity, as well as the expectations in the manufacture of furniture and handicrafts with bamboo in the community.

The identification of key informants was made from attending a bamboo congress, held in Huatusco, Veracruz, in which they had a first contact with them, and a bamboo collection center in Huatusco was visited, a workshop in which furniture and a bamboo nursery are produced in the communities of Monte Blanco and Llano Grande, Teocelo municipality, Veracruz. Subsequently, an exploratory visit to the Monte Blanco community was carried out with a key informant, in which it was possible to establish a first approach with the community's bamboo artisans.

For the survey, an ex professo instrument was designed that made it possible to collect sociodemographic data, information on the workplace of artisans, types of manufactured products, raw materials, tools and equipment, marketing of products and benefits of the artisan activity with bamboo. The artisan workshops of the Monte Blanco community were considered as unit of study. From approximately 45 units identified in operation through field trips, a non-random sample of 33 artisans who agreed to be surveyed in their workshops or work spaces was selected.

The analysis of the survey data was performed with Excel^® programs and the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS^®) version 24. (https://www.ibm.com/analytics/spss-statistics-software). A database was integrated in Excel and statistical analyzes were made with the SPSS to calculate tables of frequencies, percentages, averages, maximum and minimum values.

Results and Discussion

Conclusions

In the Monte Blanco community, bamboo is an important resource for artisans, who give it added value by making various products. It is an inclusive activity, in which men, women and older adults of both sexes participate, which allows them to have employment within their community, not only for artisans and their families, but also for other inhabitants of the town who have access to a temporary job. In addition, vulnerable groups such as people with disabilities, women and the elderly who cannot do heavy work in the fields or in neighboring towns become benefited.

The transformation of bamboo is an activity in which young people do not participate, which highlights the risk of the generational change for the production of furniture and crafts, with the consequent loss of the transmission of knowledge and traditional skills to manufacture bamboo products.

Most of the raw material used by the artisans is available in the community and is affordable for their economic conditions, except for the rattan husk which is imported from Asia.

The handicraft activity with bamboo in the workshops or workplaces allows ctaftsmen and their families to have a moment and a space in which coexistence and communication are promoted, the work carried out is made visible and thus its value is favored; there is no need to go outside the community in search of paid work. These actions help to strengthen family values and stimulate greater social cohesion.

The bamboo furniture and handicrafts made by Monte Blanco artisans are an option to meet the demands of society for ecological products, given the deterioration of natural resources; however, specific institutional support actions are necessary to improve bamboo production, the organization of the productive chain that guarantees the distribution and commercialization of finished products, through timely and sufficient financing, training for innovation, as well as for access to new and better markets.