The Journey of Crafting a Bespoke Bamboo Birdhouse

The idea of building a birdhouse came about when I was traveling in Bali and I was on a journey to collaborate with a wildlife foundation, FNFP which is also working with the rehabilitation of a critically endangered songbird. As I was about to take on the bamboo course with Bamboo U, I wanted to use this opportunity to create something out of bamboo that can be potentially beneficial to help out in the area of conservation. Thus, the birth of the birdhouse idea.

Inspired by nature, the form of the birdhouse was derived from the form of a morning dew drop, representing a drop of hope. The aim of the project was also meant to inspire more locals to create their own birdhouses instead of using bird cages in their homes to keep birds as pets (one of the many reasons why the number of wild songbirds is declining in Bali). With the knowledge I have developed from the Bamboo U course and the help of the carpenters on site, this project was also a great exploration of what bamboo can offer in the field of conservation in the future.

The materials used included bamboo bono, laminated Gigantochloa apus splits and pins, Bambusa blumeana, and Phyllostachys aurea. The main form of the dew shape was created by laminating splits together using epoxy glue and sawdust. As the birdhouse will be used mainly in an outdoor setting where the structure will be exposed to rain and sun, the exterior of the birdhouse is crucial to prevent water from entering the birdhouse. Hence, the horizontal exterior claddings were created with splits, glue, and sawdust. The front and back panels were created also using laminated splits that were cut to shape using a jigsaw. Lastly, the final structure was varnished using linseed oil, a natural organic which is not hazardous to the birds.