Building a Bamboo Desk Organizer

I hoped through this box organizer would not only keep me organized but also remind me of the beauty and versatility of bamboo every day. That's why I wanted this box to be simple, yet special and able to hold all my essentials like my laptop, notebook, and pens neatly. Also, I needed it to be compact enough for me to carry it home easily.

Taking inspiration from bamboo's natural structure, I used bamboo bone to minimize waste in the process. I used every piece of bamboo, ensuring there were no leftovers. The box was made of 2 pieces of bamboo and some leftovers found in the carpentry workshop space.

I began my project with designing how my organizer would look. I chose bamboo bone as the main material for its simplicity and neatness. Since I had limited time, I kept the design simple yet spacious enough to hold all my things, including my laptop, while still being easy to carry home.

After I settled on the design, I discussed with the carpenters about the best ways to make it happen and the materials we'd need. Then, I got to work prepping the bamboo by cutting it into the right shapes.

Next, I assembled the organizer framing structure according to my design, ensuring the top was movable. Then I added bamboo bones to the top part. I let the bamboo design in a way, because even the arrangement of the bamboo bones was sensitive to the natural forms that I found in the bones. After that, I added more bamboo pieces (inverted bones) to the sides of the box. Once everything was assembled, I double-checked it again, just to ensure all parts were securely installed.

Building this project has been a fun experience for me, with how I gained hand on experience of the materials itself. Although it feels challenging too because I had to complete the woodworking process of this piece within a limited timeframe. It’s still. Even though I used minimal materials and didn't do a lot of woodworking processes, there were still many things to consider throughout the process.

Ensuring the size and scale of the box was another important aspect. It needed to be large enough to hold all my belongings, especially my laptop and notebook.

I enjoyed learning about carpentry and bamboo during this project. Figuring out how bamboo works and what it can do was interesting. Even though I only used bamboo bone, I tried to use it in smart ways to reduce waste and make the most of it.

And even though I mostly did it on my own, I got some help from the carpenters which made me admire the craftsmanship of carpenters even more, seeing how they create unique pieces. This hands-on experience also sparked my interest in learning more about bamboo.

Overall, this project deepened my interest in bamboo and let me learn a lot about it firsthand. I'm grateful for the chance to talk with the experts and the Bamboo U team, who helped me understand this material even better.

As someone dedicated to sustainability, I truly appreciate bamboo's role as a solution for eco-friendly construction materials. Its versatility offers endless possibilities, giving the industry numerous options to explore, all while creating beautiful structures extending the beauty we find in nature.

Joining this course has been an unforgettable and enjoyable journey from start to finish. It covered everything about bamboo, from harvesting to processing and building projects through carpentry activities. I’ll definitely recommend this course and share my experience with others.