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Agora Entrepreneur: CO2 Bambu.
May 2
Posted by Agora Partnerships
What keeps Agora going are the powerful mission-driven entrepreneurs that bring business and social good together to create positive change. One such organization is CO2 Bambu.

CO2 Bambu’s founder, Ben Sandzer-Bell, believes firmly in the mission his organization seeks to solve. He tells us:
“Several years ago, I decided to change my priorities and make environmental impact the heart of my professional work. Furthermore, as a resident in a new country, Nicaragua, with a poverty level higher than the previous countries I’ve lived in, I wanted to have not only an environmental impact – but also a social one.”

For marginalized populations living in Nicaragua’s most remote areas, living conditions are poor and stable housing is difficult to come by. To fill this void of adequate shelter, CO2 Bambu constructs sustainable housing using bamboo as the primary raw material. Maintain bamboo farms as a means of capturing carbon is an integral part of their operations. In doing so, the organization creates a triple-bottom line model, creating economic, social and environmental good.CO2 Bambu aims for ecological impact by substituting higher carbon footprint materials with sustainable materials (in this case, bamboo) in the reconstruction after natural disasters. Further, it supports reforestation and plantation development, creating fair trade jobs across the full value chain of bamboo processing.

With such a powerful business model proofed out in Nicaragua, Co2 Bambu is expanding to Haiti. The company has already received launched contracts in Haiti, launched a small pilot reforestation project, assembled the first of many future field assembly teams, built a first model house in Leogane, the epicenter of the January 12, 2011 earthquake, and selected a warehouse from which to address the Haiti reconstruction market.

By working with impact entrepreneurs such as the team behind CO2 Bambu, Agora helps unleash their potential for good.