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June 18, 2010 by Angela Shupe | 0 Comments

al.com:

While most Alabamians may view bamboo as a nuisance akin to kudzu, an entrepreneur with a vision for using it as major renewable resource for fabric, food and paper brought her message to the state today.

Jackie Heinricher, a biologist and CEO of Booshoot Gardens LLC of Mount Vernon, Wash., made a whirlwind visit to the state that included several stops in Alabama’s impoverished Black Belt.

During her brief stay, Heinricher’s company signed a joint agreement with the University of West Alabama and plans to sign one with the University of Alabama. She also met Wednesday with Auburn University officials.

Heinricher developed the process of cloning more than 50 species of bamboo in tissue cultures for sale around the world — mostly to Asia.

But she is specifically interested in marketing an industrial grade of bamboo known as Mozo in the South.

While the United States is the largest consumer of the product, none of it is grown domestically. Heinricher has identified the Black Belt as an ideal region to farm Mozo, which grows as tall as 100 feet and can be 18 inches in diameter.