What is the Bamboo plant?

Bamboos are a group of woody perennial evergreen plants in the true grass family Poaceae. Some of its members are giants, forming by far the largest members of the grass family. There are 91 genera and about 1,000 species of bamboo.ž  https://www.sciencedaily.com/terms/bamboo.

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Who owns and runs Kenya Tree Farms Ltd?

Kenya Tree Farms Ltd (KTF) is owned by a group of Kenyans who have decided to solve the national problem of lack of enough afforestation in Kenya.  John Musui is the chairman.  Mutuku Munywoki is the CEO, Emma Sawa is the COO, while Nelson Nzau is the CFO.  All these are highly skilled individuals of high personal integrity and are uniquely qualified to run KTF.

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How long does Bamboo take to mature enough for harvesting?

Bamboo is a fast growing plant, and it takes 4 years to mature.  After the fourth year, harvests begin, and continue annually for 35 years.

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Where is the plantation located?

KTF will create 20 plantations of 1,000 acre blocks.  The first 1,000 acre block will be in Narok county.  We have selected Narok county due to its long history of stable land lease arrangements.  Interested investors will be welcome to visit the property.

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What is the market like for Bamboo?

Bamboo is best known for its hard stems (culms) that are used in place of wood for a variety of applications, including furniture, scaffolding, flutes, fence posts, flooring, and even bicycle frames.   In Kenya the bamboo that KTF is producing will be used to make paper, yarn, replace wood for construction and even work as biomass for power production.  There are over 1,000 uses of bamboo all over the world.

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KTF intends to market the bamboo culms initially only in Kenya, but as the acreages under bamboo grow, KTF will export the excess harvested poles.

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What if KTF grows the bamboo and there is no market for the product?

At present, Kenya imports a large percentage of the forest products used in the local construction and furniture market.  It will take many decades for locally produced forest products to meet and saturate the local market. We are confident that KTF will never run out of a market for the bamboo products.

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Why does KTF need investors?  Why not get a large loan from the bank and do this project yourselves?

One of the key values of KTF is to spread as wide as possible the tremendous wealth that is in forest products.  The only way to achieve this goal is to involve as many investors as possible in funding this venture and in return share the profits with them.

 

Why is KTF asking for a low investment of Kshs. 350,000 while other competitors are asking for more than double of this investment amount?

KTF has limited the scope of her activities to only the planting, growing, harvesting and selling of the bamboo plant.  Other competitors have added, among other things, the sale of land and the sale of seedlings to the general public.  In order to make this opportunity as affordable to as many investors as possible, KTF decided to work on leased land, thus greatly reducing the overall cost of the plantations.

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žIf we invest, what is the guarantee of my investment for the next 35 years?

KTF is entering into a binding farming contract with the investors.  This contract will be registered and will be a legally enforceable document.  It will also be transferable and trade-able.  

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Bamboo has been grown worldwide for centuries.  Due to this long history, we know the lifespan of the plant is 40 years.  We will provide 4 years for maturing and 35 for productive harvesting.  

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žIs the contract and the annual returns transferable to my estate and heirs?

Yes.  You will need to tell us, using our standard forms, who your beneficiaries will be.

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žWhat if the harvest is not as expected in any one season.  What then?

The harvest of the bamboo culms tends to be quite stable over time for a well maintained plantation.  The fluctuations will be in the market where the prices may fluctuate.  KTF has put in place mechanisms that will see KTF provide a steady healthy return to the investors as per the contract.

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žWhy would anyone want to give me an annual return of Kshs.1 million for the next 35 years?   Is this a hoax?

Bamboo growing and selling is a lucrative but very expensive endeavor.  Unfortunately, it is very expensive when done in small parcels of land and lucrative when done in large plantations.

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Going by our key core value of spreading the Bamboo wealth widely, we are giving the larger portion of the annual revenues to the investors, without whom this large plantation would not be possible.  The company will retain a small portion to cover the farm costs for the next year and to pay a small amount to the shareholders.

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KTF's goal is to plant a total of 20,000 acres of bamboo.  The only way this will be possible is if KTF shares the costs with the general investing public and in return share a large portion of the wealth that will be unlocked from the bamboo plantations.

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Can non-Kenyans invest?

Yes.  Non-Kenyan can invest in the KTF bamboo project.  These investors will need to transfer their funds to Kenya and make this investment in Kenyan currency.