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About Us

Our story

Key achievements:

Our commitment

We are proud to partner with the Environmental Bamboo Foundation. a non-profit organization based in Indonesia that works to support bamboo farmer groups plant and harvest bamboo sustainably. We purchase the bamboo grown by these groups and we can guarantee our bamboo is harvested without deforestation.

This is a transformative approach to addressing poverty by combining modern market-based tools with cultural and environmental conservation. We work with local governments, indigenous people, communities, and local organizations to ensure that the benefits of economic opportunity flow directly to rural communities. This approach is based on the belief that rewarding farmers for conserving the environment and practicing cultural traditions is a powerful incentive for restoring degraded lands and preventing further deforestation.

Our Team

Arief Rabik

Founder and CEO

Trained in environmental sciences, Arief Rabik is one of the world’s top bamboo forestry and harvesting experts. He founded Indobamboo, focused on combining bamboo processing with community development. He is also on the board of the Indonesian non-profit organization Environmental Bamboo Foundation, which is focused on developing sustainable clumping bamboo management systems, the Cocoon Nursery model, and Bamboo Field Schools.

He was a member of the Indonesian delegation for COP 21, 22 and 23. He also authored ‘Toward Resilient Bamboo Forestry: A Reference Guide for Improved Management of Clumping Bamboo for Timber Bamboo’ – together with Linda Garland and Ben Brown. He has delivered keynote lectures and talks at the Bamboo and Rattan Congress in Beijing, World Bamboo Congress in Korea, and ASEAN Economic Community in Bandung.

Ario Brunet

Ario Brunet

Director of Operations

Ario Brunet joined PT. Indobamboo Lestari as a partner in late 2016, taking over the role of Operational Director in early 2018.

Born in Jakarta, Ario studied mainly in the UK, gaining a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Bristol University. Following spells in the Oil Drilling and Steel Fabrication industries, Ario decided to turn his eye towards sustainability and discovered the potential for bamboo to become one of the leading sustainable materials for years to come. Since meeting Arief Rabik, Ario understood the potential for lean, systematic production approaches used in other manufacturing sectors could be utilised to develop bamboo production in Indonesia to the point that laminated bamboo can compete with wood in terms of quality and price.

With nearly 5 years of experience working with Indobamboo, learning everything from bamboo forestry management, to laminating bamboo in different forms, Ario has spent much of his recent focus on creating a lean manufacturing system to ensure that Indobamboo will be the leader in the production of sustainably sourced, high-quality laminated bamboo for years to come.