POLOMOLOK, South Cotabato (Mar 2026) — The Philippines has a backlog of roughly 165,000 classrooms. A new school in South Cotabato thinks it has part of the answer, and it is made of bamboo.
Landan Elementary School in Polomolok just became home to Mindanao’s first school building constructed using Cement-Bamboo Frame Technology, a construction method developed by Base Bahay Foundation that combines bamboo framing with a bamboo truss system. The 175-square meter, two-classroom building was inaugurated through a partnership between Dole Philippines, A.Y. Foundation, Mahintana Foundation, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the Polomolok local government.
The building is not just a classroom. Each room is designed to meet DepEd standards while also serving as an evacuation center during typhoons, a practical consideration in a country that takes a direct hit from an average of 20 typhoons a year.
CBFT structures are tested against typhoons, earthquakes, fire, and insect infestations before deployment. Lifecycle assessments show bamboo-integrated construction can reduce embodied CO2 emissions by up to 70% compared to conventional concrete systems, which matters both for climate commitments and for long-term construction costs.
“We are not just building classrooms. We are building a more sustainable future,” said Engr. Luis Felipe Lopez, BASE General Manager. “This technology offers a scalable solution to the nation’s classroom backlog, providing resilient, eco-friendly structures that also boost the local economy.”
The building was constructed by the Philippine Army’s 549th Engineer “Kapayapaan” Battalion, 6th Infantry Division, under a Memorandum of Agreement signed in October 2025. The project falls under the Adopt-A-School Program, aimed at improving education access for upland indigenous communities in Sarangani and South Cotabato.
DepEd Education Program Supervisor Michael Poblador acknowledged the potential reach of the approach. “This initiative directly addresses our urgent need for more classrooms while providing safe, sustainable, and climate-resilient learning spaces. We commend BASE and its partners for showcasing an innovative solution that holds immense potential for scaling across the Philippines.”
Experts estimate the country needs to build at least 7,000 classrooms annually for the next 15 years to meaningfully close the gap. BASE has completed four CBFT school buildings nationwide, with two more under construction and two additional projects in the pipeline. Globally, the organization has built over 2,300 CBFT structures, sheltering more than 10,500 individuals and achieving over 40,000 tons of CO2 savings.
The technology is accredited by the National Housing Authority’s Accreditation of Innovative Technologies for Housing program and is also applicable to community centers, offices, and commercial buildings.
