Consumer Satisfaction of Bamboo Products in Ghana: The Perspective of Built-Environment Professionals

Bamboo has been increasingly identified as a material of choice for sustainable building design and construction. This is a result of the global agenda to minimise the carbon footprint and develop healthy and sustainable cities. Globally, there are extensive studies on the application of bamboo as a building material and its constraints. However, there has been inadequate research on post-use assessment. In this paper, the authors aim to evaluate the satisfaction of built environment professionals on the use of bamboo. The study adopted a quantitative approach to ascertain consumer satisfaction, using Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) to analyse 252 responses; purposively sampled from built environment professionals who use bamboo within building design and construction activities. The findings revealed that bamboo is still predominantly used as support for buildings during construction, and a decorative element. However, there has been an increase in alternative uses in design and construction; where its adoption for floor finish, ceiling finish, curtains and furniture rated paramount. The respondents sampled in this study expressed satisfaction in employing bamboo; however, the availability of bamboo artisans was cited as the main inhibitor. A correlation test conducted between variables of “motivation” and “knowledge” against satisfaction indicates the observed correlation is not statistically significant. However, a genuine relationship was observed between “perception” and satisfaction. The authors recommend the integral inclusion of bamboo technology training in all building-related curricula. In addition, there should be conscious efforts towards sensitization by interest groups. The authors equally propose further research into the impact of increased knowledge on satisfaction and an evaluation of residents satisfaction of bamboo facilities.