Mikolaj Borowczyk
Maastricht University
Jolien Huybrechts
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Una Gama is a Sri Lankan enterprise that pioneers sustainable construction through bamboo. Their innovation tackles some of the most urgent global challenges, including climate change, poverty, and unsustainable urban growth, by offering a scalable alternative to carbon-intensive building practices.
Through a locally embedded bamboo supply chain, Una Gama provides durable, low-carbon housing using Cement Bamboo Frame Technology (CBFT). Their mission to decarbonize Sri Lanka’s construction industry directly supports several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 15 (Life on Land), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure), SDG 8 (Decent Work & Economic Growth), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 1 (No Poverty).
This innovation is not just about materials, it’s about transformation. Una Gama creates regenerative systems that empower local communities, reduce emissions, and challenge outdated perceptions of what sustainable building can look like.
The core of Una Gama’s innovation lies in using treated bamboo poles, a renewable, fast-growing, and carbon-absorbing material serving as the backbone of its construction systems. The company applies Cement Bamboo Frame Technology (CBFT), a modular method that integrates cement and bamboo in a way that is both earthquake and typhoon-resistant. This method is adapted from the Philippines-based Base Bahay Foundation and tailored to Sri Lanka’s climate, regulatory conditions, and labor context.
Una Gama is based in Acharella, in the Ratnapura district, where it operates a 400-square-meter bamboo factory. The factory was built in just one month using bamboo panels and a local team of 16 carpenters, demonstrating the speed, efficiency, and resilience of the material. The company also harvests bamboo from various rural areas, including a legally protected stretch along the Mahavali River, where 2 million bamboo plants were originally planted for erosion control.
In addition to the building system, Una Gama’s innovation includes a nine-step bamboo treatment process that ensures longevity, making structures last 40–50 years instead of deteriorating in one. The company also repurposes bamboo waste into biochar for soil enrichment and carbon credits, and sells treated poles for craft and furniture applications.
This vertically integrated model allows Una Gama to control quality, reduce waste, create jobs, and build up a bamboo-based construction industry from scratch in a country where such infrastructure was previously nonexistent.
The idea for Una Gama began with a different dream. Co-founders Julien Bailly and Aoife O’Sullivan arrived in Sri Lanka in 2019, originally intending to build a sustainable hotel made entirely of bamboo. Julien, formerly in digital marketing, had spent years working across multinational corporations until a transformative backpacking journey through Southeast Asia exposed him to the beauty and utility of bamboo.
“We discovered bamboo in Indonesia and Vietnam. It’s the most regenerative plant on the planet. You cut 20%, and the rest keeps growing, it doesn’t need to be replanted like trees,” the founder explained. This realization, combined with disillusionment about corporate greenwashing, sparked their desire to build a sustainable business from the ground up.
When COVID-19 hit, and tourism collapsed, their original hotel project became impossible. But the crisis revealed an even greater opportunity: there was no bamboo supply chain in Sri Lanka. “We were asking ourselves, do we leave the country, or do we stay and build something that’s never been done?” Julien recalled. They chose to stay.
After a training trip to Bali, they brought in master bamboo carpenter York Stump and began training local workers. The mission evolved. “We didn’t just want to build one sustainable hotel. We wanted to transform an entire industry.”
From a personal passion for sustainability and craftsmanship grew a systemic vision to decarbonize the construction industry through local empowerment, innovation, and education.
In its early years, Una Gama has created significant social, environmental, and economic impact despite operating in a country recovering from economic crisis. Within its first year of full operations, they trained 30+ rural harvesters, 16 carpenters, and 50 architecture students, directly addressing unemployment and skills gaps in underdeveloped areas. Most of the staff lives within a 5 km radius around the factory, ensuring hyper-local benefits.
Una Gama also built three bamboo homes in just seven weeks each, demonstrating that sustainable building doesn’t have to come at the sacrifice of speed or durability. “These buildings can withstand 250 km/h winds and earthquakes of 8.0 on the Richter scale,” explains the founder of Una Gama, emphasizing their resilience.
Environmentally, Una Gama’s carbon footprint bamboo homes emit 60% less CO₂ compared to conventional concrete buildings. With no heavy machinery, their operations produce virtually no emissions except for transportation. They also plan to scale biochar production, a by-product of bamboo waste, to lock away carbon and enrich soil.
The long-term vision includes 20–40 micro-factories across Sri Lanka, supporting thousands of new jobs, affordable housing, and carbon-smart development. Una Gama’s partnerships, with the University of Moratuwa, Good Life X, Base Bahay, and the Hilti Foundation, position them to be a national leader in regenerative construction.
“Right now we’re small, but our model is built to scale, sustainably, ethically, and with the people of Sri Lanka at the center,” Julien concluded.
Una Gama’s bamboo innovation is more than just sustainable, it’s financially viable and designed for long-term scalability. The business generates revenue through multiple streams:
By using the full bamboo lifecycle, the company avoids waste and creates high-value outputs at every stage. “Every part of the plant is used. What we can’t use for building becomes furniture or biochar,” Julien explained. This zero-waste model not only maximizes profits but also reduces risk.
The company’s workforce has expanded quickly, with over 25 people currently employed across harvesting, operations, and carpentry. Plans to scale to 50+ by next year are already in motion, as demand from the tourism industry grows. Their facilities are also attracting the attention of local investors and multinational firms seeking sustainable construction models.
Crucially, Una Gama plans to become a worker-owned company. “Each employee will have the chance to buy 1% of the company,” Julien shared. “It means they aren’t just workers, they’re co-owners. They care more, and they stay.”
With strategic partnerships and a clear revenue model, Una Gama demonstrates how doing good can also mean doing well.
The social and environmental benefits of Una Gama’s innovation ripple across Sri Lanka’s economic, ecological, and cultural systems. Located in rural Acharella, the company has revitalized a community of just 500 people by creating high-quality, stable jobs, fair wages, and formal employment with benefits. Workers receive training, health and safety instruction, and retirement contributions, rare in the region.
Una Gama is also leading the way on gender equality. While construction is male-dominated, they’ve already hired multiple women at their factory and plan to train Sri Lanka’s first female bamboo carpenters by the end of the year. “Everyone has hands and a brain. Why shouldn’t women build too?” Julien posited.
On the environmental side, the use of bamboo - a grass, not a tree- eliminates deforestation. Its rapid growth cycle, regenerative harvesting, and high carbon sequestration rate make it one of the greenest materials on the planet. The company’s small-scale operations avoid heavy machinery, consume minimal water, and use no synthetic chemicals in treatment.
In addition, bamboo homes are naturally cooler and more breathable than concrete, an important health and comfort factor in Sri Lanka’s tropical climate. They also resist floods, earthquakes, and high winds, making them ideal for climate-vulnerable communities.
From climate action to social equity, the sustainable company proves that local innovation can drive global change - not by copying the West, but by building from the ground up, with roots in local culture and values.
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Julien Bailly, Co-Founder
Una Gama was founded in 2019 by Aoife O’Sullivan and Julien Bailly. Their journey began with an intensive bamboo construction training in Bali, Indonesia, after which they relocated to Sri Lanka to establish a bamboo-based construction enterprise. Initially, their vision centered on creating a sustainable bamboo eco-hotel. However, recognizing the broader potential of bamboo in sustainable construction, they expanded their mission to decarbonize Sri Lanka’s building industry and empower local communities through innovative bamboo construction practices.