Science and Education Publishing Applied Ecology and Environmental Sciences 2328-3920 3 6 2015 12 4 Bamboo Resources Utilization: A Potential Source of Income to Support Rural Livelihoods 176 183 EN Sythud Phimmachanh School of Economics and Management, Beijing Forestry University, Qinghua Donglu, Haidian District, Beijing, China Zhang Ying Mukete Beckline AEES2015363 10.12691/aees-3-6-3 2015 7 6 2015 10 22 2015 12 2 In this paper, we examine the potential of bamboo as a source of income and better livelihood for rural communities. We look at the importance of bamboo from a global perspective with special attention to its economic, social and ecological values. Using this approach, we observed that, bamboo is very ubiquitous, has a global presence and it is used for various purposes from toothpicks to dresses and construction of houses. We also found that, it is a lucrative business from which rural people with the proper and adequate skills and market value chains, could adopt to come out of the poverty trap.