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 [peaceful traditional 
Japanese composition]  

2
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 (narrator) 
In the Blue Ridge Mountains 
of western North Carolina,  

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 there is a quiet place.  

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 You can your heartbeat 
if you pause to listen...  

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 or the near silent fall 
of distant rain--  

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00:00:21,521 --> 00:00:23,656
 at least, 
that's what it sounds like  

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 as the wind filters 
through the grove.  

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00:00:28,928 --> 00:00:31,264
 (man, Japanese accent)  

9
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 (narrator) 
Keiji Oshima 
and his wife, Stefani,  

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00:01:01,094 --> 00:01:04,931
 have created a small paradise 
here in Henderson County,  

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 six acres of bamboo forest  

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 that must 
be experienced firsthand  

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 to fully 
and deeply appreciate.  

14
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 (Stefani) 
We first came 
over 25 years ago.  

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Our land, it was 
just open grass.  

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 (narrator) 
They started 
the Haiku Bamboo Nursery  

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 after becoming convinced that 
the climate here was perfect  

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 and a lot like 
Keiji's native Japan.  

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 Many species of bamboo 
along with soybeans  

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 and some 200,000 
other exotics  

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 were introduced to the U.S.  

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 by botanist and plant explorer 
David Fairchild  

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 in the early 20th century,  

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 and over the years, 
this tall plant  

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 with its familiar 
sectional structure  

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 has acquired a reputation 
for wild, unmanaged growth.  

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That's why 
it became invasive.  

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They didn't know 
what to do with it,  

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 how to maintain it.  

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 [drums lead]  

31
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 (narrator) 
Given his sensitivity  

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 to this deceivingly 
simple plant,  

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 Keiji cultivates over 23 
different bamboo species.  

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 Out of 1,400 worldwide,  

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 only three species 
are native to the U.S.,  

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 and one of them, hill cane,  

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 was discovered 
in Henderson County.  

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 Black bamboo is especially 
coveted by collectors.  

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 The stem starts out green,  

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 then gradually 
turns a vivid black.  

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Wow!  

42
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 (narrator) 
The long, skinny 
yadake bamboo variety  

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 also is known 
as arrow bamboo.  

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Very beautiful-- 
this one.  

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 Very beautiful bamboo.  

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 I love it.  

47
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 (narrator) 
From the ground-hugging 
dwarf bamboo...  

48
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 to the large grove 
of madake bamboo,  

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 these plants, 
actually classified  

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 as evergreen grasses, 
provide endless fascination.  

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 Their majestic stalks, 
called &nbspculms ,  

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 pull the eye upward.  

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 Each individual plant is part 
of an interlinked colony,  

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 feeding nutrients down  

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 and through a network 
of underground stems,  

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 or feeder roots, 
called &nbsprhizomes .  

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 As the grove matures,  

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 rhizomes spread out 
in all directions,  

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 extending 
the bamboo grove's reach  

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 and giving the grid 
of below-ground roots  

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 a steellike strength-- 
great for erosion control.  

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 (Keiji)  

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Ohh!  

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Like this--netting...  

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 (narrator) 
Each spring, the rhizomes 
send out new growth.  

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 The culms soon shoot skyward  

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 and quickly achieve 
full height and diameter  

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 after only two months.  

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 Bamboo is the fastest growing 
plant in the world  

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 and can be harvested 
much more frequently  

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 than pines or hardwoods 
used for lumber,  

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00:04:05,979 --> 00:04:09,249
 making bamboo one of 
the world's most eco-friendly,  

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 green, and easily renewable 
natural resources.  

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 [flute leads 
peaceful composition]  

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 Keiji numbers each culm 
for the year it was born  

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 and doesn't let them age 
more than five years.  

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 (Keiji, 
voice-over)  

78
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 (narrator) 
If a happy forest 
is a productive forest,  

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 that would be all the more 
true of a grove like this  

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 because bamboo is said to be  

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 the world's 
most practical plant...  

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 from huge, 
awe-inspiring structures  

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 like houses constructed 
from sturdy bamboo poles...  

84
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 to delicate works of art.  

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 [energetic drums lead]  

86
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 In the hands of a skilled 
artisan like Keiji,  

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 bamboo can become 
almost anything...  

88
00:05:04,204 --> 00:05:06,573
 apothecary jars, 
for instance.  

89
00:05:08,742 --> 00:05:11,111
 It can be used 
for medicinal purposes...  

90
00:05:13,113 --> 00:05:16,549
 and to make attractive 
and durable clothing.  

91
00:05:18,852 --> 00:05:21,287
 Of course, 
there's bamboo furniture  

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 and countless other 
useful things,  

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 like baskets...  

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 lots of baskets.  

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 Plenty of physical labor 
goes into growing  

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 and harvesting this crop,  

97
00:05:38,338 --> 00:05:41,107
 but it's not all hard work.  

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00:05:41,107 --> 00:05:44,377
 Now the Oshimas 
have added &nbspbamboo educators 

99
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 to their titles.  

100
00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:50,283
 (Stefani) 
After we had experience 
running our nursery,  

101
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 we realized, 
so many people ask questions.  

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00:05:54,220 --> 00:05:56,890
 It has took up all our time.  

103
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Good afternoon, 
Haiku Bamboo Nursery,  

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00:05:58,892 --> 00:06:00,560
 can I help you?  

105
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 [voice-over] 
We decided, we better 
open a school now  

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00:06:03,163 --> 00:06:05,832
 because they wanna know 
more about it.  

107
00:06:05,832 --> 00:06:08,501
 (narrator) 
Classes include 
bamboo biology,  

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 soil management, 
hands-on farm activities,  

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 and product marketing,  

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 but bamboo's main attraction 
remains its grace and beauty.  

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 Just ask people 
who take the tours.  

112
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 (Stefani) 
Once they walk in, it's like 
a completely different world,  

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 and they don't say a word.  

114
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 (narrator) 
Keiji, of course, is totally 
familiar with this phenomenon.  

115
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 (Keiji)  

116
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 [peaceful composition]  

117
00:06:55,648 --> 00:06:59,652
 (Stefani) 
Many people have walked 
into walking tours  

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 where 35, 40 minutes, 
they don't say nothing  

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until I tap them 
on the shoulder,  

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say, "Let's go."  

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[both laughing]  

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 [drumming returns]  

123
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 (narrator) 
Flowering bamboo 
is something growers may see  

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 only once in a lifetime  

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 because some plants 
rarely bloom--  

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 every 65 to 120 years.  

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 What's more, 
many bamboo plants  

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 from the same species 
flower gregariously,  

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 all at the same time,  

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 regardless 
of where in the world  

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 they may have been 
transplanted,  

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 and then they die.  

133
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 (narrator) 
Throughout time, 
this ancient plant  

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 has provoked 
considerable mystery and awe,  

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 and clearly, 
there remains much to learn.  

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 (Keiji, 
voice-over)