| You are seriously underestimating the differences in labor and material costs. Steps for making a curved wooden yoke 1. Cut down a tree 2. Saw out a rectangular cross-section 3. Cut out rough outline of the curved pole 4. Whittle it down to the appropriate thickness 5. Sand down to smooth it out and reduce the possibility of splinters End result: A single curved yoke and a lot of small pieces of wood that you can't do much else with. You could make more yokes with the rest of the tree, but each time you make one you will essentially waste the cutout section. Steps for making a Bamboo carrying pole 1. Cut down a piece of bamboo 2. Cut a piece of the appropriate length 3. Split it down the middle End result: Two carrying poles. The rest of the bamboo can then be cut to make even more carrying poles with practically zero waste. So you see that the manufacturing processes are very different. The bamboo carrying pole can be made using just a machete with minimal skill or effort. For the wooden yoke you will need an ax to cut down the tree and various woodworking tools to shape the yoke. It also takes more time and care to carve the wood appropriately. Another consideration is that trees take a relatively long time to grow, whereas bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth. |
Why split it, rather than just using the entire tubular pole? No doubt I'm overlooking an important feature. This is just for my curiosity.