Abstract This study pertains to the design and structural testing of trusses assembled with culms and slats of the bamboo species Guadua angustifolia (GA). The trusses were constructed using a novel design of steel clamps to accomplish the connections between the top and bottom chord culms and the diagonal and vertical slat elements. The clamps offer a better alternative to the conventional joining methods that typically lead to longitudinal splitting of the culms, since the clamps counteract the formation of longitudinal splitting and accommodate themselves to the geometric irregularities of the culms and slats. The experimental program included the monotonic static tests of pilot Howe truss prototypes with variations in the clamp joints. Next, four replicates of the proposed design (3 m long and 0.4 m high weighing 265.4 N) were tested under monotonic static load. The trusses were simply supported at the ends and loaded at three central joints. The stiffness of the trusses up to 9869 N (1.5 times the service load for floor use) was 631.3 N/mm (COV 3.6%), and no failure was shown at the proof load of 13,754 N. This pilot study demonstrates that these trusses are a good candidate to substitute the traditional materials to support the floors and roofs in low-cost, prefabricated housing projects. However, more experimental studies have to be accomplished to fully validate this application.