I treated the bamboo by smoking it. My neighbor has a smoke house for curing hams, left the bamboo in that for a period of days. Some of the pieces split (only about 10%), I discarded those and used the intact wood I had left.
I bought the fiber thinking I would use it in raw form. I'm going to spin it first and then soak the spun twine. The hemp soaks up the resin very readily, dipping the twine into the resin should thoroughly coat it.
I believe using the hemp in twine form will make it easier to control and will make defining the ends of the lugs easier as well.