Ironic

Swatch installed a gigantic watch in Rizal Park commemorating the accession of Benigno Aquino III to the presidency of the Philippines in June of this year. Since his nickname is Noynoy, his presidential nickname has become P-Noy, which is a play on Pinoy, the colloquial term which we use for ourselves as Filipinos. The text written on top of the watch is "Oras P-Noy, Oras ng Pagbabago"—Time for P-Noy, Time for Change.

Rising from the ashes

For my last post about the Ateneo School of Management Business Accelerator (SOMBA) Program, I am featuring a product that is very different from everything else that I've posted this past week. Envirobloxx are concrete masonry units (better known as cinder blocks in the U.S. and hollow blocks here in the Philippines) made of cement, lahar (volcanic ash flow—we still have lots from the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption) and rice hull ash. The result is a cheaper, lighter block that does not compromise on strength. I also like Envirobloxx's interlocking design, which should make wall construction easier. This is a product which I hope construction companies, architects, civil engineers and hardware stores will pick up fast. My husband and I have no need for hollow blocks right now, but you can be sure that I'm keeping their brochure and business card for the day when we do need them.



Envirobuilders Construction Supplies Inc. developed and markets Envirobloxx. They can be emailed at envirobuildersinc@gmail.com.

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The AY 2010–2011 SOMBA Program has more groups than the seven that I was able to feature. The complete list of companies established this academic year can be found at jgsomba.tk. And to all the students in the program: you have such fantastic ideas and products, and I love that you all care about the environment and the less privileged of our countrymen so much. I wish your companies much success and I hope that all your products fly off the shelves!

Starchy food

Before I continue with my series on the Ateneo School of Management Business Accelerator (SOMBA) Program fair, I think I need to clarify one point. These students are Management majors; they are not food technologists or materials scientists. Therefore, the products that they develop are not necessarily new; in fact, they have to use existing technologies if they wish to finish their project within the stipulated year. Their mandate is to develop commercially-viable products for a specified target market. The environmental and social enterprise focus are additional, in the hope that these young men and women will mature into socially-responsible adults and entrepreneurs. That said, let's go on to the next company (just two more since I wasn't able to take photos of all the products at the fair). We all know how disposable, plastic tableware is bad for the environment; but no one can deny that they are very convenient—for parties, take-out (take-away, to-go or however you call it in your country) food, picnics, and such. A solution: disposable, starch-based eating utensils. They're not just biodegradable; they can actually be added to compost heaps. The stuff in the bowl are the starch pellets which the spoons and forks are made of. This particular product is made by a Gawad Kalinga community; this and its environmental focus defines Bioware as a social enterprise. I forgot to ask the kids though: won't the spoon melt if it's used for stirring hot drinks or eating hot soup?



Me bad. I wasn't able to get their business card so I don't have Bioware's contact information, but the SOMBA Program office should have it. Their number is (63-2) 426-6001 extension 5532.

3:20PM UPDATE: Thanks to Joey Oliver, I can now direct you to Bioware's Facebook page. Bioware is the brand and the company is called Greenature Cycle Incorporated.

Urban ethnicity

Of all the projects at the Ateneo School of Management Business Accelerator (SOMBA) Program fair last week, Ethnu was the one that made me weak in the knees, with their neo-ethnic jewelry. The materials—stone and shell beads, brass bells—are sourced from the tribes that inspired the jewelry, but the designs, created by fashion designer Louis Claparols, are very modern. They currently have three beautifully-named collections which showcase the intricate work of three Philippine ethnic tribes. On the left is Brass Dreamweavers, from the T'boli of Southern Mindanao. On the higher table at the right is People of the Earth, from the Ifugao. On the lower table is Peacock Warriors, from the Kalinga. The Ifugao and the Kalinga are two of several ethnic groups in the mountainous Cordillera region of Luzon which are known collectively as Igorot. If only for purely selfish reasons (I want those necklaces!), I want this company to succeed, but of course, it's much more than that. Any company that can bring Philippine ethnic accessories and fabrics to the world stage has my support, especially if that company applies fair trade principles in their dealings with these usually marginalized and exploited ethnic groups.



Ethnu is the brand of Ethnocentricity Incorporated. They are on Facebook and can also be emailed at ethnuaccessories@gmail.com.

High fashion

Most Manileños know pandan only as a food flavoring and these young students of the Ateneo School of Management Business Accelerator (SOMBA) Program are on a mission to re-educate us. P. Nouvelle, with the help of Filipino fashion designer Arnold Galang and two partners from the Department of Trade and Industry, produces gorgeous bags made out of pandan leaves. Sustainable, ethical, green fashion—any takers, ladies?



P. Nouvelle Developers Inc. can be found in Facebook and their email address is pnouvellebags@gmail.com.

Paper bags

Many of the student groups in the Ateneo School of Management Business Accelerator (SOMBA) Program are concerned with the environment, sustainability and social enterprise. Like yesterday's shoes, the bags of Papelle use recycled materials. In this case, what looks like traditional basketry is actually made of handwoven paper from old newspapers and telephone directories. Don't they look fantastic? The paper bags are laminated so they're water resistant. The design on the left, which is reinforced around the body, is strong enough to carry five kilos of weight. What's more, Papelle (a French-ified play on the Tagalog word "papel" which means paper) bags now provide a livelihood to previously jobless residents of the barangay of Natipuan in Nasugbu, Batangas.



Papelle is manufactured by The Twillery, Inc. They have a website and can be emailed at papellebags@gmail.com or TheTwillery@gmail.com.

If they can stop a plane…

Continuing with the entrepreneurial fair of the Ateneo John Gokongwei School of Management: This product was a big hit among the students: casual shoes made of recycled materials. Named "Soule," the uppers are chosen from used clothing or excess fabrics, and the soles are made out of used airplane tires. It would have been interesting to find out where the kids got the tires, but they were busy with their stock when I passed their stall. According to their brochure, the soles are lightweight and durable, and I was thinking: the tires may be worn out, but only for the standard of airplanes. For people, the traction must still be quite awesome.



Soule is made by Cultura Verde Footwear, Inc. They have a website and their email address is culturaverdefootwear@gmail.com.

Moo!

The Ateneo John Gokongwei School of Management has a one-year program specifically focused on students with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. It is called the School of Management Business Accelerator Program, or SOMBA for short. At the end of the program, students must have developed a product, created a business plan which has been approved by a panel made up of recognized Filipino businessmen, established their company legally, and generated their projected revenue within a specified selling period. The SOMBA students held a two-day fair in the campus last week and I have to say that I was truly impressed with some of them. I'll be featuring some of their companies and products this week, beginning with one food product which I thought makes best use of a Filipino produce. Tropical Cow Mix & Dip tastes exactly like sweetened condensed milk but is made not of dairy milk but of coconut milk. Called gata in Tagalog, coconut milk comes from the meat of mature coconuts which is grated and squeezed through cheesecloth, and is a common cooking ingredient in the Philippines and in other Southeast Asian countries. For lactose-intolerant people like me, Tropical Cow's Mix & Dip is the perfect condensed milk substitute, and I hope that they can develop other milk substitute products out of coconut milk. I think Tropical Cow's logo (on the screen and on top of the refrigerator)—a typical image of a tropical drink served in a half coconut shell but with an udder—is hilarious, and isn't their mascot (on their t-shirts) just so cute?



Tropical Cow Manufacturing, Inc. can be reached by emailing tropicalcow@gmail.com. The Vice President for Operations is Joey Nocom and his email address is joeynocom@gmail.com. They have a website and can also be found in Facebook.

Fancy feet

Traditional, handcrafted products still abound in the Philippines, including Metro Manila. I saw these hand-beaded slippers in Binondo, Manila's Chinatown, and they were selling for only 285 pesos (just a little more than six U.S. dollars).

Strapped

A new kiosk that I recently discovered in some malls here, Asprey (which has nothing to do with the British luxury goods store) has nothing except watch straps. They have straps in leatherette, rubber, plastic and real leather, all the colors of the rainbow, and a wide range of widths. Even if the way the strap is attached is unusual, they will accommodate the replacement request, spending time carefully slicing tiny portions out of the tough leather.

Ungrape

I have already featured coconut wine and sugarcane liquor, and the deadly, distilled lambanog made from the sap of coconut flowers. Now let me present a more genteel locally-produced fruit wine. Bignay (Antidesma bunius) is a fruit tree native to Southeast Asia which produces clusters of little round berries. They grow wild in the Philippines and several companies make a light, sweet, slightly acidic wine from the ripe, red berries. Patubas (which is Hiligaynon for "harvest") also makes other fruit wines from duhat, guyabano and pineapple.

Packaging

Back in January, I showed you Coca-Cola's fake headline news in the newspaper The Philippine Star. Last Friday, another company came out with a different kind of advertising gimmick. The newspaper was delivered to our house in an Acer envelope with a die-cut window for the masthead and headline. It constantly amazes me how much creativity—and money—companies spend just to try to make us buy their products.



On a side note, Acer's new local brand ambassador is Derek Ramsay, a half-Brit half-Filipino actor and model. Just between you and me, I think he's the hottest of all the hot local celebrities. This photo does not do him enough justice, or maybe I'm just not used to seeing him in a suit.

Big business

Skin whitening products are big business in the Philippines. Except for those with strong Chinese or Spanish blood, most Filipinos are medium brown (kayumanggi) to dark brown (moreno). Needless to say, many Filipino women are not happy with that fact and go through great pains and expense to lighten their skin tone. In fact, we're the only country I know of that advertises glutathione as a skin whitener rather than an antioxidant or detoxifier. The neighboring Laneíge (South Korean) and Shiseido (Japanese) stores in Trinoma caught my eye because their most prominent window displays are for skin whiteners.





I find it especially ironic because the tourists who come to our many beautiful beaches spend hours and days sunbathing trying to get the darkest tan that they can get.

90 proof

Philippine alcoholic beverages have traditionally been made in backyard operations and you couldn't get any unless you went to the regions which produced each kind. A few companies now produce them commercially, both for local consumption and for export. This bottle of lambanog in a woven wicker bottle holder is available at Kultura, located in all SM malls, and makes for a great gift and souvenir.



Lambanog is produced mostly in the province of Quezon from the sap of coconut flowers which is cooked, fermented and distilled. Do not ever make the mistake of serving or storing lambanog in plastic containers—its alcoholic content is enough to melt plastic.

Headline news

Yesterday, Coca-Cola took out a special 6-page ad in one of our national dailies. Printed in full color on thick, bright white paper stock and laid out to look like the newspaper's main page—it even had the paper's masthead! It was folded as if it truly was the headline page since it was on top of the real newspaper. And it was the second day in a row that Coke had a similar special ad. They did the same on December 31 though that only had 4 pages. It's crazy. Do newspapers in your country lend their mastheads for ads like this? At the very least, I hope Coke's headline comes true.

Proudly Pinoy

Way back in June of 2008, I posted a photo of one of my favorite mall stores which specializes in Philippine handicrafts. Happily, I discovered a similar shop, albeit smaller and therefore with fewer choices, very near our house. The Turista Shop sells small handcrafted wooden furniture and home accessories, woven baskets and mats, handmade paper, jewelry, soap and candles, and bottled delicacies and non-grape wines from all over the country. I love going there every now and then just to see what's new.

Rising from the ashes

This isn't about Baang Coffee but about the mugs that they use in their coffee shops. This distinctive pottery style—the rough, speckled, natural body with the smooth, color-glazed lip—is the work of master potter Lanelle Abueva Fernando who has her studio and a garden café in Antipolo City in the province of Rizal. The speckles are caused by her use of volcanic ash from Mount Pinatubo. Back in 1991, Mount Pinatubo, located 90 kilometers north of Metro Manila, blew up in one of the worst volcanic eruptions of the 20th century. Lanelle's production of these pieces began as her way of helping the Aetas displaced by the catastrophe. She brought some of them to her workshop and taught them pottery, using the same material that destroyed their homeland in the first place. Now, it is Lanelle's most popular signature design. Each piece is handcrafted so there are never any two that are exactly alike.

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It's that time of the month when I remind all CDP bloggers to please vote for the December theme! The theme for November 1 is Doorways. I'm actually dreading this because most places here have privacy walls and I can't even see the doors, much less take pictures of them. Ach!

Natural polish

So how do Filipinos who don't have electric floor polishers or vacuum cleaners with a gazillion attachments keep their wood and stone floors shiny? With a bunot, half (or two-thirds, in this case) of a dried-out coconut husk—without the shell, which is too hard. The husk's fibers are soft enough not to scratch wooden floors but tough enough to withstand the vigorous polishing that floors require. Of course, this method requires that one be healthy and very fit, without knee or hip problems of any kind. Put one foot on the bunot and just slide it back and forth, following the grain of the wood. Guaranteed to strengthen your arches and leg muscles, and give you a great aerobic workout. And I've just realized while cropping and editing this photo that our bedroom floor needs to be waxed and polished very soon.

Find more Odd Shots—or post your own—at Katney's Kaboodle.

Mangue séchées

Made mostly in the province of Cebu, dried mangoes are one of the Philippines' export products. This particular brand seems destined for France or Canada. If you ever see any in your country, grab a pack. It's a real sweet treat, even for us when it's not mango season.

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How time flies! Only one more week and it'll be CDP Theme Day again. The theme for October 1 is contrast. Don't forget to vote for the November theme too!