From trash to treasure: An upcycling project rises in Bohol to help impoverished communities

 

The wallets, fans, and key holder samples were created by Rowena, Telyz, and Angelita — all members of a women’s group in Barangay Cogon in Tagbilaran, Bohol.

The souvenir items were made from used plastic shopping bags and snack wrappers.

The women were trained by a 27-year old Japanese volunteer Chisato Kanno dispatched under the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s (JICA) Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV) Program.

“Bohol has a thriving tourism industry, but waste management is a challenge. I am introducing a system to the community on recycling plastic, and creating products that they can sell for income,” said Kanno.

With help from JICA, Bohol’s local government, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Education (DepEd), and barangay Cogon, an upcycling facility project was launched in Tagbilaran, the first of its kind in the Philippines to use digital fabrication equipment.

“Upcyling” is converting unwanted objects like plastics into usable ones without degrading its quality.

In Tagbilaran City, about 10 tons of waste materials, particularly plastic shopping bags are discarded on average.

Through upcycling, waste materials like plastic are collected then washed and cleaned. The plastic materials are cut and pressed using a machine to form new plastic sheets that are then transformed into new products.

The heat press machine was designed by another Japanese volunteer dispatched in Bohol’s Department of Trade and Industry, Shiro Takaki. Takaki assembled the upcycling equipment using a previous JICA-assisted project and the country’s first fabrication laboratory in Bohol.

Through the project, women of Barangay Cogon saw how trash could be redesigned to become someone else’s treasure, while helping low-income families.

“My husband has no fixed salary so I’m happy to help support our household by being part of this project,” said Rowena, 37 years old.

“My role is to link the city hall, provincial government, barangays, and other institutions to support these women in sustaining the project and marketing the products,” added Kanno.

Kanno, who graduated from a cross cultural communication degree in Senshu University in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, said, “Japan and the Philippines are different in lifestyle and in the way we work, but we can overcome the cultural differences by working together as one.”

“The women in the barangay participate in the design process and they are proud to create something new that can also help uplift their lives,” she said.

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