Toward greener pastures
by Iñigo C. Pieraz on August 2, 2009
Is the grass really greener on the organic side?
Much like palay from Northern Luzon, or coconut trees from southern Philippines, the growth of the organic industry in the Philippines has been slow and steady. Yet despite the business world still being dominated by genetically enhanced and carefully cultivated products, there is certainly no denying the growth of the organic industry.
From coconuts to containers
In a few short months, what started out as a requirement for a Leadership and Strategy class quickly turned into an award-winning business plan that wowed even the most influential businessmen in Asia.
Timothy Huelva (BS LM ’09) and Karl Satinitigan (BS LM ‘09) emerged victorious last June 22 in the prestigious HSBC Young Entrepreneur Awards (YEA). Their innovative and environmentally-friendly business plan won the “Best of the Best Award” grand prize–and a cash reward of HK$100,000.
Huelva and Satinitigan’s business plan was both innovative and practical. “It is an eco-friendly substitute to plastic and styrofoam food containers,” Huelva says. “It uses coconut leaf sheaths.”
Coconut leaf sheaths are the by-product of coconuts and are ordinarily thrown away by farmers. Huelva and Satinitigan proposed using these coconut leaf sheaths to create food containers–usually made out of unrecycable materials–that are environmentally-friendly. According to Satinitigan, “[Using coconut leaf sheaths] aimed to address the three sad realities of waste, poverty, and climate change.”
Both Huelva and Satinitigan believe that having an organically-driven business plan was a huge factor in their victory. “We were able to not only save the environment but also give opportunities to farmers and reduce the waste in the Philippines,” Huelva says.
The two entrepreneurs are currently working with the Ateneo Environmental Management Coalition toward making their business plan a reality. Both of them hope that their environmentally-friendly food container will one day make it into the mainstream market.
A coffee shop with soul
Cordillera Coffee, a restaurant located in Riverbanks Center, Marikina, is one coffee shop that aims to be different from its market-driven competitors. While it does offer a wide variety of different meals and coffee drinks, what makes it distinct is that it specializes in meals made out of organically-grown ingredients sourced directly from farmers.
George Soriano, former investor of Cordillera Coffee and lecturer at the Development Studies Department of Ateneo, explains the importance of restaurants going organic. “We’d like to provide healthier options for the market,” he says.
The quaint, quiet coffee shop is decorated with local furniture made out of native abaca. Paintings by local artists dot their walls—most notable of which are the portraits painted out of organic coffee.
Small native statues from Benguet lie everywhere, and indigenous music is often played in the background. Everything, from the color of the walls to the plates that they use, looks and feels natural—a theme also carried over to the food served. Their menu, conceptualized by Frank and Mary Grace Young, carries everything from pasta, to breakfast items, to cakes and pastries.
The Tableya Chocolate Cake (P70) looks like your ordinary chocolate cake, but the use of the native organic chocolate tableya gives it a distinctively more bitter taste that is perfectly offset by the sweet and creamy icing on top.
Their Herb Chicken with Organic Rice (P150) is a classic Italian dish with a Pinoy twist. While the lemon rosemary chicken is delicious, the organic rice makes this dish stand out. Compared to regular white or brown rice, organic rice is nuttier in flavor and has a meatier texture. Contrasted with the juicy chicken, it’s an odd combination that surprisingly works.
The Iced Hazelnut Slush (P120) is made of organically-grown coffee. Unlike most iced coffees, this one is not overly sweet. The hazelnut flavor is distinctive, but never overpowers that bittersweet taste of Benguet coffee.
According to Soriano, there is a small but growing market of dedicated restaurant-goers who are willing to pay a little extra for food that is organically grown. “Organically-grown food is very important because there’s a push for good health, for going back to nature and for going natural.”
Ultimately, Soriano believes that the greatest effect of going organic is the benefit to farmers. According to Soriano, purchasing directly from farmers eliminates the middle man. “The money goes directly to the farmers.”
From environmentally-friendly food containers to natural coffee and unprocessed rice, ordinary individuals now possess more opportunities to live a healthy lifestyle centered on organic food and environmentally-friendly products. At the same time, the cases of Huelva and Satinitigan, with their award-winning business plan, as well as Cordillera Coffee show us that going organic is what will eventually benefit Philippine society.
So why not jump over to the other side – where the grass is green, and the products even greener.
