Student heads ‘eco-uling’ enterprise
“THE smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”
These are the words that guide the actions of 20-year- old Aya Fernandez, a Broadcast Communication student from the University of the PhilippinesDiliman. Fernandez is the founder and president of Project Lily PH, a livelihood program that produces eco-friendly alternatives to everyday products and promotes sustainable livelihoods for persons with disabilities (PWDs).
Fernandez’s inspiration for this enterprise came from a research project she conducted when she was a high school student in Makati. As she was collecting the water lilies needed for her study from a nearby community, she spoke with the residents and saw the social and environmental issues affecting them.
“What really motivates me is the poverty and the environmental problem that we have. I am inspired by persons with disabilities who, despite having financial and physical limitations, strive to work hard and earn their livelihoods. They inspire me to work harder,” she said.
Project Lily PH
After graduating from high school, Fernandez started building on her vision for inclusive, sustainable livelihoods. She obtained her starting capital from foundations and her own savings. She then reached out to PWDs in Pasig City and provided livelihood by creating products such as handbags made from water lilies.
The species that once clogged the water ways along surrounding neigh- borhoods are now the source of the communities’ livelihood and made their area more resilient to flooding.
By 2015, Project Lily PH started to focus on creating eco-uling made from water lilies, coconut husks, and agri-forest waste. The materials are subject to carbonization, the conversion of an organic substance to carbon-containing residue through intense heating. In contrast to wood-based charcoal, eco-uling produces less smoke and is more cost-effective.
According to the World Health Organization, 4.3 million people die every year from indoor air pollution primarily from the use of solid fuels such as charcoal, wood, and crop wastes for cooking and heating. With a large portion of charcoal usage occurring in low-income neighborhoods, products such as eco-uling can help reduce their vulnerability to related cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses.
The use of eco- uling can also help prevent the loss of forests in the Philippines.
Fernandez’s project is currently supplying eco-uling for several restaurants, churches, and malls in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. Its factory in Taguig produces around 2 metric tons of ecouling per month, with an operational staff including 10 PWDs from surrounding neighborhoods.
“Kuya Emyong [one of the beneficiaries of the program] said to me, ‘Hindi hadlangangkapansananatkahirapan paramagsikapatgumawangmakabuluhan [ Disabilities and poverty should not prevent people from doing something worthwhile for the country]’,” Fernandez remarked.
Upgrading the technologies used, expanding its network of customers, and balancing a busy life as both a student and a business leader are the challenges that Fernandez faces in her project. Yet the biggest obstacle comes from the lack of awareness the public has regarding the true costs and benefits of eco- uling.
“But in terms of cost value, you will have less consumption of ours [eco-uling], which means it is cheaper. The problem is, when they see the front price, they will choose traditional charcoal. They do not think about cost-value,” she said.
“We will focus on expanding our team and improving our technologies. We plan to connect to more people. Lastly, we will stay rooted to our advocacy which is to empower the marginalized and help combat the environmental crisis,” she continues.
Project Lily PH has earned local and international recognition for its efforts towards poverty alleviation and recently receiving an award during the 1st Villar SIPAG Youth Poverty Reduction Challenge last August.
Despite the success of the livelihood program, Fernandez hopes Project Lily PH becoming one of the leading manufacturers of eco-uling in the future.
“The goal is to make it more sustainable. I want it to have a positive message and inspire more people. I want it to expand to more places. Lastly, I envision that in the future, there would be no more trees cut to be used for making charcoal,” she said.
More important, she envisions that much like a water lily, her initiative becomes a symbol of hope and optimism toward environmental conservation, poverty reduction, and empowerment of the marginalized.