Create an organic pepper spray using ‘siling labuyo’
It’s hard to find a Filipino who doesn’t know what siling labuyo (Capsicum frutescens) is. This tiny but intensely hot chili is a type of cayenne pepper that grows in Southeast Asia. Sometimes called the African bird pepper, it is different from the likewise common bird-s eye chili (Capsicum annum) commonly found in Thai cooking.
Siling labuyo is integral to Filipino cuisine, and is commonly used as part of a do-it-yourself dipping sauce whose other ingredients may include soy sauce, vinegar, and herbs like onions and garlic. It is also used in traditional Filipino herbal medicine for its properties as a decongestant and pain reliever, as well as a natural insecticide when sprayed on plants.
Marry Ferjel Babasa, a nursing student from Our Lady of Fatima University,
found another practical use for red chili peppers. She used the popular spice to create her own chemical-free pepper spray that stings just as effectively as commercially bought ones.
“Red chili peppers, has its own natural sting. However, it depends on the spot where you spray it. The closer to the face, the better. Even just by smelling the mix, it also has a choking effect, like an actual pepper spray,” Babasa said.
The idea stemmed from being able to defend oneself on the streets without having to pay a large amount of money to do so.
An active ingredient in pepper sprays known as Oleoresin capsicum (OC) comes from red chili peppers. It can cause breathing difficulties, runny nose, pain in the eyes, and even temporary blindness.
To make the organic pepper spray, cut siling labuyo into small chunks and put into a portable spray bottle. Add water then shake to mix the concoction well. The chili chunks should only take up ¼ of the spray bottle so that there would be more water in the mixture but still enough chili to add fire to the spritz.
Babasa originally posted the idea on her Facebook profile, which has garnered a lot of positive reactions from netizens who said they’ll use her homemade pepper spray. Others even offered modifications in the comments.
“I’ve seen many suggestions like, ‘strain the mixture before pouring it into the bottle so there won’t be any obstructions.’ Others even said to use [chili] oil so that when it comes into contact with skin, it won’t wash off easily,” Babasa said.
She hopes that her homemade pepper spray can help others defend themselves and even promote local products by finding more uses for the ubiquitous siling labuyo.