Coconut reimagined! From meals to fibers, that is how the tree of life is getting used at the moment

MANILA, Philippines – All eyes are on the coconut, because the Philippines’ tree of life proves that it will probably do excess of gasoline buko juice stands!

This versatility was on full show on the 2025 Coconut Philippines Commerce Honest, the place 220 exhibitors from throughout Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao confirmed how the coconut continues to evolve: chips and plant-based options, woven baggage and artisanal crafts, wellness items and sustainable improvements.

The commerce honest from August 28 to September 2 was held at SM Megamall, hosted by the Division of Commerce and Business, in partnership with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), and supported by the Coconut Farmers and Business Improvement Plan program.

Past different conventional staples similar to buko pie and coconut water, each a part of the tree — from husk to flower — was reimagined into meals, skincare, furnishings, fibers, and even eco-friendly packaging throughout the commerce honest. The honest wasn’t simply to maintain the coconut as a prime world export; it was a reminder that the coconut will not be solely within the Filipino weight loss program and family, but in addition in entrepreneurship, creativity, and sustainability.

“From the virgin coconut oil and coconut water, to skincare and wellness merchandise, the coconut has already discovered its place within the properties, diets, and life of customers everywhere in the world,” mentioned DTI Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque, highlighting how the Filipino coconut can stand proudly, each in native and overseas soil.

PCA Administrator Dr. Dexter Buted echoed this, stressing the necessity to strengthen the native market. “We have to enhance our home utilization,” he mentioned. “Hindi katulad sa Thailand, Indonesia, ang taas ng kanilang home returns. Sa atin, medyo mababa.”

(Not like in Thailand or Indonesia, their home returns are excessive. For us, it’s a bit low.)

Nonetheless, mirrored on the coronary heart of each product on show is the work of farmers. Their labor and dedication, mixed with the ingenuity of entrepreneurs, present how uncooked harvests — and even discarded byproducts — will be reworked into one thing new. And the way, having lengthy been hailed because the tree of life, the coconut can be a tree of innovation.

Sustainabilty and waste improvements

Not all coconut merchandise start with oil or water. For some entrepreneurs, innovation begins with what others throw away.

Among the many exhibitors is Rolyolikha at iba pa Handicrafts, a Laguna-based enterprise that began in 2008, producing uncooked supplies earlier than pivoting to eco-friendly improvements.

After Hurricane Ondoy devastated the province in 2009, Renel Batralo started reworking completely different elements of the coconut — from the shell and stalk, to the flower and even coco peat (sometimes used for soil/planting) — into baggage, baskets, and residential décor.

“We’re surrounded by completely different uncooked supplies, particularly coconut merchandise,” Batralo instructed Rappler. “Yung mga uncooked supplies namin galing sa mga palengke. At yung mga bagaybay naman, siya yung kinukuha naman namin, sa mga farm na kung saan tinatapon lang nila, o sinusunog nila ang mga uncooked supplies. On our half, we convert it right into a product by means of product improvement and innovation,” Batralo instructed Rappler.

(Our uncooked supplies come from the markets. As for the coconut stalks, we acquire them from farms the place they’d in any other case simply be thrown away or burned.)

For Batralo, the honest’s affect goes past simply how a lot you earn in at some point.

“Crucial [thing] is to showcase your product in the best market, in the best venue, and to satisfy the best individuals,” mentioned Batralo in a mixture of English and Filipino. “Not solely you, but in addition your group, can develop on the similar time. The extra our enterprise grows, the extra we can provide our individuals a extra sustainable livelihood.”

Whereas Batralo’s work highlights the coconut’s position in decreasing waste, different enterprises reveal how its fibers and husks will be woven into heritage crafts that maintain each household and group livelihoods alive throughout generations.

Fiber and custom

The coconut’s versatility extends past meals and gasoline — its fibers and husks have lengthy been woven into crafts that carry each livelihood and heritage.

One other stall, Pulilan Handicraft, has been reworking abaca, coco fiber, and rice husk (ipa) intricate animal figures, nativity units, and ornamental items amongst others, for over 20 years. Now led by the matriarch Norma Castro after her husband’s passing in 2019, the household enterprise uplifts its group not simply by means of craft but in addition by means of sustainability. By shopping for rice husks instantly from farmers in Bulacan, they forestall agricultural waste from being burned whereas offering growers with a gentle supply of revenue.

“Dati kasi yung gawa namin, twice a yr lang. Then nung nakasali na kami sa mga honest, nagkaroon po kami ng extra consumers then dire-diretso na po yung orders. Kaya po, buong taon po might orders na po kami,” Ma Cristina Castro, the proprietor’s daughter, instructed Rappler.

(Earlier than, we solely had work twice a yr. Then after we began becoming a member of festivals, we gained extra consumers and the orders grew to become steady. So now we obtain orders all yr spherical.)

For enterprises like theirs, constant demand means extra than simply revenue. It secures dependable work for artisans, creates a marketplace for farm byproducts, and exhibits how the coconut’s fibers proceed to help each custom and livelihood.

From household enterprises to nationwide industries, what ties these tales collectively is the coconut itself — a useful resource that carries innovation on one hand, and, on the opposite, the communities and practices it has supported for generations.

Sustaining the tree of life

The coconut has been known as the Philippines’ “tree of life,” offering livelihood for over 2.8 million farmers and employees. At the moment, its position is increasing: from being seen as a commodity or a merely a prime world export to changing into a supply for innovation, sustainability, and value-added merchandise that attain far past foods and drinks.

And the Coconut Philippines Commerce Honest fittingly confirmed how each husk, fiber, and flower will be reworked into one thing new.

– Rappler.com