2019 marked a new wave for Nature’s Spring Foundation, Inc. when it started The Bote Challenge

—the foundation’s flagship environmental project, an initiative which sought the need to contribute to the global movement of closing the loop on plastic pollution, creating a circular economy for plastic and fostering a culture of upcycling/recycling within communities.

The Bote Challenge is a solution search project which recognizes, promotes and adopts new or existing innovative solutions for plastic waste management. On its pilot year of implementation, the challenge primarily focused on sustainable practices for PET bottles and opened the competition to secondary schools in the province of Cebu. Entries were dubbed as school-unities, wherein each school must partner with community-based groups and join force in creating and implementing the innovative idea.

  • SEARCH | Year 1

    The Bote Challenge opens and awards sustainable and innovative solutions on upcoming PET bottles into a variable social enterprise idea.

  • ADOPT | Year 2

    NSFI team works closely with the school-unities in growing their innovation start-ups through social preperation and business incubation activities, and ultimately getting their products to market.

  • SUSTAIN | Year 3

    NSFI continues its support through network linkages and addressing specific needs of the school-unities to sustain the growth of its start-up.

2019, about 65 school-unities participated the challenge.

Nature’s Spring Foundation, Inc. provided an opportunity for the school-unities to polish their ideas into concrete and sustainable solutions through the series of ideation workshops, in partnership with the Business Fair Trade Consulting. Ten school-unity winners were awarded.

The second phase of the project will start on 2020

Wherein the innovations of the winners will be upscaled into viable market products or services. Since most of the school-unity winners are startups, having minimal to zero experience on community-based social enterprise, Nature’s Spring Foundation, Inc. will continue to provide project support through organizational capacity development, business incubation and other business development ideas that will bring the innovations to market.

Partners

Partners

MEET THE INNOVATORS!

Dalaguete National High School

The product, Plastic Strips Out of the Bottle, are improvised plastic strips which will serve as the raw material in the weaving process, creating crafts made out of the plastic strips like purses, bags and mats. The school will utilize online marketing in the production of handicrafts and furniture.

Dalaguete National High School will partner with the Dalaguete Farmers and Fishermen’s Association as an alternative livelihood to the housewife members to upscale the product and produce a variety of strips with different forms and textures to fit with a variety of weaved products.

RMDSF-STEC

The product of Ramon Durano Sr. Foundation – Science and Technology Education Center or RMDSF-STEC offers a more secure and durable door for houses, cabinets, vaults and other wares. It is made out of heat-pressed plastic bottles with a built-in fingerprint sensor which will only allow access to the people whose fingerprints are registered on the sensor.

RMDF-STEC coordinated with Barangay Guinsay and the organized Guinsay Women Association. The school plans to customize the doors according to the needs of the client. There will be different forms for security doors which are indoor and outdoor.

RMDSF-STEC

The product of Ramon Durano Sr. Foundation – Science and Technology Education Center or RMDSF-STEC offers a more secure and durable door for houses, cabinets, vaults and other wares. It is made out of heat-pressed plastic bottles with a built-in fingerprint sensor which will only allow access to the people whose fingerprints are registered on the sensor.

RMDF-STEC coordinated with Barangay Guinsay and the organized Guinsay Women Association. The school plans to customize the doors according to the needs of the client. There will be different forms for security doors which are indoor and outdoor.

Gen. Climaco National High School

The product is named Multipurpose Plandent Eco Bricks, the word Plandent came from the materials used shredded PET Bottle and Sand cement. Since it’s multi purpose, these can be used as foot paths, fish pond, aisles, grotto, for landscaping and others.Every brick is made out of 25 shredded bottles.

General Climaco National High School plans to partner with General Climaco Fishermen’s Organization, and train the housewife members for the production and upscaling of the innovation.

Compostela National High School

The product, called as Nature’s Swing, is a Hammock or DUYAN, which stands for “Disensyong Ubanan ug Yanong Abag sa Nature’s Spring” which comes in two types – the Eggshell Swing and the Sling Hammock. The Eggshell Swing Hammock utilizes PET bottle container and cap, while the Sling Hammock uses the labels.

Each hammock is made out of 1,500 to 2,000 bottles. The school plans to customize each hammock that would meet the customer’s preferences. The school focuses on their Technology and Livelihood Track of the Senior High School in preparing the prototypes for their product, and liked with the Compostela-based cooperative, the Community Managed Savings and Credit Association (COMSCA) for the training, production and market of the Hammock.

Compostela National High School

The product, called as Nature’s Swing, is a Hammock or DUYAN, which stands for “Disensyong Ubanan ug Yanong Abag sa Nature’s Spring” which comes in two types – the Eggshell Swing and the Sling Hammock. The Eggshell Swing Hammock utilizes PET bottle container and cap, while the Sling Hammock uses the labels.

Each hammock is made out of 1,500 to 2,000 bottles. The school plans to customize each hammock that would meet the customer’s preferences. The school focuses on their Technology and Livelihood Track of the Senior High School in preparing the prototypes for their product, and liked with the Compostela-based cooperative, the Community Managed Savings and Credit Association (COMSCA) for the training, production and market of the Hammock.

Roberto Sato Memorial NHS

The Concrete Eco Pots is a natural /and durable pot which offers a cheaper alternative to the common ceramic and clay pots available in the market. Each concrete eco-pot is made out of limestone, cement and 100 grams of shredded plastic bottle.

Roberto Sato Memorial National High School established a Memorandum of Agreement with the Lunas, Latab, Calidngan Pit-os United Farmers Association (LULACAPIUFA) for the partnership of the production of the Eco-pots.

Gelacio Babao Sr. Memorial NHS

The products are Bote Tiles, which the school named Bote Ti, is made from manual shredding of 25 PET bottles (per tile). The tiles are made out of 30% cement and chicken wire. This innovation is an alternative or cheaper substitute to the commonly used ceramic tiles, and can be used in the flooring of aisles, pathways.

The school linked with Purok Villadolid, a group of women initially organized as 4Ps beneficiaries of DSWD for the training, production and market of the product.

Gelacio Babao Sr. Memorial NHS

The products are Bote Tiles, which the school named Bote Ti, is made from manual shredding of 25 PET bottles (per tile). The tiles are made out of 30% cement and chicken wire. This innovation is an alternative or cheaper substitute to the commonly used ceramic tiles, and can be used in the flooring of aisles, pathways.

The school linked with Purok Villadolid, a group of women initially organized as 4Ps beneficiaries of DSWD for the training, production and market of the product.

Toledo City Science High School

Alternative Plastic Water Pipeline for Domestic use is limited only to solve the water scarcity in the domestic homes and agricultural farmlands. The product has three main parts: the pipeline composed of 1 liter bottles, the outer shell which is made up of 10 liter bottles, and the inner layer which is reinforced with Ecobricks.

Toledo City Science High School connected with the Ambassador for Christ Youth Organization, a Toledo-based organization, in upscaling the product.

Jovencio N. Masong Memorial NHS

The product, called the Eco-bote Relax Ware, is a Lounge Chair filled with PET bottles. THe concept of Jovencion Masong National High School is to partner with the Purok Mablaw Furniture Makers Association in fabricating the Loung Chair.

Each one-seater Eco-bote Relax Ware is filled with 50 pieces of 500 mL PET bottles. The school has started receiving orders from clients and customized the design of every product according to every client’s preferences.

Jovencio N. Masong Memorial NHS

The product, called the Eco-bote Relax Ware, is a Lounge Chair filled with PET bottles. THe concept of Jovencion Masong National High School is to partner with the Purok Mablaw Furniture Makers Association in fabricating the Loung Chair.

Each one-seater Eco-bote Relax Ware is filled with 50 pieces of 500 mL PET bottles. The school has started receiving orders from clients and customized the design of every product according to every client’s preferences.

Sabang National High School

Sabang NHS focuses on a service innovation with a concept of creating a barter system of PET bottles, in exchange with basic goods like laundry products, food items, and load. The strategy is to have a home-based collection, which will include offices, schools, and other companies and organizations, given that Barangay Sabang is populated with workers coming from industries. The school partners with the community-based organization, Sabang Productive Youth Organization.

Anonang Sur Tabaco Frasco NHS

The product is a packaged Dextrose Gardening, an innovation that addresses water crisis in their barangay. These supply life to the plants without wasting water. Also, it helps the environment in terms of disposing the PET bottles.

The liquid mixture poured inside the bottle functions as in irrigation and fertilizer for the plant with carefully calculated concoction of water and organic fertilizers such as fermented plant juice and fish amino acid. In partnership with the Women’s Community Association organized by DSWD-MCCT in Bogo City, Anonang Sur Tabaco NHS plants toAnonang Sur Tabaco National High School plans to upscale and expand more of their product-service by modifying the form of the bottles and changing the liquid mixture, and providing maintenance service that would meet the needs of the customer for their farm or garden.

Anonang Sur Tabaco Frasco NHS

The product is a packaged Dextrose Gardening, an innovation that addresses water crisis in their barangay. These supply life to the plants without wasting water. Also, it helps the environment in terms of disposing the PET bottles.

The liquid mixture poured inside the bottle functions as in irrigation and fertilizer for the plant with carefully calculated concoction of water and organic fertilizers such as fermented plant juice and fish amino acid. In partnership with the Women’s Community Association organized by DSWD-MCCT in Bogo City, Anonang Sur Tabaco NHS plants toAnonang Sur Tabaco National High School plans to upscale and expand more of their product-service by modifying the form of the bottles and changing the liquid mixture, and providing maintenance service that would meet the needs of the customer for their farm or garden.

“Through our innovative product, believe that this will help to lessen or most probably eradicate the plastic crises that we are all currently experiencing today”

-Roman Garces Cisneros Jr.

SSG President, Dalguete National High School

“Through our innovative product, believe that this will help to lessen or most probably eradicate the plastic crises that we are all currently experiencing today”

-Roman Garces Cisneros Jr.

SSG President, Dalguete National High School