Coconets Invade the World!

This is cool!

An entry from the Philippines has become the finalist in Newsweek and BBC's The World Challenge contest.

The project is called COCONETS discovered by Juboken Enterprises which uses waste coconut products like the husk of the coconut to control soil erosion.

Here are details of the Coconet project and a fuzzy screenshot of the voting page with all the other finalists from all over the world Really awesome!

The World Challenge is basically a competition/search designed at identifying groups or individuals all over the world whose projects have contributed great impact at grass roots level.


COCONETS: COCONUTS FOR EROSION CONTROL -- PHILIPPINES


Preventing landslides in the Philippines using waste coconut husks In little more than two generations the Philippines has seen nearly all its jungle vanish.

With little regard to the future, loggers and squatters have destroyed watersheds. The inevitable result has been landslides sweeping away topsoil. In 1995 agricultural engineer Justino Arboleda started Juboken Enterprise to combat soil erosion. The company makes nets that act as surrogate tree roots by holding loose soils together. Joboken's coconut plantations provide the fibre. The nets are made from waste coconut husks: an eco-friendly solution to a developing eco-disaster. The 'coconets' were rapidly taken up throughout the Philippines, and Arboleda began to develop other uses for the different waste products generated on his coconut farms. These included doormats, stuffing for car seats and mattresses, and fertiliser (made from coconut dust) suitable for organic farms. But the flagship product is still going strong: coconets are now being produced at a rate of 30,000 square metres per month for markets throughout the world. This continuing success has improved the lives of more than 1500 families in the Philippines: each family involved in the project earns an additional income of around US$5 dollars per day. These achievements have been honoured by the President of the Philippines, who in 2004 presented Juboken Enterprise with a special award.

Coconets will appear on BBC World Saturday 17 September at 08:30 GMT, 13.30 GMT, 20:30 GMT. The finalist advertorial will appear in the international Newsweek editions (EMEA, Asia, Latin America): On Sale 15 September

Click here to vote in The World Challenge!

I never thought I’d miss someone this much, that by simply looking at our pictures that I set as the wallpaper of this pc at home, I’d remember how to smile.

I will try not to cry today. It’s 11:20 and that’s only 40 minutes left until I can cry, if ever I feel like it. Then I’d set a record and try to break it each day.

Can I really not cry? I don’t think so. It seems to have been embedded in me—to cry. I still believe that the formation of the little moles on the left side of my cheek stand for the path where my tears fall.

This is a brand new experience that I’m going through. Have I cared about someone so much and got separated from him? I faintly remember missing my brother when he was staying in a dorm near DLSU. I also remember missing my other brother when he went to take his masters in Australia.

But I didn’t cry this much.

In my past relationship, my ex-boyfriend never wanted us to be apart and I guess we almost never did. The only time we were apart for a long time was during Holy Week when I’m obliged to go the summer church retreat in Baguio and he has to go with his family to their house in Mauban, Quezon.

When else were we apart? I can remember the time when he went to Boracay, but I think I was busy with school that time so it didn’t feel so bad.

Ah! I remember when we were just a few months into our relationship and he got a summer job in one of his relatives' office. I remember emailing back and forth with him, saying that we miss each other. We were only 15 and 16 years old during that time. Somehow I’m always the older one.

Anyway, im saying that this is a new experience for me and I guess that’s why im quite a loss on how to handle it. I want to strike a balance, yet I teeter from side to side since I’m only just beginning.

I don’t want to shut out my feelings completely and numb myself from the pain because that would mean denying my love. But I also do not want to wallow in sadness and not be able to function while the one I love is away.

There must be some kind of balance. It must be found.

How do wives of seamen bare the separation? Or those with OFWs for loved ones? I remember one taxi driver telling my dad that he used to work for a sub-contractor. Unfortunately, the firm went bankrupt largely due to the MIASCOR canteen that owed the firm a lot of money. (MIASCOR, Manila International Airport Security Corps?) So because of this, he was laid off and his wife had to work as an caretaker or domestic helper in Taiwan. My dad, as usual, was veering the conversation to the financial gains one would get from working abroad that he didn’t hear the driver saying that it’s very difficult….because his wife is so far away.

He misses his wife. Awwww, how sweet.

It would be 2 more years until his wife can come home for a vacation and another year until she finishes her contract. Shucks.

What if I were in his shoes?

I still don’t know how to handle this kind of situation or what my absolute preference is.

I, of course, do not want to hinder the growth of another person, especially the one I love, similarly, I don’t want to be hindred of my growth either. So if the career plans point to going abroad, it ultimately is the decision of the person who plans to go.

Yet it’s so difficult not to think about the one that would get left behind.

Argh!

I don’t know what to do. I’m actually trying to convince myself..trying to inject some kind of logic, but it’s not working.

It’s 11:45 now. ( I seem to be checking the time more often these days)

I’ll try to go to sleep….

Why does it seem lonelier when someone’s away? Even if at this exact time of day, we don’t really talk? Could it be that there is no one to look forward to seeing tomorrow? No pop-up notification from YM, AIM and MSN messenger saying that Aldrich is online?

I’ve just finished watching Ever After, starring Drew Barrymore in VCD. It was a nice, down-to-earth adaptation of the Cinderella fairy tale. Although the prince was quite arrogant…and well, I dunno. I’ve learned my lesson in relationships. You can’t teach old dogs new tricks, it’s very very hard and I’m not really up to it. What I’m saying is that when you meet someone who is arrogant and you go into a relationship with that person, don’t expect that the one you love will change for you. Change ulitmately should come and be for oneself, no one else. That way, the change will last.

Anyway, I still liked the movie though, it’s the feel good movie that, as usual, made me cry buckets of tears. To be honest, I think I just cried dippers for the movie and the remaining amount was to wash away my sadness. (Am I still corny?) It gets tiring to be sad and cry for such a long time. So I remember that I should be happy. Someone told me to smile always, that someone is who I’m crying for. So it makes no sense to cry because that person wants me to be happy. (Sinong cinoconvince mo?)

I noticed that I have started talking to myself even in the written word…

I don’t really care. There’s no use pretending to be sane.

Do you know that every now and then, I do not want to feel the wind, the breeze or any strong force hitting my body? I just want the air to be perfectly still and I want to sweat. Ergo, during these now and then times, I should consider living inside a sauna or steam bath room.

Did you also know that although tomorrow is Monday in the Philippines – a very busy (I hope!) working day, it is still Sunday in Chicago. Right now, it’s 09:00pm Sunday here while it’s 08:00am Sunday there. By the time I get to the office tomorrow, around 09:00am, it’ll be 08:00pm Sunday there. It’s still Sunday! I have to wait till Tuesday comes when it will finally be Monday in Chicago…Monday evening. Their Monday morning would be around the time I’m sleeping on Monday night. Aargh, stupid 13 hour time difference!

I remember before when Aldrich was in Dublin, since we were really close friends and I was extremely fond of him, I’d be happy when the clock hits 4pm coz it’ll be 8am in Ireland already :) It would only mean that I’d have someone to bug and tell my crazy stories and corny jokes to, hehehe.

Will the office allow me to go on Chicago shift?

I need to get a grip of myself. I am positively delirious.

(Beep,beep! Text message….)

Wow, I have a lunch date with my college friends Melissa and Nikki on Saturday, which also happens to be Oli – my ex-boyfriend’s 22nd birthday. We’re gonna get our yearbook, which again, reminds me of my ex because the creative shot that is in every yearbook shows me and him together. Oh well, 5 and half years isn’t something that should be forgotten anyway.

Oh, Aldrich’s birthday is coming up, this Wednesday! That day is also the deadline of my Health and Fitness article for the CIO newsletter. I’ve volunteered to write about Haviland Wellness Place in GT and interview my friends who work out there :)

I cant decide what to do! I’m rotting from indecision… I can’t decided if I should sleep now so that when I wake, it’ll be morning and I’d go off to work already; or I could stay up and wait until Aldrich wakes up.

Something tells me that I shouldn’t stay up until he wakes up, but I really miss him…. Hmmm, maybe I won’t wait..coz before he slept, I texted him and I guess I don’t want him to wake up to my text, too. I just don’t want to be annoying. So I guess it’s off to sleep or do whatever for me..

If I cry each day for six weeks, will I lose a considerable amount of pounds? Can I now apply for the Visine Tears print ad?

Just trying to see the humor in things…

Everything seemed to be fine for the entire day, I even got to talk to Drich over the phone coz he settled in the apartment already. I even joked around with Ricky…I thought I was okay, but hey, everyone has their episodes…

I continued reading the History of Love book and at the end of one chapter, something reminded me of Drich and that I wouldn’t be seeing him until the 3rd of October. It could be the feeling of sadness of the person talking in the book over memories of the past, of a friend that he lost, whom he couldn’t seem to forget. It’s such a sad scene that was abruptly cut off by the change of tone in the next chapter. It was when the friend he was talking about was still alive, and in the new chapter, that friend he lost was the one talking and living the moments that will eventually become memories of the past.

Memories. They come to haunt you.

That scene got me ‘unglued.’ (unglued, taken from Amanda Peet’s character in As Good As It Gets)

So I put the book down, slide down to a lying position on my bed but changed my mind in an instant. I stood up, opened the radio for some noise and company and looked outside the window…the trees, the setting sun, the soft breeze, the perfect scene.

It was my favorite time of the day. 5:30pm.

But I was looking out the window, seeing my reflection if I look closer than farther, and seeing my eyes water and finally roll down the tears…continuously.

Will I go on like this until my tomorrow finally comes?

“Bukas, bukas ulit…”

I just realized that I haven't written about the super-kilig things that my BF has done for me....because I’m about to tell of another one! Aldrich is leaving for Chicago this coming Saturday and we've been spending more time than usual with each other since he'll be gone for 6 weeks...past my birthday and his, awwww.

Anyways, before I tell of what he did tonight, I’ll give a brief background of what he did before--when he was still courting me. One of the most memorable dates we had happened on June 11. It was just a few days after I gave him the 'go' to court me. He brought me to Orichidarium in Ma. Orosa in Manila and the place was just like heaven's garden on earth! The entrance itself was breathtaking, made of stone posts forming an arc shape and covered with shrubs to give that 'secret garden' kind of feeling.

Above the pathway was also an intricate design of vines in an arc shape serving as the top cover. Then there was this mini-bridge which led to the Lush Life restaurant. The waiter guided us to the side of the resto into a circular area surrounded by flowering plants and shrubs everywhere and there was a tree that hung its leaves just above the table for two where we dined on. Upon sitting down, the waiter suddenly went around the place and lit the candles encircling the area one by one! I couldn't keep the smile off my face coz it was my perfect date come true! I really couldn't believe it! We dined by candlelight and there was also a glass bowl on the table with flowers floating on water...shucks!

The food was good especially the apple fritters topped with vanilla ice cream and at a reasonable price. It just makes me smile every time I remember that event!

Another memorable event was the time when he asked me to be his girlfriend. It was Saturday and when we met up in the morning, I was faced with a huge huge bouquet of deep red roses, 8 dozen of them bunched together in one bouquet! I was shocked and speechless! Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I’d get 8 dozed roses! My constant dream was simply to get a dozen, which I felt was already too much for the ordinary guy..but no, I got 8 dozen! Hahahah, I guess he's no ordinary guy. :)

We hung out till I had to leave to go to Mel’s birthday party in the evening. Since I didn't have any ride home, he and his friends picked me up from Shangri-La Mall. When I got in the car, the flowers were beside me and he said that we'd pass by some place before he'll take me home. It was Oscar, his friend driving and he drove past Makati and then we were in the Macapagal Blvd area and he finally stopped driving in front of this huge church that stood alone in the area. Upon seeing the church, my heart started racing coz I had this gut feel that he might pop the big question that night. I got down the van then he motioned me to go the front and look at something, he took out a box of 24 pcs Ferrero Rocher chocolates! Now this really made me stop breathing for a split second coz I knew that it was the night coz we had a joke about those chocolates--that I’d answer the person who gives me a box of 24 ferreros... So he led me to the church and my mind was cloudy as I walked up the steps. We went to the balcony of the church but looked for a different spot because there was a guard in that area. We ended up talking beside a tree on the vast area on the side of the church.

We talked for a while about things that I don't even remember now coz all I could hear was my heart beating and my heavy breathing. I really liked where we were standing coz we could see the vast expanse of the boulevard and the string of lights shone against the dark black sky, which occasionally let out the sound of thunder. All I remember now was when he asked me, "Can you be my girlfriend?" I paused for a while and turned my head away from him. Then he gave me option, "Yes or Not ready?" I turned my head towards him and gave him a slow, sweet smile, "Yes". Hehehehe. That made us officially an item on July 3 @ 1 am. :)

Finally, after narrating those two very very memorable and super kilig events, I got another one to tell!

Today was like any normal day except that the day of his departure was looming ahead. I went to the gym after work (finally!) and he fetched me there. He gave me three options on where to eat: The floating resto at Baywalk, Orchidarium or somewhere in Makati. Since I just got out of the gym, I was famished so we went to eat at Dome in Makati. The place was quiet and cozy and I loved the Baby Choc drink which is like the Churros dip and their Flourless Chocolate Cake was to die for!! I absolutely recommend it especially for chocolate lovers, the richness of the chocolate was perfect and the caramel sauce on the plate provided just the right sweetness now and then. Our main dish was Roast beef with rice, potatoes and salad but I found it extremely oily even though it tasted good. Dome still remains a dessert place for me after that experience.

Anyway, going back, hahaha (I got carried away by the food), after eating, Aldrich took me to Dangwa, the guys' secret shopping place for cheap flowers! I never saw so much flowers in one place all my life! Again, I was awed! We went around the entire area, crossing two streets to go from the block that sells arranged flowers and the block where you arrange them yourselves. After surveying the variety of flowers, I realized that I am fascinated with Malaysian Mums! After searching some more, we found this store that had an arranged bouquet of a few mums, dahlia, anthurium, a cauliflower looking thing and irises; so we asked them to rearrange the bouquet and throw in another dozen of different colored mums, hehehe. I especially like the purple and white mums, I don't know why, but I light up and smile every time I see them :) I got my perfect bouquet and the vendor even added extra orange irises to make my bouquet more colorful. The dahlia was fuschia in color; the anthurium, light blue and the mums came in white, purple, red wine, white with violet specks, yellow, yellow with pink tips and pure yellow and yellow green! Yey! :)

Receiving flowers really makes me happy! My first encounter with mums was the time when Aldrich gave me a Varia Bouquet from Holland Tulips. This was the day when he told me that he loved me...hehehe, and the mums made an impression on me ever since.

Too bad I don't have a camera now so I just looked for pictures of the flowers I have on the Internet so whoever’s reading my blog can visualize my bouquet :)

I can say that I’ve never felt this happy with anyone else in my life! I want to thank God for blessing me with some one like Aldrich. :)

A Weighty Issue

I didn't really foresee any adverse effects to my getting fat except that i would need bigger clothes..

At this phase in my life, i have lost that firm and paranoid grip that i have on myself to always watch what i'm eating. For the past five years, i just kept on dieting but then binge eating it back again until it became a viscious cycle. I can honestly say that i never really felt good about myself or my body's physical appearance until this year. I had poor self image and felt that if i became thinner, my self-image would improve. Little did i know that it's not my body that i needed to change, but my perspective and my idea of self-worth. I finally understood that body size or shape is not directly proportional to amount of self-worth. I really feel good about myself even if i'm fat right now. Yes, i am around 20 pounds overweight, hehehehe, but i don't feel a tad bit ugly. I can't really explain why but i feel good and confident about myself and i'm really happy about it.

The reason why i'm planning to lose the excess weight is to cut down on my expenses. I dont' want to buy a whole new wardrobe coz i don't have the money for it! Another thing is i am annoyed by the little skin growths on my face which i think is due to cholesterol or eating oily food. Lastly, the back of my calves have grown spiderveins from lack of exercise, hahahaha! Oh, im also wasting my money on my Fitness First membership (P2050/mo) if i don't use it.
So my plan is to gradually cut down on the takaw-mata food and start exercising more. I don't plan to go on crash-then-binge diets again or eat flavorless food or become a vegetarian. No, siree! I love my food rich in flavor and it always delights me to try out new and different restaurants! So to compensate for that, i need to rechannel my energy into exercising more. I actually agree with the slogans painted on the walls of Fitness First..."The extra mile is just between your ears" and "Motivation gets you started, habit keeps you going". No words spoken so true. It's all in the mind! It's just a matter of convincing yourself to want to do it and it shall be done.

Aldrich and I have a bet to make losing weight more interesting and more motivating. The conditions: I should have lost 10 lbs by the time he comes back from Chicago (6 weeks,starting Aug 20) and he should have lost 15 lbs. The clauses: if we both reach the target weight, the judging of the winner will be based on who loses more extra weight than the other, (e.g. my 12 lbs is equal to his 17 lbs). And the reward/punishment: The loser will become the winner's slave for a day! Hahahaha! Who wants to be a slave? None! Who wants to get a slave? Me and probably him too! Hahahah! I will win! I just know it, i should because i have beter resources! hehehe.

Thoughts of the Moment

I actually have a working computer here at home! My brother gave his old pc to me coz he got a new one. His monitor is even flat screen!

*** Reading the newspaper ***

I chanced upon an article on Zhang Zi Yi who's said to become an international star once Stephen Spielberg releases Geisha, his adaptation of the acclaimed book Memoirs of a Geisha, with Zhang Zi Yi as the lead. The article i read also talked about another movie that Zhang starred in as a prostitute: 2046, a Wong Kar Wai film that i wasn't able to watch. I started becoming interested in watching War Kar Wai's works after watching In the Mood for Love around 2 or 3 years ago. The movie was unlike any other movie i watched, it leans more on the artistic side and to be honest, what piques my curiosity is the fact that i cannot fathom the movie at once. I am delightfully puzzled all throughout the movie and at the end, the light slowly comes to me and i finally understand the movie. That is such a cool feeling! One American movie that comes close to that is Sliding Doors, starring Gwyneth Paltrow. I really like them a bit confusing, that's the way that i never forget them.

*** Watching Channel [V] ***

I'm watching Channel [V] Double Shot right now and the themes of the last 4 songs are all women who have been cheated on..shucks! I had my share of that but it was a long time ago. I'm in my 2nd relationship right now and quite new also, we just celebrated our first monthsary last Aug 3 :) There was a point in time when i was still 'healing' from my previous relationship that i felt that i could sustain being single forever - that men just complicate my life. Somehow, that logical part of me seems to have been shortlived coz i had an 'almost' relationship a few months after the breakup...I'm over that now, again. I just seem to need to learn the hard way, tsk tsk. Anyway, now, the reason why i got into my 2nd relationship is coz this guy gives me hope. When i thought i'd give up on the male species, he comes along and shows me that not everyone is the same, that there's someone out there who's sincere, who cares for me, respects me, is there for me, who wants the best for me and would not impede my freedom, my personal space, and my growth as a person. That last line is very very important to me. I'm the type of person who can get caught up in a created world but i'm also the type who would occassionally want to venture out into the unknown and well, simply try out new things and meet new friends. I find that i am more easily able to open up to guys and because of that i have lots of guy friends or acquiantances. I need my guy to accept that and not get jealous because it's just really part of me. Having experienced so much hurt in the past definitely taught me a lot of lessons on relationships and also clearly defined my stand on things.

*** Still Watching Channel [V] ***

Ooh,ooh! Something to get excited about! (At least for me, hehe) The Britney and Kevin show, aptly entitled "Britney + Kevin: Chaotic", is premiering on Channel [V] on August 22, 7pm! Yey!! I absolutely adore Britney Spears and i can't really explain why and i don't really care that i can't. She is soo pretty! Hehehe. Another band band that i really like is Maroon 5. I like the tone of their songs, there's some oldie twist to their tunes that captivates me and gets me listening and enjoying everytime i hear their music. Maybe i should buy their album...hmmm,maybe when i finish paying off my credit card debt!