ONAT LOPERA

The World Challenge, brought to you by BBC World & Newsweek, in association with Shell, is a competition aimed at finding individuals or groups from around the world who have shown enterprise and innovation at a grass roots level. This competition is all about finding entrepreneurs whose projects are making a difference to communities.

And one of the 12 finalists is our very own ?Coconets?. These are coconut husks (waste from coconut farms) woven into nets that are then laid down on soil for roots of plants and trees to cling upon, thus preventing soil erosion. Aside from its eco-friendliness; the material used and the purpose why these nets are made, the production also helped a lot of families earn a living by generating jobs on their community. And as the word got out, the demand for the nets grew and is now marketed worldwide.

I am not saying be biased and vote for the Philippines (this is for my Filipino readers, of course), but try reading them all and then decide which one deserves your vote, like what I did. Aside from world praise and recognition, the prize for this competition would mean additional funds for further development and production for the most voted finalist.