From chili sauce to T'boli brass, a bounty of ideas at OCEAN 18 Summit

CEBU CITY, Philippines —In a maze of dozens of booths and buzzing exhibitors, Joel Blunto stood behind a table of accessories of muted gold: There were thin bangles, coiled rings and bells boasting intricate woven details.

Joel told Philstar.com that these were made by their community in Lake Sebu, North Cotabato through brasscasting, a craft that has been passed on across generations.

He said that the entire community worked on the products, including the bells—one of their best-selling creations—portraying a woman in a traditional dance.

Every item bought is put in a pouch that comes with a card that tells the story behind the art of “temwel” or brasscasting.

Sesotunawa products were a hit at the recently held exhibition.

"Sesotunawa products are handcrafted by tau temwel (T'boli brass smiths) from Lake Sebu, North Cotabato. The designs are inspired by objects from nature, symbolizing their connection to the environment that is a source of their identity and culture," they said.

Joel is just one of the exhibitors at OCEAN 18 Summit, which served as a stage and springboard for "Indiepreneurs" or Independent Entrepreneurs. OCEAN 18 offered master classes that provided indiepreneurs opportunities for learning, networking and community-building.

Joel Blunto of Sesotunawa

This year’s theme centered on “Elevating Homegrown Innovation,” where attendees “were encouraged to take ownership over the future of Philippine economic growth at all levels,” said OCEAN in a statement.

Joel’s Sesotunawa bagged one of the six awards for the “Creative Economy” sector.

Meanwhile, Marvin Viagedor of Silly Boy bagged the award for the Food Sector.

Other than the business name millennials might get a kick out of, Silly Boy offers six hot sauce flavors.

Silly Boy sauces also come in portable bottles!

Marvin shared that he and his wife, also his business partner, sometimes found the hot sauce at restaurants not to their liking.

They thought of bringing their own hot sauce mix everywhere to enjoy the food at their favorite restaurant while not skimping on their desired level of spiciness.

Their products are available in regular containers and, for half the original price, in a portable container similar to those used for hand sanitizers. This, Marvin shared, will allow their customers to bring their favored chilli sauce wherever they dine.

Marvin Viagedor said that sometimes they find restaurant's hot sauces not to their liking, prompting them to make and bring their own.

OCEAN also handed out awards to The New School Network, which developed a curriculum that helps students in design, coding, animation and design-thinking for the Education sector and AgriKo, for Global Filipino Engagement, for creating health products made from native Philippine crops. AgriKo also encourages fellow OFWs to invest in local agribusiness.

TeleHealth bagged the award for Healthcare sector, for creating a platform that helps an easier transfer and access of medical records.

FitStop Bike Tours won the recognition for Tourism sector for helping reduce carbon footprints in encouraging bike tours.

Startup bill

Sen. Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV, a former co-chair of OCEAN, pledged that he would continue to push for measures that would help indiepreneurs, recalling that he too benefitted greatly with start up businesses.

Aquino is the principal author of Senate Bill 1532 or the Innovative Startup Act that seeks to “provide support to innovative and tech startups, which pertain to businesses that provide unique and relevant solutions to pressing problems, such as transportation, financing, agriculture and healthcare.”

The Senate bill hurdled the floor last May 17.

He said then: "It isn't easy building a successful start-up, specially in the Philippines. Still, they find ways to bring better solutions to problems in transportation, healthcare, agriculture, and other industries. Tama lang na tulungan sila ng gobyerno.”

In case the bill is not passed into law in this Congress session, Aquino assured that he would continue pushing for similar measures in the future.

Editor's note: The trip to Cebu was hosted by OCEAN Summit. At no stage does the host organization have a say on the stories generated from the coverage, interviews conducted, publication date and story treatment. Content is produced solely by Philstar.com following editorial guidelines.