Year Founded:
2013
Project Stage:
Idea
Project Summary Elevator Pitch
Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.
Natural fiber production and meat production can be integrated in an environmentally green manner.
WHAT IF - Inspiration: Write one sentence that describes a way that your project dares to ask, "WHAT IF?"
What if there was a crop that could increase a pig farmer's profits 100%? There is, it is called kenaf.
About Project
Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?
Attempts to encourage kenaf production for natural fiber production have been slow to catch on. In the Philippines, most large open fields are planted with rice. Kenaf is not going to displace rice. Therefore, a justification must be found to encourage small farmers with sloped lands to plant kenaf. A justification must be based upon no immediate customer for fiber. No one will build a processing factory to refine kenaf fibers unless there is a
Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!
My solution is to get farmers like myself to grow kenaf based upon the leaves. Kenaf leaves are high in protein. That means they make good fodder for hungry pigs.
Raising my piglets on a mixture kenaf leaves and grain meal increases my gross profit 100%!
I intend to raise 150 piglets per year. Overall profits are estimated to go up.
2,000 peso X 150 = 300,000 peso (About $6,750 USD)
The kenaf stalks, are best used for natural fibers. However, until there is a large enough crop it will be difficult to find a market. Therefore, initially kenaf stalks will be used to replace charcoal for cooking fires. This will greatly reduce local pollution, save trees, and add secondary income to the farm.
Impact: How does it Work
Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.
Look what happens to the economics of my farm when I become a green farmer.
100% grain meal 60% meal 40% kenaf
Sale 100 kilos @ 90 peso / kilo 9,000 peso Sale 100 kilos @ 90 peso / kilo 9,000 peso
-Cost of meal 5,000 peso -Cost of meal 3,000 peso
-Cost of piglet 2,000 peso -Cost of piglet 2,000 peso
Gross profit per piglet = 2,000 peso Gross profit per piglet = 4,000 peso
This is a 100% Increase in profit, BEFORE considering kenaf stalk sales as added sale.
Impact: What is the impact of the work to date? Also describe the projected future impact for the coming years.
Until now this is in the ideal stage. The primary impact has been to discover that it is possible to completely change the farm simply by adding kenaf as a crop planted between our existing coconut trees. We are excited about how it completely changes the economics of operation.
Spread Strategies: Moving forward, what are the main strategies for scaling impact?
Should other farmers copy what we do, it will greatly reduce the amount of valuable grain consumed to fatten pigs to market. All this extra grain represents food that could be consumed by humans instead of pigs. Therefore, shifting the pigs onto a mixture of natural leaves both lowers the cost of the meat overall, and increases the amount of grain available for humans.
When there are enough farmers converted to this method we will have a large enough base of kenaf in production to solve both the problem of fuel for cooking fires and provide natural fiber production.
Sustainability
Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?
Kenaf is grown mostly for the fiber only and the leaves are ignored.
The greatest difference here is the leaves are used for meat production.
Team
Founding Story
Like many farmers our family lands date far back in history and have been divided and divided each generation.
We now have just 4.5 hectares of farm land. My brother tends the coconut trees, and I have been creating a pig farm.
Team
The family:
The Favila Brothers
Outside volunteer consultant Philip Maise
We plan to grow adding two more local workers to handle the kenaf production.
Value Chain: Where does your work fit into the apparel value chain? [check all that apply]
Your Role: What is your relationship to the apparel industry? [check all that apply]
Farmer or Farmer Association Representative.
Target Population: What stakeholder groups do you engage or empower in your work? [check all that apply]
Farmer or Farmer Associations.
● Intervention Focus: What are you trying to achieve / influence? [check all that apply]
Accountability, Conscious Consumerism, Environmentally Sustainable Practices.
Is your project targeted at solving any of the following key barriers?
Hidden from View: Conditions in Forests, Farms, and Factories are Only Visible to a Select Few, A Job is Not Enough: Low-Income Workers Cannot Secure Long-Term Well-Being, Sustainability is Not Yet in the DNA: Fast Fashion’s Current Model Disincentivizes Value-Driven Economies.
Does your project utilize any of the innovative design principles below?
Unite More than Voice: Tap into Community Capital and Collective Resources.
Innovation Inspiration: When you first conceived of your project, did you think of it as applicable to the apparel industry?
● Replicating in the Apparel Industry: If your project didn't initially target the apparel industry, how are you specifically tailoring it to do so now?
Integration of growing natural fibers as part of pig farming
Are you nurturing or inspiring others to be changemakers? If so, how?
Yes, I am well known at the agricultural extension office and by other pig farmers
● Tell us about the partnerships that enhance your approach. How have you collaborated with others in the industry to increase your impact?
My boar is highly in demand to breed with other pigs so I see many other pig farmers
