The Bamboo case
Field visit to the Buliwao cooperative - Bamboo case
By the Giraffes - Wednesday February 6 - 2019Today we went on field visit. We were lucky we only needed to leave at 8 o’clock so we could sleep a little bit longer than the other groups. But on the other hand we could only explore the Philippine roads for 45 minutes. We went by bus to the bamboo cooperative. There we got to know the people of our case: the workers, the consolidator and the manager. We had the chance to interview them which was very interesting. They were very enthusiastic and kind, and we’re thankful that they wanted to show us some insights of their work. Later on we could try the chopping of bamboo ourselves so we could see how difficult it was. We can conclude that the women are real experts and we have only respect for what they do.
As there was a waterfall nearby, we took the opportunity to explore the nature and take a dip into the fresh water. It’s also the place where the picture was taken. It was like paradise on earth. The second last stop of the day was at the ware house of the corporative here had we the chance to see the opportunities to expand the business.
Our final stop was at the McDonalds and then we returned to the university to put our heads together about today.
Field visit to the Buliwao cooperative - Bamboo case
By the Elephants - Wednesday February 6 - 2019On the third day of the SIP, our group (the Elephants, working on the bamboo case) went to visit the cooperative and the local producers of bamboo sticks. We left early in the morning with the bus. After a short drive, we stopped at the SaveMore market to buy food supplies for the day. Shortly after, we departed on a 20-minute drive to the cooperative. When we arrived, we (the Belgians) engaged in conversation with the representative from the DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) to talk about the current structure of the cooperative, and the work flow of the production of bamboo sticks. The Philipinos interviewed the local farmers about the problems they experienced during the production process.
When we were done talking, we visited the households to try out the steps in the work flow, and experience the problems that surfaced during production ourselves. Then we went to visit the waterfalls of Buliwao. Some of us had a swin, others just enjoyed the view, and around noon we left to have lunch at McDonalds before heading back to SMU.
Brainstorming
By the Giraffes, Friday February 8 - 2019What we had accomplished today? We, the team giraffe start the day meeting each other for the brainstorming and ideation. The group reviewed and discussed the different ideas and there is a votation happened in choosing the three best possible solutions for the identified problem in the case. We ended up choosing 1) street food bowl, 2) packaging, and 3) building material and bricks made out of the bamboo waste and started working on it. In the afternoon, we went back to the cooperative and presented our ideas and the people of the cooperative choose the second option (a packaging made out of the bamboo waste), the group also asked some bamboo waste in order to start making their desired output and went back to the Saint Mary’s University.
