COCO TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
COCO TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION
BIO-ENGINEERING CONSULTANT
EROSION CONTROL CONTRACTOR
AGRICULTURAL AND HORTICULTURAL TRADER
The founder of the company, Dr. Justino R. Arboleda, was the dean of the Bicol University College of Agriculture for a record of fourteen years and the Vice President for Planning and Development for two years. He led a study on poverty in the Bicol Region and saw the extent of poverty in the coconut lands which dominates 70% of the farms in the region. During most of his stay in the university, he led the redirection on the focus of expertise of the university from rice and corn to the coconut and the uplands. As determined to remove his home province from the list of poorest regions in the Philippines, Dr. Arboleda found a way to maximize the most abundant resource in Bicol – coconut trees, also known as the tree of life.
Without available funding back then, he took a great risk leaving his stable academic career to put up his own coconut husk processing company. He launched Juboken Enterprises, Inc. (Juboken) in 1994, which manufactured products from coconut fiber or threshed coconut husks into coconet (a sturdy netting that anchors the soil to prevent erosion), various household item, handicraft, pet toys, etc. The company started with five employees, including himself and his wife. He developed machines to produce their products. Farmers and poor residents of nearby communities were hired as weavers, plant workers and threshers.
Arboleda brought the environmentally-friendly coconet and other bio-engineering materials from coconut husks to Japan, China, India and Germany. Locally, these materials have been used throughout the country as soil erosion prevention technology for road and steep slopes, and in river rehabilitation.
In 1999, Arboleda established Coco Technologies Corporation (Cocotech) which develops bio-engineering projects and markets (both retail and export) coir and peat-based products. As pioneer and innovator in the coconut coir industry in the country, it attracted partners and investors from here and abroad.
More than just a business venture, the company, Cocotech addresses two major problems in the coconut industry while providing social (livelihood for rural communities) and environmental (effective soil erosion prevention) impacts: (1) increasing the incomes of coconut farmers who remain to be the poorest groups in the country; and (2) optimizing the biggest volume of farm wastes in the Philippines which are coconut husks. As part of its goal of economic empowerment for marginalized communities and households, more than 60% of revenues go directly to producer-families and/or communities while 50% of after-tax income will support sustainable enterprise projects – i.e. projects that are ecologically sound, economically viable and community oriented.
A recipient of the prestigious Golden Shell Award from the Philippine Government’s Department of Trade and Industry, the company with its major partner, Juboken, is the leading bioengineering company in the Philippines. Also awarded Global Eco-tech Award at the World Expo 2005 in Japan as recognition to its outstanding contribution to the resolution of global environmental problems. It was also voted through worldwide contest conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation and Shell Inc. as the Company with the Best Countryside Development Project for Environmental Rehabilitation in the World for 2005.
In recognition for its inclusive business ideas and efforts to involve the poor while minimizing farm wastes and rehabilitating the environment, the company were given many awards and recognitions, here and abroad. Because of these national and international awards, the company commands a lot of respect in the industry and government agencies. It is a big capital for the company.
Cocotech designs and implements bioengineering erosion control installation for road and steep slope protection and for rehabilitation and protection of riverbank, shoreline, and mangrove areas. The company also engages in marketing of coconut husk derived and related products. Specific products manufactured are baled decorticated coconut fiber, cocopeat blocks, horticultural and garden products, coir beds and mattresses, cocofiber boards, and soil erosion control products.
The company is composed of a group of individuals who have pioneering spirit and have superior academic performance. The company has grown from a very small company to what it is now due to hard work and continuous research activities of this group of individuals. Cocotech shall constantly seek out ways to enhance and improve the products and technology in coco coir processing. Its coconut coir processing equipment, a product of Filipino ingenuity, was developed and fabricated locally, and demonstrates high efficiency in coconut fiber processing.