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In this week’s edition of Startup Vagabond we are talking about the Philippines. A fascinating country of 115 million people split across an archipelago of 7,641 islands in Southeast Asia. 

I recently spent 2 weeks in the country and found a local population that was extremely welcoming, friendly and resilient, which is what today’s piece is all about.

They also know how to have a good time! So if you ever make it over to that part of the world let me know and I can connect you with the people that were so hospitable to me,

Until then, Travel safe!

Dickie

A turbulent past

In a post World War two world, the Philippines boasted the second strongest economy in Asia, behind Japan. Though political mismanagement and Civil War plunged the Nation, which was only newly independent after colonisation from the Spanish, Japanese and Americans, into widespread poverty.

Only in recent years are we now starting to see the Philippines catch up to its Eastern neighbours, as a rising young middle class emerges.

Though the 2023 Full Year Official Poverty Statistics still show that 15.5% of the country’s people are living below the poverty line.

For many of us in the Developed world, Innovation is a means to solve a problem which will make us more efficient, productive or slightly improve our quality of life. 

But for those impacted by severe impoverishment, which still includes millions of Filipinos, Innovation is not a choice but a basic means of survival.

The Trolleymen of Los Banos

It was through two modes of transport, in Laguna Province, Luzon where I first saw this combination of resilience and ingenuity with my very own eyes.

A 3 hour drive from the country’s sprawling mega-capital Manila is the village of Los Banos.

The township, known colloquially as “Elbi” or “LB”, plays host to 115,000 people who all have to deal with the abandoned railway track that cuts the village in half. 

Rather than let the track, that’s been out of use since the 1960’s,  become a hindrance, the locals have built 4 wheel trollies, pushed by local “trolleymen” helping them to ferry their shopping (and the odd curious tourist, including yours truly) from one side of the village to the other. 

Helping to ease the burden of life living by a railway, and in turn creating jobs for the local youths, who are strong and brave enough to push a trolley full of rice (or tourists) using only their bare hands and the momentum that they can generate.

The trolleys whizz past barber shops, restaurants and the front doors of houses that are all built straddling the decrepit railway line, making for an incredible window into the lives of the local villages that have chosen to make the most of the inconvenience that they were left with at their doorstep.

A short ride from Los Banos, you’ll stumble upon the breathtaking Pagsanjan Falls. A long river winding through a canyon that leads to a dramatic waterfall that it’s safe enough to raft underneath.

A trip upstream to the falls is an experience that it’s hard to forget. As the local "Bangkero" or“Boatmen”, drag a carbon boat carrying 2-3 tourists  up the rapids for over an hour, defying both gravity and age (our lead Boatmen was easily in his 60s) with a tenacity that can only be bred from a life of surviving by any means necessary.

According to the Department of Tourism, there are some 900 official “Bankero” with each lucky to secure only one ride per day from passing tourists, where they’ll make roughly 400 Philippines Peso (Around $7 USD) to feed their family.

Here, the local people have found a way to capitalise on a natural asset and create a means of making money.   

Though this often comes at some personal cost.

A slip and fall into the many boulders on the route can result in serious injuries or even death. Though with the alternative being joblessness, it’s a heart-wrenching choice that most people reading this will never have to make.

The final example of Filipino resilience is arguably the most extreme and easily the hardest to stomach.

Recent years have seen the emergence of a new Filipino born cuisine, Pagpag. 

Pagpag is the Tagalog term for leftover food from restaurants (usually from fast food restaurants) scavenged from garbage sites and dumps. Pagpag food can also be expired frozen meat, fish, or vegetables discarded by supermarkets and scavenged in garbage trucks where this expired food is collected.

Pagpag can be eaten immediately or cooked in a variety of ways, with a raft of Pagpag establishments now popping up in the poorest parts of Metro Manila.

The act of eating Pagpag arose from the challenges of hunger that resulted from extreme poverty, particularly in the food crisis of 2008. 

While it’s impossible to imagine having to take such extreme measures, it’s hard to find a better analogy for a problem that needs solving by any means.

More recently, numerous Startups have popped up with Zero waste management solutions  to stop the proliferation of Pagpag food.

With the Department of Social Welfare and Development also addressing the issue and helping the poor through feeding programs and conditional cash transfers.

This piece may make for a challenging read and the Philippines can be a challenging travel destination to travel to. It’s also a country of breathtaking natural wonders, happy smiling people and deep cultural heritage.

I urge you after reading this to not shy away, but to visit the country and be a responsible tourist. Helping to contribute to the local economy and lifting those still in poverty out.

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In the next edition we’ll be profiling Station F in Paris. The world’s largest Startup Incubator built in an abandoned train station in the city’s East and home to 2000 emerging Startups at any given time.

See you on the next adventure!

Dickie