During fieldwork, one of my biggest “aha moments” was during our visit to Oikos. Seeing the process a biodegradable bag goes through, from the start of production as bioplastic pellets to the end of production when they are shipped out to customers, was very eye-opening. This showed me what it will take for a product AgriWrap makes to go from a laboratory experiment to full-scale production. The process was a lot simpler than I could’ve imagined, having never seen a factory before. There were some labor-intensive portions of the production process, including stamping out the handles of the bags and folding the bags; however, much of the process was completed by machinery in a straight line that didn’t take up much space at all. Additionally, much of the warehouse was dedicated to storing production components like bioplastic pellets, ink, and roller stamps for bag logos.

3 Key Takeaways From Fieldwork:

1. Price is everything. This was something that we were aware of going in, but only got confirmed by everything that we did during fieldwork. For Oikos, who struggles to achieve full operating capacity because they can’t find enough companies that are willing to pay the premium for more sustainable solutions, price impacts production scale. Wholesale vendors of single-use plastic bags told us they would be ecstatic to make the switch to bioplastic bags, but can’t spend a penny extra buying products for their target market. And we heard it everywhere in between as well. Looking ahead, this insight will help guide our project by narrowing down the product we want to make and the market we want to target. This will guide our R&D as well, as it is our most pressing constraint.
2. There are a lot of sustainable initiatives in Quezon City. This takeaway is crucial going forward because our team needs to make more connections and find partners to work with on the ground. While in Manila this summer, we began finding vendors who would be willing to test our products and give feedback, toured facilities at UP Diliman with researchers who showed us their own work on seaweed bioplastic, and heard overwhelmingly positive feedback from nearly everyone we talked to about wanting to support sustainable initiatives. We need to continue cultivating these partnerships to sustain the team’s growth in future years.
3. Plastic is used in every aspect of life in Manila. In my own life, I use plastic in numerous ways, and without going on the fieldwork trip, I would assume the ways I use plastic would be very similar to how people in another city use plastic. A plastic bag is just a plastic bag, right? However, through the market research that we did, I saw just how intertwined plastic was with the way of life for Manilans. With the heavy emphasis placed on going out to each in both formal and informal establishments, paired with the need for everything to be waterproof, plastic has become an easy answer for just about everything. This includes everything from to-go containers and sheets to cover goods sold on the street to shrink wrapping just about everything in stores.

Personally, fieldwork opened my eyes to the importance of being flexible, curious, and open-minded. While working with a group in a completely different setting, it was crucial to continuously check in with each other, assess where we were at, and make plans for where to go next. Nothing can be fully planned from the start, and progress only happens once you take that first step. The two weeks of fieldwork also gave me a much deeper appreciation for the magnitude of such a problem and the complexities that go into creating a real impact.

Professionally, fieldwork taught me a lot about how to conduct myself while working in a foreign place with different cultural norms. Communication was often more indirect and required slowing down and paying close attention to nonverbal cues. There was a strong cultural emphasis on politeness, and nearly everyone we approached was willing to help us and answer our questions. While this openness is not universal, it taught me how important it is not to make assumptions that could unintentionally close off potential opportunities. It takes practice to hone these skills, but it will always open more doors than it shuts.