A craft maker has found a living through making use of coco waste materials.

Jeeff De Asis, a coco craft maker from Barangay Carit-an in the municipality of Patnongon shared on Friday how he began his journey of producing crafts out of coconut waste materials and how it helped him augment his income as chief of tanod in Barangay Carit-an, Patnongon.

De Asis was invited by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Antique provincial office to do a coco craft demonstration at their Obra Antiqueño Trade Fair at the Robinsons Mall on Thursday.

He showed the participants how to do a “hantic” or red ant lampshade made of coconut shells that won the Most Innovative Product award during the 2022 Panubli-on Heritage Fair on Nov. 20 in Iloilo City.

“It was my first time to join in the DTI’s Panubli-on Heritage Fair and I did not expect that the lamp shape would get the award,” he said.

He said the lampshade was made of two coconut shells that he had collected and mounted on wood as its stand.

De Asis also said that he was inspired to form the lampshade into an ant shape in honor of his home province of Antique, where its name was derived from.

“There is a great potential in coco craft because of its available raw materials,” De Asis said.

He said craft makers like him need the support of the national government through DTI and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to have their startup capital and training.

With the craft, he now provides work to his in-laws whom he also trained to make key chains, refrigerator magnets, and cellphone holders that they sell.

“There are now six to seven people whom I had trained in our barangay who are willing to engage themselves in coco craft, but they lack the necessary tools for it,” he said.

He hoped that they could avail of the Shared Service Facility (SSF) from DTI or Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) from the DSWD to sustain his business. (PNA)