The Journey to a Renewable Energy Economy is not easy. The primary ingredient to success is a person’s faith in the dream and to focus!
When we first traversed this road, we were focused on biodiesel as an alternative to petroleum. We realized that in order to create a sustainable and lasting argument for petroleum independence was to find a product that could match or even surpass the inherent advantages of Petroleum.
In comes the Castor bean, our research showed that Castor oil can be used in more than 3000 applications, from medical, beauty, pharmaceutical, Industrial, aviation and even high tech, its properties and uses were outstanding.
Secondly, market acceptance. Castor Oil has been around for generations, widely accepted and proven. With biofuels, there still needed to be a shift in consciousness, which proves difficult unless you have the financial muscle to create the change in consciousness.
Castor Oil is in huge demand as a proven alternative to Petroleum, it will be the stepping stone to our belief that there is an answer and alternative to petroleum and still be prosperous and profitable at the same time.
It needs commitment, focus, bullet proof processes, excellent people and partners to execute, implement, manage and sustain the program. It’s a tall order but it will and must be done.
We are not only dreamers but we are also taking advantage of the opportunity to make a profit. But that profit will fuel our philosophy to show that there is a solution and an alternative, which makes our drive and determination all the more focused. At the same time, with the program we are developing, everyone can be part of this prosperous venture, but we need to take this first step and this is our story.
That hope and focus to succeed brings us to places we thought we could not go or scale or even think that we could.
Where the pilot is situated in Barangay loog, in Western Samar, lives a people of simple but hard lives, however hopeful and optimistic.
We traversed rocky trails, sometimes climbing 15 degree vertical angles, muddy, slippery, falling down, hoping not to break a leg. 4-5 kilometers up the slopes and another 4-5 kilometers back.
At some point, I was looking at the terrain and one of the Agricultural consultants asked me, how do we bring the implements up these steep terrains? and one of the women members said, “ with our backs”, and I was humbled.
They are willing to break their backs to have a better future, and we cannot fail, because so many are hoping for a better life and they are willing to sacrifice.
A Renewable Energy Economy frees people from the bondage of dependency from oil, and they can produce their own food and electricity and generate substantial income in the process.This is the first step to that goal, and we hope that we can achieve these goals, from castor, to green charcoal, to biofuels, where our independence can be an area of opportunity for many.
Obviously we too become prosperous, but we do it all together and prosper together, and that is the key.
Written by Ricky Cuenca, November 14, 2010 after his trip to a Castor Bean plantation project in the boondocks of Samar.
