From a mere seed waste from the kitchen that turned into a single used bag, the Plantable Bio Bag will now cross the world down under. After topping the DOST Regional Pitching competition last year for their innovative Community-Based Action Projects Addressing Strategically Themed Learning Objectives through Networked Environments (CAPSTONE) project, there is indeed no stopping for the Team Vixta as they will bring their plantable bio bag with them on Makepeace Island in Noosa, Sunshine Coast in Australia after making it to the EarthTech Challenge Finals 2020.

Team Vixta, composed of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) students from De La Salle Lipa (Kyra Camacho, Joshua Mirano, Aldrich Tibayan, and Nicole Buno), has made it as one of the Top 10 finalists and bested other top 40 participants from different parts of the world in the EarthTech Challenge. The Plantable Bio bag has earned the attention and admiration of many being an environment-friendly and cost-effective product. (Read more: DLSL STEM Studes Triumph in DOST Regional Pitch)

The EarthTech Challenge is organized and operated by EarthTech, a social enterprise based in Noosa Australia whose purpose is to empower young and purpose-driven people to come up with solutions to some of the biggest environmental and social issues of the world and of our time. It included a 6-week online course that ran from Dec. 16, 2019 until January 24, 2020. The course was delivered via a cloud-based platform that provided teams with seamless onboarding access to expert educational material and mentorship. Each participant’s entry was categorized based on the EarthTech Challenge’s six categories that their projects answer to, namely Poverty and Inequality, Food, Water and Health Care, Climate and Energy, Sustainable Futures, Environment, and Biodiversity.

“With 850+ registrations over 73 countries, we never knew we would surpass them all. We became really proud products of a sustainable institution especially that we are the YOUNGEST and if I’m not mistaken, the only students of the top 10 finalists while the rest are real investors already. After knowing we would be with high profile [individuals] (investors, entrepreneurs, businessmen) in the summit, we got really excited and hopeful that it will be another opportunity for our Plantable Bio Bag to be recognized and someday, be known in the world. We’ll take advantage of the mentoring opportunities, innovation scale up and revenue model meetings, and even the acquaintance with great leaders of sustainability and business. We can’t wait to learn new things from our fellow finalists and mentors! Really exciting! As of now, we’re getting ready physically and mentally in order to pitch our Plantable Bio Bag successfully. We are also hands on with our research so that we can improve our product and prepare for mass production,” Kyra Camacho, Team Vixta’s Chief Executive Officer, remarked.

Team Vixta will fly to Noosa, Australia for the EarthTech Summit on February 20, 2020 and will have the opportunity to meet and be mentored by some of the world’s leading entrepreneurs, scientists, environmentalists, and influencers. The team will likewise have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to pitch their Plantable Bio Bag in front of a select team of experts.

(Featured Image Courtesy of Team Vixta)