CHANGE waste into best, says Domecillo’s proprietor Marianito “Rene” Alcala. “It’s all about making beautiful things from our surroundings.”

Domecillo, the home store at Cliff House in Tagaytay City, shows how nature’s bounties can find a place in your home.

Way before “eco living” and “sustainability” became buzzwords, Filipino designers and exporters have been translating natural materials and waste into beautiful decorative items.

Take the good old coconut palm tree. The fibers can be made into many things, from reed mats to ceiling materials. The stiff leaflet midribs, usually bundled into a broomstick, can be shaped into a lamp base.

As a building material, the trunk can substitute for endangered exotic woods or used as utility boxes. Shirt buttons and beads are fashioned out of dried coconut shells.

Coco coir comes from the seed of the coconut. After its external leathery coating and the dense layer of stringy pulp are removed, the salvaged fibers become the coir used for bristles, filaments, twine and textiles. In the Philippines, creative manufacturers have used coir to add texture to furniture.

Sturdier than cotton, hemp is an ideal sustainable plant, as it doesn’t require much maintenance. As paper, it can be reused more times than tree-based paper and needs less toxic elements in its manufacturing. Hemp twine is a popular material for lamp bases.

Chic accents

Ipil-ipil leaves, traditionally used for medicine to cure intestinal parasites and diarrhea and also as a thickening agent for foods, have been fashioned by exporter Auxie Burgos into trays and plates.

Meanwhile, Maricris Brias’ pillows made from the Davao fabric t’nalak and abaca are a staple in chic homes. Even the tiny sigay cowrie shells, used for jewelry, are cut into round, even shapes and individually pasted on lamps. Scraps of shells also become surfaces of tables and frames.

Bacolod-based Ina Gaston of Hacienda Crafts has mounted buri on metal frames to make floor lamps with interesting shapes. She also favors nito vine.

“We don’t need to process it because it has a waxy surface. It doesn’t absorb moisture that much,” she says.

She also likes coconut twigs for their rustic texture. They are air-dried, woven and dyed with different colors to become arresting tableware, lighting and small furniture.

Abaca, sinamay and bakbak or banana fiber are transformed into accent pieces. “We use materials in their original form,” she says.

Termite mounds

Cebu-based Clayton Tugonon of Classical Geometry discovered termite mounds in his hacienda in Cebu. He had the inspired idea to incorporate them into his designs.

The termites’ nests are harvested, sun-dried, baked, sliced, inlaid in fiberglass and covered with clear polyester. A frame or lamp base made from this material glows when it is back-lit. Tugonon won an award in a Cebu furniture fair for his innovation.

His sea urchin lamps are also the main attraction in Solihiya, a Filipino restaurant in Greenbelt 5. Tugonon admires the symmetry and rich textures of this sea creature.

“We inlay them in fiberglass and add fillers. When back-lit, the lamps have a natural sheen.”

Various abaca weaves are found in couches, tables and chairs made for Roche Bobois. He also includes palm twigs as embellishment for his designs. Although many local designers have been using sea grass, Tugonon says his success lies in the creative process.

“I create the forms and patterns and go with the flow of materials,” he explains.

Tugonon admires fellow designers Al Caronan and Renato Vidal for their ingenious use of materials such as wild grass and seeds to make Christmas trees.

Like them, he believes a lot of native resources are still waiting to be tapped fully and shown to the world.