| Danial Norjidi |
A GROUP of youth who pitched a business idea of eco-friendly pens made out of bamboo with an added feature of being reusable to grow vegetables was among the top three teams to receive prizes during the Startup Weekend Brunei event on July 23.
The project entitled ‘Pen of Hope – The Eco-Pen That Grows’ managed to garner second place in the event, which saw teams delivering pitches on their business ideas, with a focus on one or more of the 17 United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) after working over the three-day event to turn their ideas into a demo product.
The team behind ‘Pen of Hope’ comprised five youth – Mohd Eqbal Lukhman bin Mohd Volinushki, Awangku Muhammad Zulhamizan bin Pengiran Hashim, Awangku Putera Mohd Faiz Adika Hidayatullah bin Pengiran Haji Yunus, Muhammad Hazim bin Sulaiman and Mohamad Azizan Azman @ Abdul Yazid bin Yakub.
Speaking to the Bulletin, Mohd Eqbal explained, “We want to reduce plastic waste in Brunei by replacing plastic pens with eco-friendly pens. However, we want to make it out of bamboo, of which Brunei has plentiful.”
On why they have chosen bamboo, he said, “Because it grows fast, it grows easy and it grows wild.”
Elaborating further on the pen itself, Mohd Eqbal shared, “One feature of our eco-friendly pen is that we will put vegetable seeds at the top of the pen. So once you’re done with the pen, you just stick it in the ground, give it some fertiliser and water, and you will grow your own vegetables.
“So not only do we reduce plastic waste, but we provide food to your home and educate on agriculture, to make a better nation for Brunei,” he said.
He said that it could help families cut down on some groceries, and also be healthier with organic food. “You’ll have this habit of ‘farming for yourself’ in just little bottles or pots, because vegetables in Brunei can be easily grown.”
He shared that over the next few years he will be looking to learn more, and eventually hope to have a factory, a farm and give jobs to locals, and export the product.
Asked on the current stage of the project, the team shared that the pen has been designed. On what their next plan is, Mohd Eqbal said, “We have been approached by two of the mentors and two other companies that are interested in our business and product. So the next step will be working with them, learning from them and seeing our schedule and milestones for the next year.”
The team also highlighted, “One value is that we want to teach the next generation that farming is normal. We want to implant this product at all schools in Brunei, so that when they grow up, farming your own vegetables is normal. We want to make the next culture of sustainable living in Brunei Darussalam.”
On finishing second place in the competition, the team said they were happy, surprised, and that it was unexpected. “We didn’t know if this idea will work, but now that it’s validated and accepted, it’s one step to making a change in Brunei, and a legacy that we can look back to,” added Mohd Eqbal.