In your face NorthFace! A self-powered, 100% organic, handcrafted backpack that will last a century

What? Your Northface bag isn't biodegradle and doesn't even charge your phone? Working with the indigenous traditions of the Igorots of the Northern Philippines, we built this bag from the jungle. Woven by my friend Remicio, from rain forest rattan in the ancestral tradition of the remote Igorot community of Barlig, (he was taught by his father, who was taught by his father... ) the bag is finished by my friend Gaon-gen in Sagada. It was a three month project, that literally began by Remicio hiking into the forest with his son to gather the rattan vine to make it.

Coke Bottle USB port

Gaon-gen helped me add a 3 Watt solar panel and a Coke bottle charger port. The bottle neck port unscrews to reveal a USB charger port and a micro USB charge-in port (for rainy days). It only took a year of intense open source R&D for our Coordillera team to innovate this water proof, shock resistant and all-bottle switch system! Oh, and turn the cap tight and you activate a red light and/or superbright flashlight.

A Seat, A Charger, A Backpack

Unlike those Northface bags, rattan Pasikings (that's the Igorot word for the bag) have been known to endure a century of use. And of course, the bag is completely biodegradeable, the coke PET 100% recyclable, the circuits reusable, and the wiring ecobrickable. In the tradition Barlig pasikings, the bag is also designed to serve as a seat for the tired hiker.

This was one of several bags that I made with my weaver friends in the Northern Philippines. I was deeply inspired by the incredible ideginous techniques while living there. The Igorot innovations continue to inspire my work. In particular the fundamental principles of their technology: waste doesn't exist-- keep it organic.

A Century

Northface could learn a thing or two from life in the village (their bags are all made from non-biodegradeable petroleum based nylon, and fall apart after only ten years). In various museums through the northern Philippines, you always see old bags just like this that are over a hundred years old. It is the tradition to hand down these oeuvres of organic engineering in families, so its not uncommon for a farmer to be using the bag of this great great grandfather. Unlike a factory bag, pasikings can be repaired with a little rattan.

This is a bit of an old project... I'll be posting more, so please follow! :-)