Rooted from the daily struggles of the farming community that raised him, Lesstics Inc. founder Kenno Michael Uy is turning coconut husks into building boards–putting new income into the pockets of farming families.
Across Mindanao’s coconut-producing towns, every copra harvest leaves behind a stark contradiction. While the crop fuels a billion-peso global export industry, the farmers doing the heavy lifting remain among the country’s lowest-income earners, and piles of unused coconut husks, locally known as bunot, are left to rot or burn in farms, attracting mosquitoes and rats.
For Kenno Michael Uy, founder and CEO of LESSTICS Inc., such a scene was not only an environmental nuisance. But a reality he grew up in.
“My family has been involved in coconut farming for as long as I can remember,” Uy shared in an I-INVENT PH feature by DOST-TAPI.
“Growing up, I saw firsthand the struggles of coconut farmers, many of whom remained in poverty despite the Philippines being one of the largest coconut producers in the world. This experience deeply influenced my drive to create a solution that could help improve their lives.”
Today, Uy is bringing that paradox from the ground up, transforming the very bunot farmers used to clear away into sturdy, moisture-resistant boards for walls, ceilings, and furniture.
Putting Value Back in the Hands of Coconut Farmers
Across Davao Region and Northern Mindanao alone, farmers harvested 3.78 million metric tons of coconuts with husk in 2024, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Northern Mindanao Crops Production Report. Yet for decades, farmers only earned money from the copra. Because coconut husks are bulky, tough, and expensive to haul away, they brought in no income for the families working the farms.
Lesstics Inc. gives those husks real value with its main product, the Earth Board, a sturdy building panel made by processing shredded coconut fibers together with a plant-based binder that safely holds the fiber together. Instead of allowing husks to rot on the ground, Lesstics works directly with coconut farmers’ cooperatives in Davao and Lanao del Norte to buy and collect the husks.
For everyday Filipino families, this simple shift helps both farmers and homeowners:
- Extra income for the farmers. Farmers can now sell the husks they used to throw away, bringing extra money home to cover daily needs.
- Safer and pest-free communities. Collecting the husks clears out breeding grounds for mosquitos and rats, keeping communities cleaner and safer.
- Safer materials inside the home. Made with a plant-based binder instead of toxic glues, Earth board keeps indoor air cleaner.
Once collected, Lesstics shreds the husks, processes the tough fibers, mixes them with its plant-based binder, and presses them into sturdy 4-by-8-foot boards. In an Interview with BusinessWorld, Uy shared that a single half-inch-thick Earth board puts roughly 164 to 168 coconut husks to good use, making it a sturdy substitute for regular plywood and timber.
That clever approach has already earned international recognition. As documented by the Department of Science and Technology – Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI), the innovation also earned a Silver Award at the 50th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva (IEIG).
From Husks to Everyday Use
Earning a recognition as Silver awardee in the 50th International Exhibit of Invention Geneva proved that the Earth Board works. Getting it onto construction sites across Mindanao, however, is a much bigger challenge.
In the Philippines, turning farm waste into a steady manufacturing comes with everyday logistical headaches. Raw coconut husks are bulky and expensive to haul from scattered farms to the factory. At the same time, contractors and builders are used to working with familiar wood products, even in a national construction sector worth ₱563.89 billion in 2024, per the Philippine Statistics Authority. Still with a proven product, competing against established timber suppliers requires steady production and the right connections to reach mainstream markets.
For Uy, tapping into a wider market is key to making husk collection sustainable for farmers. For years, turning husks into ropes or erosion-control nets was one of the few ways farmers could earn from them, a market that quickly hit a limit.
“Buyers eventually ran out because everyone was selling their own nets,” Uy shared in his BusinessWorld interview.
Even with a proven product, competing against established suppliers requires steady production and the right connections to reach mainstream markets.
Building the Bridge to Market Through Circulab
Bridging the gap between a promising invention onto a busy construction site requires the right ecosystem behind it. Today, Lesstics is working through those hurdles as part of the first cohort of Circulab by Upgrade Innolab.
Circulab Accelerator was launched in June 2026 under the European Union–Philippines Green Economy Partnership, part of the EU’s Global Gateway initiative. It is a venture-building program for startups and MSMEs in Northern Mindanao, Davao Region, SOCCSKSARGEN, Caraga and BARMM that turn waste into value. It helps enterprises build working business models, link up with local governments and communities, and strengthen the supply chains that keep discarded materials in use. Across the region, the program aims to increase green jobs and set up at least ten circular economy projects.
Lesstics joined Circulab’s pioneering cohort at a turning point. Earth Board had a Geneva medal and early traction, but going from small-scale production to a reliable commercial supplier meant solving harder problems: steady husk sourcing, production that can scale, and access to buyers who usually choose plywood. Backed by non-equity grant funding, plus mentorship, technical support and regional linkages from the program, Uy and his team are strengthening the business in two key areas:
- Decentralizing Production with Cooperatives. Lesstics is doing more than just buying coconut husks, it is teaching farmers how to turn their own harvests into finished boards. Working alongside three coconut cooperatives in Davao region and Lanao del Norte, they train coconut farmers on every step, from processing husks to pricing and selling the boards in their own communities. With Circulab’s mentorship helping strengthen these Mindanao partnerships first, Lesstics is building a working example it can later use on its own reach cooperatives in Bicol, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quezon.
- Proving Math at Scale. Across the Philippines, roughly 95% of discarded coconut husks go unused or are burned. Lesstics turns that waste into an advantage, pressing 164 to 168 husks into a single 4-by-8-foot board. Uy’s team is sharpening its manufacturing process and pricing strategy. The goal is clear: beat conventional hardware store plywood on price while guaranteeing a reliable income for coconut farmers.
Building With the People It Serves
What keeps Lesstics grounded through every technical test and market pitch is the people it serves. With Upgrade Innolab Circulab Accelerator’s support, Lesstics is proving that homegrown innovation does not have to leave coconut farmers behind.
Today, the farmer’s son who grew up watching communities struggle is turning discarded coconut husks into sturdy building boards, protecting the people who build and live in our spaces while helping Mindanao’s coconut farmers capture the worth of their harvest.
Through its work in Circulab, Lesstics is proving that real climate action starts on the farm floor. Every board pressed means fewer husks burned in open fields, safer walls for Filipino homes, and fairer pay for the coconut farmers.
