UP student bags Jameson Dyson Award for salt-farming solution
A STUDENT from the University of the Philippines (UP) won the national title of the 20th James Dyson Award for developing a groundbreaking salt-farming solution that aims to help local farmers and revitalize the salt industry.
John Carlo L. Reyes, a 23-year-old industrial design UP graduate, is the brain behind the award-winning invention SolAsin, a compact salt-farming unit that sustainably produces high-value salts by only using filtered seawater, sunlight, and occasional remixing.
“It enables our coastal communities to produce their own salt, which they can sell to hotels, restaurants, and tourists in coastal areas,” Mr. Reyes told BusinessWorld in mixed English and Filipino during the press briefing last week.
Growing up in Pangasinan, the country’s salt capital, Mr. Reyes witnessed the struggles of local farmers who earned only a fraction of what their hard work deserved, as many were employed under large operators.
Their income is further affected by the competition from mass-produced and imported table salt in the market,” he added.
“With SolAsin, it produces flaky salt, a high-value variant of salt even in small quantities. Its main competition comes from imported products, as the market is dominated by import,” Mr. Reyes said.
According to the James Dyson Award, 93% of the country’s salt is still imported, despite the recent passage of the Salt Industry Development Law — an act designed to revive the Philippines’ struggling salt industry. This underscores the urgent need for technological innovation to help restore the industry to its former glory.
Mr. Reyes’ SolAsin won the P361,300 national prize, which he plans to use to further refine his design. He will be joined by runners-up ChillWise and Lambooply as they advance to the international stage of the James Dyson Award. The global prize is set at P2.16 million.
The Top 20 shortlist will be announced on Oct. 15, followed by the global winners on Nov. 5. — Edg Adrian A. Eva
