The Forest Products Research and Development Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-FPRDI) and the local government of Cabuyao City recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the mass production of bamboo-framed face shields to augment the need for personal protective equipment for frontliners battling COVID-19.
Under the MOA, the DOST-FPRDI will provide the design, specifications and other requirements needed to produce the face shields. It will also give technical assistance on steam bending, the process wherein the bamboo strips for the frame are subjected to heat to flex them and become pliable to the desired form.
“Locally producing the face shields will not only save us money as we don’t need to buy commercially, it will also create jobs in our city. It will be a much needed source of income for the people who will be hired in this project,” said Cabuyao City Mayor Rommel A. Gecolea.
Production will be supervised by the City Cooperative and Livelihood Development Office in partnership with the City Agricultural Office. According to Gecolea, they also intend to tap DOST-FPRDI in their project that aims to grow bamboo along river banks.
The bamboo-framed face shield is one of DOST-FPRDI’s initiatives to help protect the public against COVID-19. To date, the Institute has donated at least 2,000 bamboo-framed face shields to LGUs, rural health units, public and private hospitals, restaurants, banks and funeral establishments in Laguna; NGOs and government offices in Nueva Vizcaya, Occidental Mindoro and Palawan; the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Victoria, Laguna; the Public Attorney’s Office in San Pablo City; DOST- Technology Application and Promotion Institute; Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA); DENR- Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau; and University of the Philippines Los Baños.
For those interested in adopting DOST-FPRDI technologies, please contact Grecelda A. Eusebio, Chief of the Technology Licensing and Promotion Section, DOST-FPRDI at (049) 536-2377 / fprdi@dost.gov.ph.
