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Photo Courtesy || Douglas Paticawen |
Cordillera- Most inventors who have brilliant minds spend their time figuring out how to make things work and make life more easier and convenient. Most came from humble beginnings but were recognized then later became famous because their inventions made a great impact to people's lives.
Mr. Douglas Paticawen, an exceptional Igorot inventor and fabricator was among them. Because of his ingenious works, government agencies and corporations sought his technical skills and expertise.
Paticawen from Mountain Province, was able to make different kinds of production machines purchased by several government agencies as a support to the livelihood of local farmers and other local industries in Cordillera.
The 39-year old Paticawen have several inventions of his own. These include a coco dust machine or coconut husk decorticating machine which is used to separate the coco fiber from the coco dust and hull; a dehydrator to dry tea leaves, and a peanut butter grinder.
He also fabricated a coffee roaster, which is a favorite; a multi function huller that can shell off rice, coffee and corn; a shredder that can shred plastics; a crusher used to crush bottles; and some hollow block molders. Though he can still fabricate whatever your request of him.
His first fabricated work was the "dapilan", a machine that can extract a sugarcane to make a muscovado or molasses.
In 1995, Paticawen represented the country in the first ASEAN Skills Olympics competition held in Malaysia where his skills in fabrication was recognized.
Most of his fabricated and personally invented machines were sought by different government agencies like the department of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and other Local Government Units (LGU's). These government agencies purchase the machines and distribute them around Cordillera providing employment and livelihood to many locals.
