Boat to bag: How Project Nova turns discarded kayaks into sustainable gear

MANILA, Philippines – If you’re a kayak touring company in the Philippines, what happens with decommissioned gear and kayaks that no longer serve their purpose?

They go to waste — literally and figuratively.

Grappling with this environmental footprint, a group of kayak touring guides from Bohol decided the life of these boats would not end there.

In 2019, they talked about upcycling. In 2020, they launched Project Nova.

Floating the idea

First, Project Nova sought out local Bohol artisans. Without previous craft or design background, the organizers knew they couldn’t manufacture items like handcrafted bags and accessories themselves, so the goal was to collaborate on the production process.

But the pandemic made them rethink their approach.

“2020 gave us all the time to focus on this initiative as our kayak touring business shut,” Project Nova founder Rey Marcelo Donaire told Rappler. “Being a deeply community-based business here in Bohol, we decided to look inward.”

With tourism temporarily shut down, they had time to learn new skills and explore creating upcycled products themselves.

“Honestly, it was a bit of a learning curve! But this approach allowed us to build a sustainable business model that not only benefits the environment by giving these kayaks a new life, but also supports our local community,” Donaire said.

Project Nova’s team also includes members from people’s organization ALIMANGA (Abatan Lincod Mangrove Growers Association), which manages 100 hectares of mangrove forest. This community traditionally made their living through fishing and harvesting nipa palms, which they weave into roof shingles.

Project Nova started working with them as kayak tour guides in 2012. “Learning to kayak was easy for them. They’re already water people. Our challenge then was to develop them into proper, top-class kayak guides.”

Initially, the kayak touring operations could only provide supplemental income since operations weren’t regular. But as they grew, the group was able to offer full-time work.

“The goal is sustainable employment that doesn’t depend on tourism seasons or external factors — something they can rely on regardless of what’s happening in the broader economy,” Donaire said.

Their traditional nipa weaving skills actually became useful when Project Nova pivoted in 2020. As they started handcrafting decommissioned inflatable kayaks into bags, “their craftsmanship skill lifted to another level.”

The team: Best of boat worlds

How did the rest of the team learn to design and sew? “YouTube Uni was the teacher!” Donaire cheekily shared.

They started from zero. In 2019, they scouted artisans who worked with leather or rubber materials, reasoning that kayak material — rubber-like — could be approached similarly to leatherwork.

The first months of the 2020 lockdown were spent going down the rabbit hole of leather-crafting tutorials, bag-construction videos, and stitching techniques. The real challenge was adapting those methods for their specific kayak materials.

“What that did was keep our staff employed and engaged when tourism businesses were shutting down left and right. Producing the bags ourselves gave us jobs and a way to make a living when everything else had stopped,” he said.

There are tons of upcycling initiatives happening everywhere — from tarp bags, kite-sail designs, plastic-wrapper projects. They hadn’t come across anyone else doing kayaks, so this edge propelled Donaire to push through with his sustainable vision.

“Using kayaks means we can pretty much upcycle any waste material. Imagination sets no limits. It’s changed how we think about resources altogether — instead of seeing discarded materials as trash, we see them as raw materials waiting for a new purpose. Once you shift that mindset, everything becomes possibility,” he said.

Project Nova’s items look upcycled but brand-new; the haphazard feel embodies the gritty, rugged look of the brand that’s still stylish and purposeful: waterproof, sturdy, wearable for the modern and adventurous traveler.

Sling bags provide convenience, card holders provide sleek usability, and tote bags combine wearability with durability. Colors can be muted, but some are bold — bright green for a sling bag, or dark gray and black for the tote.

Project Nova’s creative process begins with imagination. They look at certain bag types and imagine whether it can be “Project Nova-ed.” Working as a group allows them to pick up individual strengths, quirks, and trademarks in the creative process.

“We approach each piece, each bag model thinking: ‘How can this work for someone heading to the office and someone heading outdoors?’”

“We aim for that sweet spot where urban functionality meets outdoor durability. It’s a bag you can walk into a meeting with, but it can absolutely handle getting soaked in a sudden downpour or being thrown around during travel,” he said.

“It has a sleek look that’s ideal for daily use, but the waterproof kayak material and reinforced stitching mean they can handle whatever you throw at them. We’ve had patrons use them for everything from daily commutes to golf courses to multi-day travel.”

Why kayaks, though?

Inflatable kayaks were chosen for the company because they’re packable and can be checked on flights. This made the business model easier, since they paddle different sites across islands and organize trips to remote provinces.

However, like most inflatable gear, the adhesives that hold them together start deteriorating after 5-10 years. And because of harsh humidity and constant exposure to UV and saltwater from commercial operations, adhesive is always the first to go.

“We rarely decommission kayaks because of material degradation. This particular kayak fabric is incredibly strong. It’s a semi-synthetic fabric welded between rubber layers. The company that makes it calls it a ‘green material’ because it has very little plastic content,” Donaire explained.

They could actually last forever, he said, if not commercially used. The fabric is designed to be completely waterproof and incredibly durable; it has to withstand saltwater, UV rays, and physical stress from being dragged across rocks and sand.

“When we transform them into bags, those same properties become exactly what you want in the Philippines’ unpredictably wet weather and harsh sun. The material is naturally weatherproof and tear-resistant,” he said.

He shared that this process achieves “some level of circularity as a company” — they’re closing the loop on their equipment lifecycle instead of passing the waste problem to someone else or filling already overwhelmed landfills.

Like most upcycling initiatives, “reverse engineering” is needed in the process. The complex, raw material sets the tone. It’s about first understanding its characteristics, then letting that guide design.

The sourcing of discarded kayaks is easy, but breaking them down is one of the hardest parts of the process, Donaire shared.

“We can’t just toss out the kayak and start cutting. We have to clean, disassemble, and carefully assess which parts work best for specific designs. Initially, we tried using any section, but over time we discovered which kayak parts work best for different bag styles or bag panels,” he explained.

Every piece is hand-stitched from start to finish. They punch holes into the tough kayak material and carefully stitch it together. Hand-stitching is used, because machines are too costly and would displace some of their staff. Time and effort aside, this is what makes each piece distinct and unique.

The brand is also considered cruelty-free, because they do not utilize any animal skin, hide, or by-products (like leather, tusks, gelatin, or beeswax) in production.

Just keep swimming

The tides were rough for Project Nova’s pandemic beginnings. Donaire shared that he saw the strain of uncertainty showed on everyone’s faces when early challenges arose. But difficulty wasn’t new to them; the community weathered life together through the years.

“The 2013 earthquake, Typhoon Yolanda, the Abu Sayyaf situation in Bohol in 2017. But 2020 felt different. The world felt like it was on a mad spin, and starting a new business added even more uncertainty,” Donaire said.

“I totally understood when a few members bailed in the early days of hatching the plan.”

Then Typhoon Rai hit. Bohol didn’t have power for nearly six months, but they were actually thankful they were making bags by hand. They could still work. The production studio became an escape from the chaos. And they weren’t just making bags during those weeks; they were making cement blocks to help fix community members’ homes.

When everything settled and travel started again, they emerged with new bag models and merchandise for the kayak tours. But they realized relying solely on their kayak-tour customers wouldn’t be sustainable.

That’s when they started looking into local product fairs in Manila, such as ArteFino Fair in Rockwell, Makati City.

2025 is their third year being part of the Philippines’ biggest artisanal fair, with a HeArteFino grant to match — a milestone that small businesses like Project Nova don’t take for granted. “In a way, being accepted into this space validates that we’re not just kayak guides no more,” he said.

“The reception we received was honestly something we didn’t expect. Being part of this community pushed our standards to levels we never imagined reaching. I guess when you’re surrounded by incredible craftspeople and social enterprises, you naturally elevate your own game.”

“In 2023, when we were the new kids on the block, I think we were more skeptical about ourselves than people were with us. There was definitely self-doubt and internal questioning — did we deserve to be here? Are we right to be in this space? Do our products really belong alongside these established brands?”

They take every opportunity to learn and grow. They listen to comments and suggestions and use fairs as a platform to share their story. And over time, it’s never really gotten easy for them, but they’re up for it. The only thing they can do is prepare, make their bags better, do the work, and they know people will see it in the finished product.

“I still have a hard time relating this growth to our community back home, because even they can’t believe that people actually buy our upcycled stuff. Since joining ArteFino, our bag models have more than doubled.”

Looking flow-ard

Project Nova describes itself as a fair-trade enterprise, with its impact on the community concrete.

Aside from offering dignified wages (8-10% above the local minimum wage of Tagbilaran City) and job stability for their workers, Project Nova also creates programs that improve personal well-being: allocated hours during the workweek for fitness and exercise, free healthy lunches throughout the week, and incentive programs that give employees opportunities to travel outside the locality. This year, they started a team values formation program and financial literacy training.

Project Nova’s monthly River ReBoot program supports their traditional livelihood as mangrove growers. They organize mangrove planting and river cleanups with various organizations across the province and region, helping maintain 105 hectares of mangrove forest. It has opened doors to school organizations, local civic groups and other advocacy groups like Plastic Free Bohol to get involved in conservation works.

“In all aspects, this is true collaboration. We see the community as partners, not contract workers.”

Now that Bohol is a UNESCO Global Geopark, any development needs to be guided by conservation and sustainability at its core. Development for the sake of development is never sustainable, Donaire said.

“What we are advocating is economic growth that actually strengthens environmental protection rather than undermining it. When conservation becomes a viable source of income for local communities, they become the strongest guardians of their own ecosystems,” he said.

As of now, Project Nova is mostly independent; they are not working with other LGUs yet aside from the local municipality for support.

“We spend a lot of time on our rivers, coasts and islands. Some of them remote. We see how much beauty and diversity we have, and we also see how much trash we’ve dumped in these places where it shouldn’t be,” Donaire shared.

Their work as kayak tour guides doesn’t stop on the water. With Project Nova, the impact they want to make has become bigger – it’s about shifting how people think about resources and community.

“We’re proving that you don’t need to extract from your environment to make a living — you can build prosperity by protecting what you have,” Donaire said.

“Be honest about your impact, take responsibility for your waste, and create opportunities that lift everyone up,” he added.

Donaire doesn’t want Project Nova to just be a “brand” — he believes it should be a template and a movement. Most importantly, it is a mindset: “Your waste is your opportunity, your community is your strength, and your environment is your greatest asset.”

Work with nature, instead of against it. “Let’s do this, one bag at a time,” he said. – Rappler.com