Who we are
We are Monique Obligacion & Rocco Mapua— a crazy couple trying to live as sustainably as possible in the urban setting that is Metro Manila.
We have been practicing and pioneering Zero-Waste and environment-conscious living in the Philippines since 2016. Our household does not have trash cans, and does not send any waste to landfills. We also cultivate as much of our own food (plants and fungi) as we can, and strive to be more carbon-neutral with each passing day.
What we do
We advocate self-reliance and environment-conscious living, and run some of the largest and most active Zero-Waste and sustainability-themed online communities in the Philippines.
We do Environment Awareness and Action Talks for establishments, institutions, corporations, organizations, and events. These workshops and presentations are mostly centered on practices such as Zero-Waste, urban farming, and urban composting (i.e. Bokashi fermentation), etc.
What we offer
We offer a wide selection of carefully curated products on our website. We carry environment-conscious alternatives to every day home essentials and personal care items that we ourselves use and can vouch for. (i.e. compostable kitchen sponges, reusable menstrual care tools, home composting kits, etc.)
We only ship our products in used/recycled paper or cloth packaging, to ensure purchases have a smaller impact on the planet. We also allow personal pick-ups.
What we want
Our goal is to put together a collection of stories, ideas, experiences, and tips centered on self-reliance, sustainability, and environment conservation. We are hoping our website becomes an online resource for people who are interested in producing less waste, and shrinking their own carbon and water footprints.
We also want to make tried and tested environment-conscious products and brands become more accessible to Filipinos/Filipinas nationwide.
HULLO, HUMANS!
We are currently building a collection of stories, ideas, and tips on how to live more sustainably within the urban jungle that is Metro Manila.
Our goal is for our website to become a one-stop resource for environment-conscious ideas, practices, and tools.
WAIT, SO WTF IS A DRUID?
If you play Dungeons & Dragons like we do, we imagine you already know why we've called our project Druid Things.
If you have no idea what a druid is, (you'll find a number of definitions online about ancient Celtic religion, but) here is the pop-culture definition we align our brand with:
"In role-playing games, a druid is a character class that is generally portrayed as using nature-based magical abilities and striving to protect nature from civilized intrusion. Druid characters tend to have abilities that involve healing, weather or plant related spells, summoning animal allies, and shapeshifting."
UH HUH.
Basically, druids love, revere, and protect nature. They also wield nature-themed magic. So they're kinda like wizards and whatnot, but instead of doing magical "magic" shit— (think fireballs and illusions) they talk to trees, make flowers bloom, turn into panthers, and crocodiles, and bears, or summon storms, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
Would that we could do all that. *sigh*
We can't talk to trees, but we can plant them. We can't make flowers bloom at a whisper, but epsom salts work wonders. We can't quite shapeshift into sexy black panthers, but we've rescued black kittens off the streets.
SO WHAT?
This site is where we'll be posting our adventures, discoveries, experiences, reviews, and recommendations on anything relating to wildlife and environment conservation, low-impact living, and the practice of zero waste.
Oh! And we might pepper the site with some Dungeons & Dragons jargon for all the nerds to find. You might see terminologies you don't understand. Just scroll past the dorky references and you'll be fine.
Cheers! And welcome!
Learn the basics
We'd love to share the things we've learned in our journey to zero waste
Explore our resourceCompost your food waste indoors
Food waste is one of the top drivers of our planet's climate crisis. Uncomposted food waste dumps large amounts of greenhouse gases in the environment. Want to go zero-waste on your kitchen scraps, but don't have a backyard? Try Bokashi.
Bokashi is a very compact and stink-free method to turn organic waste into premium compost. That's stuff you can either use in your garden, or give to other gardeners or farms.
Explore better options
Access a wide variety of environment-conscious alternatives to every day home and personal care items
Visit our storeWe've tried and tested a lot of environment-conscious products over the years. These are the ones that work, and that we ourselves use.
We only carry brands we personally use, believe in, or ❤
Recent & upcoming events
Scroll down to see information on our recent and upcoming talks, workshops, conferences, cleanup dives, fairs, and pop-ups.
CLEANUP DIVE : June 29, 2019 (Saturday)
DIVE AGAINST DEBRIS ®
Caban Cove Anilao Survey Dive #2
Casa Escondida Anilao Resort & Dive Center
7:00am to 5:00pm
We've adopted a dive site and joined Project AWARE's international campaign, Dive Against Debris®!
Spearheaded by PADI Women's DM Marge Buot, along with DM Ross Veridiano, and DM Seleena Cheng, a new Dive Against Debris survey team has sprung up locally and adopted a couple of dive sites in Anilao, Batangas. Last May 18, 2019, we managed to haul a total of 97 kilograms of ocean trash during our initial survey dives (Caban Cove Anilao Cleanup #1). We are now monitoring these dive sites, and will be returning to them on June 29, 2019 to assess, clean, and report on them.
POP-UP : July 19 to 21, 2019 (Weekend))
THE GOOD TRADE : A ZERO WASTE + SUSTAINABLE FAIR
UGF Central Square, BGC
12:00nn to 10:00pm
The Good Trade PH turns one! Let's celebrate with the community!
As usual, Druid Things brings you a select variety of compostable, reusable, consumable, local, and all-natural goodies.
TALK : JULY 19, 2019 (FRIDAY)
PLASTIC-FREE JULY AND BEYOND
2F Central Square, BGC
12:00nn to 01:30pm
Monique Obligacion of Druid Things and Buhay Zero Waste talks about the planet's plastic crisis and how individual action is necessary in combating ocean pollution. Her presentation talks about how it is necessary for more individuals to learn how to practice zero waste, and avoid not just plastic, but all single-use materials.
POP-UP : July 27 - 28, 2019 (Weekend)
SIMPLE : ZERO WASTE POP-UP
Malingap Central Food Hall, Teacher's Village QC
12:00nn to 08:00pm
Druid Things will be bringing an assortment of goodies to simple at the end of the month:
- home essentials
- mess and travel kits
- menstrual care products
- personal care products
See you there!
TALK : JULY 28, 2019 (SUNDAY)
HOW TO GO ZERO WASTE IN THE HOUSEHOLD
by Monique Obligacion of Buhay Zero-Waste
Malingap Central Food Hall, Teacher's Village QC
1:00pm to 03:00pm
Monique Obligacion shows how to gradually transform a household into one that does not send trash to landfills.
TALK : August 16, 2019 (Friday)
BPI SUSTAINABILITY : BOKASHI FERMENTATION & COMPOSTING
by Monique Obligacion of Buhay Zero-Waste & Manila Grows Food
5F BPI Buendia Center, Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati
4:00pm to 6:00pm
Monique Obligacion talks about the planet's waste and climate crises, and how one can lower their own carbon footprint significantly by transforming food waste into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. Monique shows how to to process kitchen waste indoors with Bokashi fermentation and composting.
TALK : August 18, 2019 (Sunday)
ZERO WASTE & ENVIRONMENT-CONSCIOUS LIVING
by Monique Obligacion of Buhay Zero-Waste
Pacific Village, Muntinlupa
4:00pm to 6:00pm
Monique Obligacion and Rocco Mapua discuss the world's climate and waste emergencies, and show solutions individuals can explore to combat them.
CONFERENCE : September 21, 2019 (Saturday)
RAPPLER : SOCIAL GOOD SUMMIT 2019
Yuchengco Hall, De La Salle University
7:00am to 6:00pm
The 2019 Manila Social Good Summit is a gathering of citizens, innovators and progressive thought leaders from around the world who are working together to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Monique Obligacion will be a panelist at the event's discussions on the planet's waste and climate crises. She will be talking about her journey to zero waste, and sharing her insights on low-impact living, conscious consumerism, and advocacy-driven community-building.
POP-UP : OCTOBER 11 - 13, 2019 (WEEKEND)
THE GOOD TRADE : A ZERO WASTE + SUSTAINABLE FAIR
LGF Central Square, BGC
11:00am to 11:00pm
Druid Things brings you a wide selection of carefully curated environment-conscious alternatives to every day home essentials and personal care items. (i.e. compostable kitchen sponges and brushes, reusable menstrual care tools, Bokashi fermentation kits, etc.)
POP-UP : NOVEMBER 22 - 24, 2019 (WEEKEND)
THE GOOD TRADE : A ZERO WASTE + SUSTAINABLE FAIR
Glorietta Activity Center Palm Drive
Parkway Drive, Makati
10:00am to 10:00pm
Druid Things brings you a wide selection of carefully curated environment-conscious alternatives to every day home essentials and personal care items. (i.e. compostable kitchen sponges and brushes, reusable menstrual care tools, Bokashi fermentation kits, etc.)