Las Piñas Arts and Crafts Center: Citronella for your City!

The Philippines, as a typhoon riddled country, is prone to massive rainfall and floods that help some diseases cases to increase in number. One of these diseases is Dengue Fever. In 2011, the Dengue cases not only in Las Pinas but also all around the Philippines increased at an alarming rate. Senator Cynthia, Senator Manny and DPWH Mark Villar decided to take action by not only giving aid to those in need of help during the typhoon but also managed to bring a project to life.

They decided that it was best to plant Citronella plants and make Citronella oil out of these plants in order to have a first line of defense against mosquitos in general. According to the World Health Organization, “Dengue is spread through the bite of the female mosquito (Aedes aegypti). The mosquito becomes infected when it takes the blood of a person infected with the virus. After about one week, the mosquito can then transmit the virus while biting a healthy person. The mosquito can fly up to 400 meters looking for water-filled containers to lay their eggs but usually remains close to the human habitation.”

The World Health Organization also states that Aedes aegypti is a daytime feeder: The peak biting periods are early in the morning and in the evening before dusk. The Environmental Protection Agency lists Citronella oil as a bio-pesticide, meaning it has an effective and yet non-toxic effect on the human body. The National Pesticide Information Center describes oil of citronella as an effective repellent of insects. It works by masking scents that are attractive to insects, which in turn, makes it more difficult for insects to locate a target as said by Pope (2018).

The Citronella plants are harvested by the workers of Villar SIPAG and the process of extracting the oil begins. First, 80 kilograms of Citronella leaves are harvested per batch as 80 kilograms of Citronella leaves produce 250ml of Citronella Oil. Do not worry! The Citronella leaves do not go to waste as the leaves are also turned into paper. Now that’s what we call impressive recycling! Next, the leaves go through a series of boiling and straining in order to get the oil. Finally, the Citronella oil is bottled and sold to the public.

If you want an all natural way method of protecting your family without harming the environment, then look no more! The locally sourced and produced Citronella Oil is available to the public only for a small price of P150 - P200 depending on the size you are going to purchase!

Sources: https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/reg_actions/reregistration/fs_PC-021901_1-Feb-97.pdf

https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/citronella-insect-repellent/