🌱Our Final Pitch Experience: Showing Our First SustainMix Eco-Friendly CHB Prototype
Today felt like a huge milestone for us, we finally presented our final pitch, and for the first time, we showed everyone the prototype of our eco-friendly Concrete Hollow Block (CHB). Months ago, this was just an idea we talked about during group meetings, and now we were standing in front of the panel holding the actual block we created. It honestly felt surreal.
As civil engineering students, we see every day how construction affects the environment. Cement is expensive, carbon-heavy, and used almost everywhere. At the same time, we noticed how rice husks, seashells, and broken glass just end up as waste. So we thought, “What if we turn these materials into something useful?” That question eventually became the foundation of SustainMix.
Our prototype CHB uses waste materials as partial replacement for cement, something we’ve been testing and revising over and over. Seeing it in its final form during the pitch made us feel proud, kay di gyud sayon ang process. We experimented with rice husk ash, powdered shells, and crushed glass just to find the right mix that still looks and feels like a standard CHB. And even though it’s still a prototype, it symbolized the start of something bigger for us.
During the pitch, we shared our story, not just the technical side, but why this project mattered to us. We explained how construction contributes to carbon emissions and how communities keep dealing with waste that could have been recycled. Our goal with SustainMix is simple but meaningful: to reduce cement use, recycle waste, and create a stronger and more affordable CHB that can help build greener communities.
We also talked about the feedback from the people who tried and reviewed our prototype. Some loved the idea right away, especially the mix of strength and sustainability. Others were a bit hesitant, asking about long-term durability and production scaling. But honestly, we appreciated those comments, they made us see where we need to improve and what our next steps should be.
Looking back, presenting SustainMix wasn’t just about grades or requirements. It felt more like introducing a solution we truly believe in. This project taught us how innovation starts with small ideas, how teamwork really matters, and how engineers can create impact even while still studying.
We may still have a long way to go, but holding our prototype today reminded us that we’re on the right track. SustainMix might just be a student project for now, but who knows? Maybe one day, our eco-friendly CHBs will help build real homes and real communities.
For now, we’re just grateful, grateful for the experience, the support, and the chance to build something that can hopefully make a difference.










