# Vignette 18: Philippines' SalikLakbay
"When we look closely enough and allow ourselves to embrace the possibilities, we realize that innovation is everywhere," reflects late Rex Lor, Head of Solutions Mapping at UNDP Philippines. This observation emerged from a solution walk through Quiapo, one of Manila's oldest commercial districts, where Rex and his team set out to discover grassroots innovation.
The practice they developed, called "SalikLakbay" (combining the Filipino words for research and journey), structures the process of identifying local solutions. One morning in 2019, Rex gathered a group of UNDP staff members at their office for a solution walk[\[1\]](#endnote-1) (Figure 33). After orienting the team to the SalikLakbay Field Guide,[\[2\]](#endnote-2) they set out to document innovations in Quiapo's streets.
Their first finding came in a workshop tucked under a staircase in an old building. Here, they met Roland, a local technician whom other workers described as their go-to person for hard-to-fix technical problems. His workspace contained a modified soldering iron and vintage oscilloscope. Roland's expertise lay in complex repairs: taking apart whole motherboards, cannibalizing them for parts, and reconstructing them into working systems.
As the team explored further, they discovered the "Piso-gadgets" phenomenon: coin-operated machines providing various services throughout the district. These machines, from internet kiosks and gaming consoles to water dispensers and WiFi hotspots, were expressions of what locals called the "sachet economy," where extreme poverty meant people could only afford services in very small increments, paying just a few cents at a time for basic needs like internet access.
The informal ecosystem of innovation became apparent through conversations with local technicians. As Francis Capistrano, Head of Experimentation at UNDP Philippines Accelerator Lab, discovered, "They would always say I'd learn on my own or someone taught me through apprenticeship. There also exists a form of hierarchy and a loose network of hackers where they know who's good at what." This revealed how knowledge and skills were transmitted through informal but effective networks.
The team observed a natural specialization among shops, with different vendors focusing on specific parts or services while maintaining a collaborative environment where knowledge and discoveries were readily shared. This "coopetition" – a blend of competition and cooperation – enabled innovations to spread through knowledge-sharing and apprenticeship networks.
The solution walk revealed innovation happening beyond traditional spaces like tech startups and design houses. This early experience of walking together with colleagues legitimized solutions walks as a method within UNDP, helped build a solutions mapping capability, and led to collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology. What began as a single walk in Quiapo has since evolved into an established practice, institutionalized by the Department of Science and Technology through their GRIND Programme,[\[3\]](#endnote-3) and now operates independently across diverse contexts from urban markets to mountainous indigenous communities.
{% hint style="info" %}
#### **Key takeaways:**
* **An easy and accessible method for anyone:** Solution walks require minimal training and no special equipment – just curiosity and respect. They provide an easy way to demonstrate the value of mapping grassroots innovations.
* **With an open or predefined lens:** Walk with an open lens to discover unexpected innovations, or focus on specific issues based on your learning objectives.
* **Walking together:** Walking with colleagues and partners enriches the process; different perspectives reveal multiple dimensions of innovation while building organizational capability.
* **Seeing what is hidden**: Observing and engaging with communities reveals innovations, underlying needs, social networks, and capabilities that might not be immediately apparent.
{% endhint %}
***
## Notes
1. Also see Rex Lor’s (2021) blog. [↑](#endnote-ref-1)
2. UNDP Accelerator Labs Philippines (2021) [↑](#endnote-ref-2)
3. See for example Taghoy (2023) and Bernadas (2025). [↑](#endnote-ref-3)
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