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Dustin Bowers talks with some people outside of the DB Coco Diesel plant that was being constructed in the Philippines. The plant is now up and running, producing 150 gallons of biodiesel per day.
College is all about figuring out what one wants to do with one's life. Most college students spend the summer recovering from the year of studies and tests, preparing for an additional year of the same.
Colorado Rocky Mountain School graduate Dustin Bowers spent last summer in the Philippines on the beach playing with coconuts all day. But he wasn't there to relax, he was there to prove that he could accomplish something.
"I went after my dad had spent some time there and told me about the exorbitant amount of coconuts," Bowers said. "The Philippines have a lot of resources to create biodiesel going to waste; we just decided not to let it go to waste anymore."
So Bowers, all of 19 years old, spent his summer developing a biodiesel plant. DB Coco Diesel, a privately funded facility in the northern Philippines town of Taytay, Palawan, produces 100 percent coconut diesel fuel for the people of the region. The plant can produce 150 gallons of fuel per day and is used to run generators, boats and most of the diesel-powered cars in the islands.
"Pretty much anything with a diesel engine can run off this fuel," he said.
The project turned out to be a gift for the Filipinos and for Bowers as well.
"Overall, it was a challenging experience," he said. "It was frustrating at times but also a very intense challenge."
Colorado Rocky Mountain School graduate Dustin Bowers spent last summer in the Philippines on the beach playing with coconuts all day. But he wasn't there to relax, he was there to prove that he could accomplish something.
"I went after my dad had spent some time there and told me about the exorbitant amount of coconuts," Bowers said. "The Philippines have a lot of resources to create biodiesel going to waste; we just decided not to let it go to waste anymore."
So Bowers, all of 19 years old, spent his summer developing a biodiesel plant. DB Coco Diesel, a privately funded facility in the northern Philippines town of Taytay, Palawan, produces 100 percent coconut diesel fuel for the people of the region. The plant can produce 150 gallons of fuel per day and is used to run generators, boats and most of the diesel-powered cars in the islands.
"Pretty much anything with a diesel engine can run off this fuel," he said.
The project turned out to be a gift for the Filipinos and for Bowers as well.
"Overall, it was a challenging experience," he said. "It was frustrating at times but also a very intense challenge."
Despite overtones of frustration, Bowers never gave up. Working with the Filipinos and teaching them how to run and operate the plant efficiently was an invaluable opportunity for him.
"Working with them was frustrating and amusing," he said. "There is no such thing as incapability, whether to communicate, effect change or improve one's status."
This project proved to be a right of passage for the young man.
"It was sort of a baptism by fire," he said. "I was really nervous right before I went over there, because I didn't have all that much experience in making biodiesel."
The knowledge he did have he acquired during the after-school program in his junior year at CRMS, which promotes modes of alternative fuels like biodiesel. Teacher and biodeiesel program coordinator Smith Maddrey remembers Bowers as being a unique student.
"He had the ability to marry the knowledge of science with the natural world," Maddrey said. "He had drive and was very much an independent thinker."
The knowledge that Bowers received in the after-school program has obviously been of great use.
"Working with them was frustrating and amusing," he said. "There is no such thing as incapability, whether to communicate, effect change or improve one's status."
This project proved to be a right of passage for the young man.
"It was sort of a baptism by fire," he said. "I was really nervous right before I went over there, because I didn't have all that much experience in making biodiesel."
The knowledge he did have he acquired during the after-school program in his junior year at CRMS, which promotes modes of alternative fuels like biodiesel. Teacher and biodeiesel program coordinator Smith Maddrey remembers Bowers as being a unique student.
"He had the ability to marry the knowledge of science with the natural world," Maddrey said. "He had drive and was very much an independent thinker."
The knowledge that Bowers received in the after-school program has obviously been of great use.
Besides his interests in alternative fuels, Bowers is like most people who grew up in the Roaring Fork Valley.
Being from Glenwood Springs, he grew up enjoying nature and the outdoors.
"I really love skiing," Bowers said. But most of all he enjoys using his mind.
"Most of my spare time is spent studying," he said. He is now in his sophomore year at Reed College in Portland, Ore.
"It's fun to be in that intellectually cracking atmosphere, with all of these people that are so smart and creative. Sometimes I enjoy thinking of problems to solve, when I'm not thinking of something creative to say," he said with a slight chuckle.
What's next for someone who's already accomplished something so unique and exciting?
Even after starting a biodiesel company from the ground up, Bowers is not yet the next multi-billionaire. He's still unsure about what the future may hold for him.
Being from Glenwood Springs, he grew up enjoying nature and the outdoors.
"I really love skiing," Bowers said. But most of all he enjoys using his mind.
"Most of my spare time is spent studying," he said. He is now in his sophomore year at Reed College in Portland, Ore.
"It's fun to be in that intellectually cracking atmosphere, with all of these people that are so smart and creative. Sometimes I enjoy thinking of problems to solve, when I'm not thinking of something creative to say," he said with a slight chuckle.
What's next for someone who's already accomplished something so unique and exciting?
Even after starting a biodiesel company from the ground up, Bowers is not yet the next multi-billionaire. He's still unsure about what the future may hold for him.
"I'm a linguistics major, so I'm going to school to learn more about interesting things," he said. "I will probably go on to further studies first, but after that I could see myself doing a number of things."
Bowers expressed interest in the fields of computational linguistics, teaching, or maybe spending some time as a journalist.
"Who knows?" he said.
He may just end up playing with coconuts on a beach in the South Pacific again.
Contact John Gardner: 945-8515, ext. 16604
jgardner@postindependent.com
Bowers expressed interest in the fields of computational linguistics, teaching, or maybe spending some time as a journalist.
"Who knows?" he said.
He may just end up playing with coconuts on a beach in the South Pacific again.
Contact John Gardner: 945-8515, ext. 16604
jgardner@postindependent.com
