“It might seem daunting because it’s a global competition, but The Earth Prize is an amazing way to get started – and to become part of an amazing community, willing to support you in every step of the way.”
So says 17-year-old Yume Yorita, representing the Philippines.
Together with Hailey Yap (17), she was one of seven Regional Winners (Oceania & Southeast Asia) of The Earth Prize 2025.
“Our solution, Kultibado, is an innovative web app bridging farmers, consumers, and cooperatives. By connecting farmers directly to consumers, it helps farmers earn fairer prices and offers consumers produce that’s up to 72 percent cheaper,” says Hailey Yap.
In the Philippines, 30% of agricultural produce is wasted due to supply-chain inefficiencies – driving methane emissions, economic losses, and reduced access to nutritious food.
Kultibado’s wider market access empowers cooperatives to sell surplus and visually unappealing produce, ultimately minimizing food waste.
The Earth Prize
- The Earth Prize is the world’s largest environmental competition and ‘ideas incubator’ for young people, empowering 13-19 year olds with mentorship and shared $100K funding.
- Seven winners representing the regions of Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Central & South America, the Middle East, and Oceania & Southeast Asia will each win $12.5K.
- Previous winners are creating real life impact and applying for patents.
- Since 2021, the prize has reached almost 15,000 young people, across 160 countries.
- Registrations are open until January 10 (2026) and project submissions close on January 31. See more here.
- The Earth Prize is run by The Earth Foundation, a non-profit based in Geneva, Switzerland, which was founded in 2019.
15,000 participants
Since 2021, The Earth Prize has empowered almost 15,000 young people across 160 countries and territories.
Each year, teams take on challenges that adults have yet to solve, often inspired by climate issues they’ve witnessed first-hand – from water pollution, to wildfires, to forest degradation.
Some students apply with fully formed ideas, while others develop a concept into a working pilot with the guidance of a mentor.
The seven Regional Winners are then selected by an expert jury to represent Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania & Southeast Asia, each receiving $12.5K to advance their solution, before a public vote decides the global winner.
As part of this tradition, each regional winner becomes the custodian of a special Earth Prize flag – hand-embroidered from recycled sailboat cloth – which they look after for one year, passing from one generation of changemakers to the next.
“Young peoples’ passion has shocked me,” says Peter McGarry, founder of The Earth Foundation.
“If you just give them the right tools and a little bit of money and encouragement, young people can inspire and blow us away. I now feel more positive about the future. Problems will get worse, but we have a whole army of young people tackling them.”
The idealism and naivety of the participants is “refreshing”, he explains:
“If you spend just five minutes reading the ideas from these young people, I’m sure you’ll find them very live affirming and inspiring.”
Previous winners have created pioneering, never-seen-before solutions – from team PURA’s water filter that removes antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant bacteria from our waterways, to team Thermavault’s salt-powered electricity-free fridge for medical supplies. The top teams have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider US, Business Insider Africa, Tech.eu, The Financial Times and Euronews, with many pursuing patents for their inventions.
“As we enter the fifth year of The Earth Prize, I’m more excited than ever to see the incredible ideas emerging from the seven global regions,” he says and then adds:
“This year, we would also love to see young Danes represented – it’s the only European country, which hasn’t sent in applications.”
The submission portal closes on January 10 (2026), but he recommends to register as soon as possible to get matched with a mentor and get going.
“I lived five years in Denmark, I love Denmark. And I just want to yell: ‘Kom nu!’ (Come on in Danish, red)”, he says with a smile to state that it’s meant positively.
“You won’t regret entering The Earth Prize. In the competition, you’ll get an opportunity to meet other passionate people your age all around the world. It might be a positive life changing experience.”
“An unbelievable moment”
This is confirmed by the two founders of Kultibado.
“Winning last year was for both of us an unbelievable moment. As much as we believed in Kultibado, we were not sure if we would win. Becoming a Regional Winner was a really big leap forward as we were able to recieve funding to implementing our ideas and the possibility to upscale,” says Yume Yorita.
Since winning last year, Kultibado has formed partnerships with 30+ restaurants through the Tasteless Food Group (Beyond Concepts), stressed-tested logistics during a local typhoon to deliver +350kg of food in partnership with NGOs on the ground like the Philippine Red Cross, and developed a working website for launch.
“We’re so grateful for the prize. Not only receiving the money, it also gave us credibility, as more stakeholders trusted in us with The Earth Prize’s backing,” says Hailey Yap.
The girls were linked up with mentors, who helped overcome challenges, and beyond that they met other winners, with whom they were able to work together on additional climate agritech solutions.
“We really want to create an equal food system, which is not just applicable to the Philippines, but the whole of Southeast Asia. We really want to help farmers, but also help to reduce food waste,” says Yume Yorita.
