Nestled in the mountains of Bohol Island, where 8 to 12-foot king cobras slither through the underbrush and pythons coil in the canopy above, a remarkable experiment is underway. It does not involve survivalist challenges or million-dollar prize pots. It involves a baseball diamond, a couple with an impossible dream, and boys and girls who believe that a ball, a glove, and a bat can change their lives.
This is “🥥 Building the Coconuts.”
Beginning March 28, cameras will follow founders Merv and Lerma Moore – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – as they construct an elite baseball academy from absolute zero. No infrastructure. No stadium. Just raw jungle, relentless tropical heat, and the stubborn conviction that the next great MLB or NPB baseball star is out here, waiting to be found.
🇵🇭 WHY THIS STORY MATTERS
The Filipino baseball athlete has reached the summit of Asia. The Philippines toppled Asian heavyweights Japan and South Korea to win the inaugural Asian Baseball Championship in 1954. They have the skill. They have the hunger to escape poverty.
What they do not have is the opportunity.
🌴 THE MISSION
“The Filipino baseball athlete has been at the top of the mountain in Asia, which is inspiring,” says Coach Merv Moore. “These kids can compete with the Americans and Japanese. They just need the right coaches. They need someone to believe in them.”
“🥥 Building the Coconuts” is that belief made visible.
Season 1 (March 28 – December 25) will document every triumph and catastrophe of building an elite baseball and softball academy in one of the most challenging environments on Earth. Viewers will witness:
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The wildlife: King cobras, spitting cobras, and pythons that share the mountain jungle.
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The elements: Typhoons that teach mental toughness, while earthquake tremors remind everyone who is really in charge.
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The infrastructure: Power that flickers, roads that wash away, supplies that arrive late—or not at all.
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The poverty: Boys who have raw, untapped talent but have never held a proper Mizuno glove; whose “field” is a patch of dirt; whose “bases” are sacks filled with dirt.
🌴 THE DREAM CYCLE
Here is what makes this show different.
“🥥 Building the Coconuts” is not merely entertainment. A subscription. A merchandise sale. A viewer in Chicago or Tokyo or Manila pressing “watch now.” That single action becomes a scholarship. Becomes a family in a remote barangay realizing their daughter’s fastball is her ticket out of poverty.
🌴 THE UNIQUE PROMISE
There are reality shows about survival. There are reality shows about celebrities. There are reality shows about wealthy people renovating vacation homes.
There is only one reality show about building hope from nothing, where whale sharks feed on krill in November and the Chocolate Hills turn bronze under the dry-season sun.
🌴 THE INVITATION
You have watched baseball played in immaculate stadiums with climate control and luxury suites. Now watch it built in the jungle from the ground up.
And you have asked what sports media can actually do beyond commentary.
Here is the answer.
“🥥 Building the Coconuts” is the most unique reality show in the world. Because the stakes are not a trophy. The stakes are a future.
