AVANT GARDENER Yvette Tan Fashion designer and Filipiñana pioneer Patis Tesoro hosted a lunch for Florica Zaharia, PhD; Conservator Emerita of the The Metropolitan Museum of Art and director and co-owner of the Muzeul Textilelor in Romania. The Muzeul Textilelor is the only textile museum in...
AVANT GARDENER Yvette Tan With the Senate’s decision on whether or not the Philippines should join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership in the news once again, members of the agriculture sector gathered to express their concern about its effects on the industry should the country...
The Giving Cafe (TGC), a social enterprise that works with coffee farmers to make the value chain more equitable and transparent, launched Proud Liberica, four syrups made from byproducts of the Liberica (aka barako) coffee tree. Proud Liberica is a brand currently composed of four...
Michael Harris Conlin won silver and bronze at the Global Coffee Championship in 2021 in the Signature Coffee Latte and Signature Coffee Brewer categories respectively, both using local beans. (Michael Harris Conlin) Filipinos love coffee. The demand for the beverage is so huge that local coffee...
AVANT GARDENER Yvette Tan Eggs have been on everyone’s mind, especially after the latest onion fiasco. Supply has been low due to a number of factors, including the spread of avian flu and the resulting reluctance of some growers to continue with their businesses because of this, plus the...
AVANT GARDENER Yvette Tan “The onion problem is a symptom of a problem,” Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc. (PCAFI) President Danny Fausto said in the organization’s monthly presscon. He was addressing the onion shortage issue that has wracked the country, even reaching...
AVANT GARDENER Yvette Tan “The destiny of nations depends on what and how they eat” — Brillat-Savarin (French politician and gourmand who had a cheese named after him) It’s said that a man’s heart is through his stomach, and so it is with countries. A well-fed person has a better capacity...
AVANT GARDENER Yvette Tan The New Year is always a cause for celebration, not only because it closes the cycle of the past year and moves on to a new one, but also because beginnings always hold so much promise. Many people use the New Year to make resolutions to better their lives. Numerous...
t’s the Christmas season, arguably the most anticipated holiday of the year. But instead of concentrating on the festivities, many Filipinos will be wondering how to make ends meet amid the rising prices of basic food items. This, alongside the longtime complaint of farmers and fishers not making...
AVANT GARDENER Yvette Tan The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) plays an important role in regulating the country’s natural resources, which includes agroforestry. DENR Secretary Maria Antonia “Toni” Yulo Loyzaga outlines the department’s thrust: Ethical stewardship....
The Singapore Writers Festival 2022 was spread across different locations, including the Arts House. (Photo courtesy of Arts House Limited) The Singapore Writers Festival (SWF) is an annual event that celebrates literature and its adjacent disciplines. Started in 1986, aside from being one of the...
AVANT GARDENER Yvette Tan The Mandanas-Garcia Ruling, or Executive Order 138 (EO 138) is a Supreme Court ruling petitioned by Batangas Governor Hermilando Mandanas and former Bataan Governor Enrique Garcia, Jr. that, according to the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) website, requests “the...
