AVANT GARDENER Filipinos aren’t eating enough vegetables, and one group is out to change that. Chef Laorence Castillo is one of the founders of Gulay Na, an organization that focuses on Filipino food heritage advocates for food biodiversity and food sovereignty. The group started...
AVANT GARDENER This column concludes the three-part series on textile conservationist and cultural advocate Raffy Tesoro’s bid to revive Philippine muslin, commonly known as kulambo. Last week, I wrote about the economic potential of Philippine muslin, some of the challenges Tesoro and his team...
AVANT GARDENER (Part II) Last week, I talked about textile conservationist and cultural advocate Raffy Tesoro’s bid to revive Philippine muslin, more commonly known as kulambo, the fabric used as mosquito netting before plastic became de rigeur, and how for this revitalization to happen, training...
AVANT GARDENER The Philippines has lost a lot of indigenous and endemic crops that have, because of commercial reasons, stopped being cultivated. One of these is Philippine cotton. Textile conservationist and cultural advocate (just two of the many hats he wears) Raffy Tesoro plans to revive...
AVANT GARDENER Over the weekend I attended a Harvest Dinner co-presented by WOFEX’s CSR arm and Sanko Plastics, featuring dishes from Chef Waya Araos-Wijangco and Gilbert Lee. “Harvest Dinners are a small gathering of different members of the food service industry and stakeholders for the...
AVANT GARDENER I attended a webinar by the Agribusiness and Countryside Development Foundation, a non-government organization dedicated to generating jobs in rural areas, of which I am a member. Every two weeks, we invite an expert on an aspect of the agriculture industry to give a talk with...
AVANT GARDENER April is Filipino Food Month. Created under Presidential Proclamation 469 in 2018, the event celebrates the vibrancy (and deliciousness) of Filipino culinary heritage and foodways. According to the Department of Tourism (DOT) website, it also encourages Filipinos to “promote,...
AVANT GARDENER Last week marked the last episode of Ru Paul’s Drag Race (RPDR) UK vs. The World Season Two, with Filipina queen Marina Summers making it to the final four. Runner up and fan favorite from Drag Race Philippines Season One, Marina served many iconic looks that represented the...
AVANT GARDENER A blessed Good Friday, everyone! There are two main activities that Filipinos engage in during Holy Week. One is religious observance, and the other is going on vacation. It is in the spirit of the latter that I write this column. Ask almost anyone who’s worked in the local...
AVANT GARDENER I was asked to give a talk on urban farming at the National Center for Mental Health’s Livelihood Ideas for Financial Empowerment program in celebration of Women’s Month. Here’s a condensed version of my speech: The pandemic showed us that food security is important. We saw how...
AVANT GARDENER Last week, the anime world mourned the passing of Akira Toriyama, the creator of Dragon Ball Z (DBZ). I’ve only seen parts of it in passing, just enough to be familiar with some characters and to know what the Kamehameha (Kamehame wave in the Filipino dub) energy wave attack is and...
AVANT GARDENER Mama Sita is known for its array of delicious products, all evoking Filipino home-cooked or fiesta meals. Beyond being a pioneer in the industry and producing consistently good products, there’s a reason they are top of mind in this category: good marketing. This isn’t a...
