Dubbed the “Queen of Philippine Horror Stories,” Palanca award-winning writer Yvette Tan once again invites readers into her chilling world, seamlessly blending modern-day settings with the eerie mysteries of Filipino folklore in her latest book, “Insect Hag and Other Stories.” This...
Cycling is one of the most sustainable forms of transportation. It takes up minimal space on the road, requires no fossil fuels, and can be a good way to keep healthy. For husband and wife Tony and Inday Dans, both doctors and retired professors from the UP College of Medicine, cycling is also an...
To the uninitiated, a Taoist temple can seem intimidating. But the San Fernando Four Kings Mansion aims to welcome everyone. The temple is located inside the South San Nicolas Volunteer Fire Brigade at the intersection of Dasmarinas and Juan Luna Streets in Binondo, at the foot of the San Fernando...
AVANT GARDENER A year ago, around this time, I had the opportunity to visit vegetable farmers in Benguet courtesy of WOFEX. One of the farmers I talked to was Mena Sukil-ap from Atok, Benguet. Turning 56 next week, Sukil-ap inherited her terraced farm, about 500 sqm of which is productive, from...
AVANT GARDENER A few columns ago, I wrote about Anitu Forest Food Processing, a small batch chocolatier from Bukidnon and Anitu Food Forest, the syntropic farm that supplies the cacao for the artisanal chocolates. Fourth-generation farmer Marvi Montecillo recounted his journey to syntropic...
AVANT GARDENER I began suffering what I now realize were stress headaches in grade one. Not wanting me to rely too much on paracetamol, my mother, a migraine sufferer, introduced me to the wonderful world of salves and liniments, and I’ve been quite exacting about it ever since. The point...
AVANT GARDENER Last week, I wrote about Raffy Tesoro of Bio-Genetics Agriventures, Inc. and Jason Drilon’s popup at James & Daughters in Pasig which featured traditional Tagalog food that Tesoro grew up with, most, if not all of it sourced locally. The popup was a hit, with both days...
AVANT GARDENER What does a traditional Tagalog dinner taste like? I don’t mean the lutong bahay of today; I mean what did it taste like decades before? Raffy Tesoro, a partner at Bio-Genetics Agriventures, Inc. and guest cook at James & Daughters, together with guest chef Jason Drilon,...
AVANT GARDENER “If you plant, you can eat.” So goes the often repeated line from the multi-award-winning Tigkiwili, one of the eight full-length films in the Puregold CinePanalo Festival, which runs until March 25 at Gateway Cineplex 18. The film garnered seven awards, including...
AVANT GARDENER If there are two things many Filipino children lack these days, it’s a love for reading and an appreciation for farming. Joel Donato Ching Jacob, HIV counselor and author of the Scholastic Asian Book Award winning novel Wing of the Locust and its sequels Orphan Price and...
AVANT GARDENER Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr., through the efforts of the Agribusiness and Countryside Development Foundation (ABCDF), recently met with some members of the youth to discuss the state of Philippine agriculture. ABCDF is a non-profit...
AVANT GARDENER The Philippine cacao industry has been growing but still remains underdeveloped. Some local chocolatiers are trying to change this by offering tree to bar artisanal chocolates. One of them is Anitu Food Forest, a Bukidnon-based chocolate brand who sources its cacao beans from...
