GK Enchanted Farm

On Sunday we traveled about an hour outside of Manila to visit the “Gawad Kalinga (GK) Enchanted Farm” While on-site, we learned that the farm is not only an organic farm, but a social enterprise incubator. Started just a few years ago, GK has helped launch dozens of social enterprises that source their products directly from the farm and promote activities that create a livelihood for the local community. Some of the enterprises include all natural skin and shampoo products, bamboo bikes, salted duck eggs, hot sauce, one of the Philippines most successful all-natural teas, and more. Entrepreneurs from around the world come to GK to learn about building a profitable enterprise that supports the local community.

GK enterprises currently benefit thousands people across the Philippines, but they have plans to empower 5 million families by 2024. They are founded on the vision that the only way to alleviate poverty is to create jobs that benefit the local community in a sustainable way.We were given a tour of the site, where we shown many new buildings under construction, all built out of bamboo.

This is the “Hundai Center for Green Innovation” which will be used to hold social innovation classes, conferences, and serve as a incubation space for entrepreneurs around the world.

To learn more about GK visit: http://gk1world.com/

Filipino Fruits & Sweets!

 I recently visited a local food market where I came across everything from pigs heads to frogs to corn flavored ice cream. My favorite part was all of the new South East Asian fruits I came across, many of which I had never seen before. Here are some of my findings:

"Dragon Fruit" or "Pitaya":  midly sweet with lots
of small seeds that you eat

Lanzones: sweet and refreshing with a strong citrus taste.

"Rambutan": similar to a lychee, but better!

Jackfruit: has the texture of a bell pepper and
tastes like a mixture of soap, banana, and
 pineapple...

It may not look appealing, but mangosteen has been my favorite fruit so far! It's sweet and tangy and tastes somewhat similar to a nectarine.

I've also come to learn filipinos have a crazy sweet tooth, everything comes with sugar and desserts seem to be eaten at all times of the day. My favorite time at work is "merienda" or afternoon snack time where we are always fed some type of sweet treat!

"Halo-Halo": This is the most famous filipino dessert which means "mix-mix" in Tagalog. It is a mixture of shaved ice, ice cream (usually several flavors), coconut milk, rice, ube (sweet purple yam), lots of different types of beans, jello, and more.. mmmmm so sweet but so good!

"Guinitaan": This is a warm porridge-like dessert
with sweet coconut milk, sweet yams,
sweet potato, taro root, and boba balls. 

"Guinumis": Looks good, but was actually a very bland
mixture of rice crispies, shaved ice, coconut milk, sweet syrup,
 and jello. I was not a fan, but maybe I need to try another
 version.

Filipino version of an "ice cream sandwich" The
 mango, buko (coconut), and ube (sweet yam)
ice cream inside was delicious! 

"Turon": Deep fried bananas covered in sweet sugar glaze..
these may be the reason I return a little plumper..

Nothing beats a fresh buko on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world :)

Solar User Forum

Yesterday we left the busy city and headed to a small rural unelectrified community about an hour and half away from Manila near Lake Tagaytay. Driving out of the city, I was shocked to see how quickly all of the cement turned to lush greenery and palm trees. Along the drive we ascended up to the volcanoe lake, passing more fruit stands with more pinapples than I’d ever seen before. For some reason I thought pinapples grew on trees, but behind the fruit stands were bright green hills and delicately carved out pinapple fields.

In order to reach the community or barangay we drove along narrow muddy paths that had obviously had not seen cars in a while.When we arrived we were greeted with many warm smiles and friendly “hellos” which even the smallest kids knew how to say in English. The purpose of our visit was to hold a “Solar User Forum” in which Hybrid Social Solutions retruns 3 months after a community has bought solar lanterns, in order to make sure people understand proper use of the lanterns and aren’t having any technical difficulties. All of the solar users, mostly women, and people interested in buying a latern gathered in the barangay church with their babies, several dogs, chickens, a horse, and lots of kids who wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. The forum was in Tagalog, but one of the local interns helped me understand what was going on. First proper use, charging, and maintaince of the solar lanterns was explained. Then the group divided into teams, in which there was a race to name all of the different parts and functions of the lantern. The game seemed like a great way to help people learn and judging by all of the shouting and laughing, seemed like a lot of fun.

Kids watching a lantern being fixed

After the game, several people got up in front of the group to share personal testimonials. One woman spoke about how she no longer had to walk two hours through the muddy jungle just to charge her phone. Another explained how her kids were able to study longer and now one of them is going to be Valedictorian of his school. Another told us how she used the light to scare away bats from her mango trees. One of the women in the group, did not grasp my lack of Tagolog understanding and kept trying to talk to me, luckily shortly after the local intern explained she was asking me how she could buy a lantern. It was one thing to read about the great benefits of solar devices, but to hear peoples’ personal stories firsthand and witness their excitment was truly inspiring.

 I also got a chance to hang out with some kids, whom I sadly couldn’t converse with, but we bonded by playing an intense game of soccer (football in the Philippines) with a large empty water bottle.

First Days in Manila

Stepping off the plane in Manila I was hit by a wall of hot sticky air and immediately began to sweat…today is my fourth day in the Philippines and I don’t think I’ve sweat more in my entire life. Minus the heat, humidity, and frequent thunder storms, this summer has been off to a great start. While based in Manila, I’m living on the 33rd floor of one of the nicest apartment buildings in the city, which feels a bit strange when there is a slum just a couple blocks away. I’ve never seen such a blatant income disparity the rich literally live on top of the poor in Manila or in gated communities with high walls and guards. I'm really looking forward to getting outside  of the city!

•  I'm constantly adressed as ma'am and the guards in my building run to open the door everytime I enter or exit "Good morning ma'am" "Goodbye ma'am."  The use of Sir and Ma'am are extremely common and is said to be a vestige of the Spanish Colonial Age. 
• Churches, also imported by the Spanish, are abundant throughout the city, which are often next door to what seems like thousands of McDonalds, which serve rice and banana dishes.
• Filipinos are serious about their malls! They are huge, practically on every couple blocks, and act as a public space where people go to hangout.
• Traffic in Manila is crazy! Luckily cabs are incredibly cheap, but it take hours to get anywhere..Many people take long painted jeeps called jeepneys.

On my second day we drove three hours outside the city to Mt Pinotubo, a volcano that erupted in 1991. It is now a beautiful lake surrounded by volcanic valleys and jungle. We rode on jeeps Indiana Jones style over rocks, mud, and rivers. At one point, we got stuck in a river so our driver got out and moved several large boulders with his bare hands, while our jeep was nearly horizontal. It was a bumpy ride...

About

This summer I am in the Philippines interning with Hybrid Social Solutions (HSSi), a social enterprise that empowers rural off-grid communities through solar electrification. I am working on the  the development of the Philippines' first Solar Access Center for a rural off-grid community on the island of Palawan. The center will be a sustainable, revenue-generating community space, powered by photovoltaic panels. I will be based in Manila and then later in the summer I  will travel to El Nido on the island of Palawan where the development of the center will take place. I'll provide updates on the project progress as well my daily musings, weekend adventures, and new foods I try!