I received expensive chocolate, beautifully packed–so beautifully packed that I was studying the packaging’s many layers. Box, plastic, paper wrapping, gilded paper, plastic wrap again and another box. Poor Mother Earth, I thought…after I would consume all the delicious treats, how much more garbage would she have to carry?
I have been immersed in packaging, product development and design in the past year for they touch my personal advocacy issues: Country Branding–we need to create nicer and more beautiful products that can speak on behalf of our country and which tourists and balikbayans can purchase to give away abroad; Sustainable Packaging–we need to create packaging that is more innovative using biodegradable materials; Sustainable Livelihood– we need to help communities by teaching and guiding them how to create products with nicer and newer designs while helping make their small businesses sustainable; Culturally-rooted Design Aesthetics–we need to come from our traditions and be inspired by our culture when we create, design and develop products; and Offering Customers an Option to purchase products with a social good attached to it.
Through product design development clinics which the ECHOsi (ECHO Sustainable Initiatives) Foundation, the development arm of ECHOstore Sustainable Lifestyle has been running, we have focused on the bottom of the pyramid to teach and address these issues. The past three years experience of going to communities have shown that there are so many gaps that need to be tied in together. While different government agencies offer help, the wholistic and integrated perspective of incorporating product development, packaging, design directions, production capacity strengthening, financial considerations for market testing, branding, marketing and opening niche and specialty markets for these small entrepreneurs was a whole sustainable value chain we needed to build. What we found out was that this integrated approach needs hand-holding every step along the way. The challenge is of involving everyone who can help the value chain of bringing newer, better-designed products by small community groups to markets that can offer them higher profit. It’s what we decided to take on as we try to build a worthwhile (AKA sustainable) future, thus creating programs that can create worthwhile linkages. Its about trying to help everyone involved: from small community producers, government agency representatives, designer and merchandize developers, retailers and conscious consumers explode their human potential–of plugging into the process of creating a sustainable value chain. Its about getting serious at really what matters to people, in terms that count for them: The small producers need to reach markets that can pay them better and help keep their livelihood sustainable, the government agencies need worthwhile public-private partnerships to access real milestones of success indicators for their programs, designers want to help development but must also be assured that their designs are not copied and communities have the production capacity to supply their orders; conscious retailers need the professionalization of the value chain, micro-financing groups need security of the market to give financing for micro-enterprise products that can sell, and consumers want good products which effect social good.
So mindsets need to be changed. Its not always about packing neatly, sell cheaply and finance it cheaper as is the wont of the big producers and retailers. It about co-creating the whole system with each and everyone who plugs into it, instilling in them the perspective why it has to be this integrated and collaborative way even as it is sustainable and even profitable for all. Redefining terms such as “service” to an art of collaboration, “distribution” to access, “development” to enabling empowerment and growth, “design” to creating beauty defined as green, clean, healthy, traditionally inspired, cultural uplifting, proudly Filipino; “helping” to hand-holding productivity to impact lives that elevate inspire and empower them. We can go on redefining how we see things. But what is clear is we need to see, and do things differently.
We are all here to make a difference. And what is interesting in the work of the ECHOsi Foundation in the past year that I have seen is that people DO WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. That there are people dynamic and courageous enough to refuse the old ways, reject and revolutionize the next possible innovative steps that answer gaps that were never fully addressed. Gaps like micro-financing production when no collaterals are available; designers who reach out to create new sustainable products rooted in tradition; government workers in the bureaucracy who work long hours to try hard to lessen red tape of bureaucratic procedure because they see the changes happening; funding groups who ask, where else can they help?; retailers who are willing to stretch and take the risk to hand-hold the product for market testing; the media who step in to write and talk about these. Each has a role, each role precious to the integrated value chain from the bottom of the pyramid to the customer’s enjoyment of the product.
It’s really about hand-holding the weaker because one is stronger, lifting them up. Not letting go because there surely will be another stronger one to hand-hold beyond the gaps that arise. This is the pioneering direction we embrace, working not only development programs or building enterprises, but creating meaningful work in our lives that honor the truth of Life.

Dr. Jo’s Ho-ho-ho to Health!

By: Jeannie E. Javelosa

            It’s always great to learn new things about health and wellness and the most recent opportunity I had was over dinner and during a round-table Good News Kapihan we hosted at ECHOcafe.  The one person I want to zero-in is a naturopath doctor I recently met who hails from my home province in Negros Occidental. Pesco-Vegetarian Dr. Albert A. Jo (said as “Ho”) is like an encyclopedia of information of natural health and healing, using food as medicine for any illness.  Ok, so I have read books upon books on natural health and healing, but listening to such practical tips, and in a localized version was a treat. Dr. Jo owns his Rapha Valley farm which is located in Don Salvador and there, he offers farm tours (maximum of 30 people only) and is planning towards a wellness destination. He’s been invited by the Department of Agriculture to speak to farmers around the country, and is often invited to talk about health to groups. His dedication to preaching wellness started when he had to rid himself of his high blood and diabetes.  In a quickie, he says: Alkaline water is the key to constant health. “Drink only alkaline water,” he says, as he takes out a gadget to measure the PH level from some bottled water he was carrying. While I know this, it sometimes is good to be reminded because we forget that we need to choose water with a PH level of higher than 8. He swears by buco juice blended with oregano leaves as a power-puncher for the immune system. He also shared the Gerson therapy anti-cancer prevention tea: seep guyabano leaves for 20 minutes in hot water to keep the enzymes. Do not boil, rather drop the leaves into hot water. Guyabano leaves target only cancer cells! Now back to keeping the body alkaline away from acidity (which causes illnesses) – he said to eat raw honey which is pre-digested by the bees and is very good for the body for as long as its not cooked, heated or stirred into a hot drink.  Turmeric in food or taken as a capsule helps fight cancer, arthritis and Altzheimer disease and lowers collesterol. The humble camote is much better than rice because of the very high Vitamin A content, and for a wine-lover like me, cabernet sauvignon has the highest resveratrol which is good for the heart.

Here are some of my notes I was quickly jotting down while I was happily inspired by this man who embraces health and wellness 24 hours a day! Eat only fruits in season as they have the fullness of enzymes that heal and nourish. To eat fruits not in season, or even imported fruits doesn’t have the same level of enzymes that are beneficial for the body. While vegetable protein alone can sustain life, people who eat fish should eat only deep sea fish with scales. With all the mercury and pollution in our seas today, presence of scales on fishes are preventive measures of toxicity. Today salmon are corn fed in ponds and don’t have the same quality or Omega 3 fatty acids which helps the heart be healthy. Fishes he identified as OK are tuna, black marlin, mahi-mahi and durado. Chicken is the worst choice to eat nowadays due to allergies they give because of all the hormones and steroids pumped into them to stimulate faster growth. Recent tests done on chicken droppings show them so high in arsenic due to the hormones in the feeds. He suggests to eat native and free range chicken which are naturally grown at their correct lifespan, and not pumped with growth hormones. Tests done on chicken droppings show very high arsenic levels due to the hormones in the feeds.  Singkamas or turnip juicing helps asthma.

Regarding oils, extra virgin olive oil should always be added fresh to the dish. Never cook and fry with this. When we fry and burn oil, it becomes carcinogenic and can cause cancer. Broccoli is the best protein with 43.3% protein but we need to be careful where they are grown since so much pesticides are sprayed on the flowers in commercial farms. Beans don’t have such a good reputation because they cause uric acid. However, Dr Jo suggested soak beans, nuts and even black rice acids to take out the acids in them.

He shares how 7 metric tons of GMO corn which Korea and Japan rejected where dumped into the Philippines and which the Filipinos are eating. He continues by saying that when tests were done on the corn hair, it killed worms. We advises against eating too much meat, not only due to the hormones placed in commercial meat production, but also because our intestines were not made to digest meat! We humans are meant to eat “the fruits of the earth!” If we really are dying to eat meat, he takes exception with grass fed beef and organic pork fed with herbs and grasses because these are still cleaner.

Dr. Jo is by no means alone in his advocacy for wellness in this way. He is one of many doctors turned naturopath that looks at integrative and preventive medicine and a wholistic approach to wellness. He is already living the sustainable lifestyle in his farm: a connection to the earth by organic planting his food, consciously choosing preventive care of his body, making food his medicine, sharing with all the lifestyle that is so simple, practical and logical for us all today.

No doubt there was much more he wanted to share with me, but we ended our talk with him saying “people should not watch TV when they eat because focus should be given on the food being taken”. How right he is! With all the negative things on TV, with our attention divided, how can we give awareness and thanksgiving to the food we nourish our bodies with? We are what we eat. We are the energies created from the energies that the food brings to our bodies.

In a recent trip to a supermarket, I realized I couldn’t reach out and just buy the things I use to buy – canned goods, snack, drinks. In a recent family dinner in a restaurant, I couldn’t believe there was not  much I could order in the menu as it had such limited choices for healthy meals. It made me realize that the more informed we are, the greater the awareness at slowly shifting our life, our purchasing and eating patterns. And the greater the sense of responsibility there is in sharing this information. Now, I know exactly how Dr. Jo feels!

By Chit U. Juan

For over seven years now, my partner UP alumna Tina Arceo-Dumlao and I gather friends and colleagues for a “kapihan” (Kaffee Klatsch) of a different kind – we only deliver good news. Tina and I are forever the optimists, and nationalists. Together we live with the UP spirit of having hope in the country. So it has become known as the Good News Kapihan, held periodically when our schedules allow. We look for a host, usually friends who have cafes or venues where we can gather 15-20 people for some two hours of positivity.

This year we decide to open with a theme that is “talking to all of us”- WELLNESS. After all, who does not want to be well, we thought. So we asked my partners at ECHOstore/ECHOcafe to host our inaugural so to speak.

We invited Dr. Albert A. Jo (say HO), of Negros Occidental who has a Rapha Valley farm and has dedicated the rest of his life to preaching about wellness. “Drink only alkaline water,” he says. Dr JO continues to explain to the crowd why we should avoid sugar and meat. After all, he is a pesco-vegetarian for ten years now. He uses Black rice for suman (rice cakes), does not use oil for frying, sautees food only in water, and even avoids grilling food. Dr Jo is an advocate you can invite to spread wellness tips to your community, work place or even in your church groups.

The next guest we thought of is a meat producer and meat lover, Nicolo Aberasturi. Nicolo claims that eating meat is good as long as it is grass-fed. He also produces pastured pork and free range chickens in Bukidnon as well as bio-dynamic vegetables and edible flowers. His company is called Down To Earth and espouses eating alkaline meat (beef) which can only be found in the grass-fed variety. He has made it easier for consumers and meat lovers by preparing popular cuts like tapa, corned beef, pastrami and brisket all vacuum-packed and ready to cook.

We thought that wellness should not just be about eating, but about mental health as well. Not knowing that we had two mothers on the panel with ADHD-stricken children, I pulled in a schoolmate and sorority sister Dr. Isabel Echanis-Melgar who also has special child, with hardly noticeable autism. But guess what? All three special children of these three mothers grew up to be good students, thanks to their mothers who nurtured them well. Dr. Melgar spoke about Therapy through acting, and different kinds of approaches to solving mental health challenges (suicidal tendencies, depression and the like). I almost called her a “suicide expert” which the crowd did not agree with.

The other guest we roped in is Sharon Tan Chua, our ECHOstore licensee, who became emotional when she described how her son who was dyslexic and had ADHD started to improve when she just changed his diet to low-or no sugar and mostly organic and natural food. She could relate to all the “mother” stories of the other panelists and she relayed her own story and journey as well with her three young boys.

The hopeful news was brought by DA-Undersecretary Berna Romulo-Puyat who shared the news about government support for organic projects and programs. Apparently the government has allocated almost two percent of the Dept. of Agriculture’s budget for Organic programs. Now that is welcome news. I think that we need many more Nicolos and Dr Jos as we need more Sharons and Isabels. These people make up a complete ecosystem for healthy people. Mental and Physical health plus spiritual wellness of course, are the concerns of any mother or parent these days. And with this budget of government, we hope to see more organic farms built, more organic markets and sources of good, clean food and many more centers for Healthy Living. P900 Million for 2013 will go a long way.

Now, all of these are indeed good news to start the year well. Good news, Great coffee. That is what we always bring you at the Good News Kapihan.

Happy WELLNESS year!