A FEW days from now and it will be Christmas. People have started to look and shop for Christmas presents. It’s the same thing we do over and over again for birthdays, weddings, graduation or whatever occasions that need gift-giving.
And how about giving gifts to your friends and family with sustainable products, edible gifts or green gifts that they will love while still caring about the environment. Going green gifts is more than just buying sustainable products if you really care about the environment; it is also supporting the local communities that produce the product.
Christmas is indeed for caring and it is really nice to give gifts with benefits that give back to the community—to the women, farmers and their families.
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For one, Human Nature food products have a buy one give one Christmas offer. Every purchase of their food products will give a nutritious lunch meal to a child through Gawad Kalinga’s (GK) Kusina ng Kalinga which serves 17,000 children daily. Human Nature has a lot of food products to choose from. There is the First Harvest peanut spread made from GK enchanted farm in Bulacan. This is honey sweetened and all natural peanut spread which contains no preservatives.
You may also try First Harvest peanut crunch with a pop of pinipig which is my runaway favorite and their best seller. Bayani Brew an all-natural brew from lemongrass, pandan, and calamansi is an inspirational recipe from the Nanays of GK enchanted organic farm communities in Angat, Bulacan. And because we are also a coffee producing country and still imports a big quantity of it, you may try Human Nature Kape Maria and Cafe Lugud. Every cup of coffee you drink helps contribute to Mt. Province and Benguet farmer’s income and Pampanga’s GK Sibol School scholarship fund.
There are lots of ways to give gifts that help your friends and family be more environmentally conscious and enjoy nature too. Locally, there’s the Korntik cookies of Tabuelan which won the recent Eats Meets West Culinary Festival Best Pasalubong Award. The crunchy but melts-in-the-mouth cookies go well with your favorite cup of coffee. It is made up corn tiktik (thus the name) and can be an excellent giveaway while supporting local corn farmers (call Inma Bandolon 09083448450).
The internationally recognized Bojo Aloguinsan Ecotourism Association (BAETAS), winner of this year’s Tourism InSPIRE Award from the United Nations and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is selling travel vouchers for its Bojo River Cruise, a perfect gift to your loved ones who want a taste of the authentic rural side of Cebu. For P650 per person (minimum of five persons), you give your loved ones an appreciation of nature they will remember for the rest of their lives. You only have to call the office (469-9042 and 099-99174564 Shane or Janeth) to inquire.
And while the river cruise in Aloguinsan, Cebu can be a great treat or gift to your family and friends this holiday, the local community also sells sustainable products, like the organic spicy suka (coco vinegar) and tablea made from natural cacao beans, which are also excellent gift ideas. They also sell coconut balls (which comes in nifty recycled jars at P75) from their women farmers. With the income they get from the tourists and locals, it helps the local communities in Aloguinsan build their lives, send their children to school and take fishermen away from the sea, putting the pressure off from the overfished Tañon Strait.
These small acts of goodness we do indeed bring hope and happiness to our local communities on this holiday season. Happy Christmas everyone!
