Community Culinary Treats and Cute Kittens

The other night we found a baby kitten in the forest. It was very dark while we were walking to the bamboo villa and we heard a very shrill me persistent 'meow' coming from the brush nearby. We looked and saw the cutest thing imaginable, and immediately knew that we had a decision to make. We could leave this kitten, who couldn't have been more than four weeks old, here in the cold rain to possibly die, or we could pick it up and find some way to take care of the adorable creature. We knew that there were many kittens and pups who die here because of neglect from their parents and the intense weather, especially in the rainy season, so we decided to pick him up and take him with us in hopes of finding some milk to feed it. We were able to find some condensed milk and rice and it has been going very well so far. We decided to named it Lexter, "Lex" for short, although none of us really agreed on a concrete name. We have been talking about passing him on to new interns as they show up and as we leave but I'm pretty sure we've all pretty much gotten attached. 

'Lex' the baby kitten playing with our room key.

Anyways, it has been pretty relaxed and calm here at the farm for the passed couple of days. After working on the roadmap of goals and milestones for the short term volunteers here for a couple of hours with Jessie, Tita Brenda invited Jessie, a French intern named Katie, and I to her house for dinner. I was very excited because this would be the first time that I would experience dinner inside one of the homes in the community. We went to her house around 6:30 pm and were greeted by her daughter who invited us into a small front room containing three chairs, a dresser which housed a tv and multiple pictures of family and friends, a fan, a broken washing machine, and a couple of desks with green and white checked tablecloths adorning them. To the left of us when we walked in were two doorways covered by large blankets hanging on a meal rod. I assumed theses were the bedrooms of the house. A couple feet in front of the second room I saw another door which I assumed led to the kitchen because that is where Tita Brenda brought out the food from. The food. The food smelled amazing. Heavenly. She first brought out a plate of rice, classic Filipino. After the rice, she brought out a plate of steaming fried eggplant, tantalizingly delicious pandit (a Filipino noodle dish) and some roasted chicken breast. After bringing it all out her daughter told us that we could start eating and we all served ourselves and had a heavenly meal. The meal was extremely informal, which I really liked. The news was turned on the tv the whole time and we all shared conversation while pretending to understand the Tagalog-speaking news reporters commentating the impending presidency of the new head of the country, Rodrigo Duterte, and his strict stance on drugs and violence in the Philippines. One thing that I noticed that was very interesting was that Tita Brenda's daughter, at 9 years old, was listening intently to the news and it seemed as if she not only comprehended the information but was interested also. It reminded me when we were walking with another 9 year old in the community a couple days before and she was telling us all about the current president Aquino, and the incoming president Duterte. She also explained who her favorite president was and why. I was very surprised because I know that at 9 years old I did not have a favorite president and I definitely couldn't explain why I had one if I did. Very impressive. 

Anyways, we finished having dinner and Tita Brenda thanked us for coming and we thanked her for the amazing food. Among our departure, we remembered that there was a special dinner set up in the community. We walked into the grassroots kitchen to see tables set up all around the room with banana leaves spread across all of them. On top of the banana leaves were all different types of food, from pandit, rice, mangoes, and potatoes, to chicken, fish, and a caramelized  banana crepe for dessert. I still had room in my stomach because I hadn't eaten too much at Tita Brenda's so the sight of all of this food really excited me. Eventually we all stood around the tables and they explained the rules to us. Everyone was supposed to stand next to someone they didn't know and eat with their hands until they were full. It as a great experience. Everyone was talking, eating, mingling, drinking, "spilling" and "dropping" food for the animals, and just having an amazing time! After we all are one of the Titos in the community brought out his guitar and we all sang American pop songs for awhile. It was truly a magical night.

The community gathering for a night of food and festivities.

Things are Slow Here, but I'm Okay With It

Today, we were supposed to have the meeting which has been postponed for about three days now. While it is a little upsetting because I feel like I may need to create my own internship experience because there is not a clearly specified path for me here, I am still optimistic because there is so much I can learn here and I am so so certain of that. 

This place is so interesting because there is such a relaxed atmosphere and people seem to make their own schedules and work on their own, yet at the same time people seem to be on the same page. It seems like the lax atmosphere and skewed concept of time would be a recipe for disaster in a place like this, but for some reason it works. This place functions well and flows with efficiency. I was talking to a friend about it and she introduced the concept of zen to me. She explained how they found something that works for them. They have reached such a state of peace that rather trivial and mundane concepts of time do not hinder them from doing amazing things here. Rather than having strict schedules and traditional ways of doing things, they let their problems work themselves out and are constantly making viable solutions as they run into problems. Of course there have to be some deadlines and we adhere to some timelines, but it seems to me like for the most part, the quality and disposition of the workers and volunteers here is really what makes things work. I have discovered from talking to many of the French interns that almost everyone who is here is not getting paid for their contributions to GK. It is interesting because the farm attracts so many knowledgeable and smart volunteers, but none of them are receiving compensation for their donations and input. I think many people here come because they are interested in GK and its mission to end poverty, but they are also looking to find a deeper meaning in their life. Personally that is the case with me. I want to explore my interests and discover my passions and I believe a unique place like this is the perfect platform on which I can hopefully do so. I believe that in my time here I will have a lot of time to reflect on who I am and who I want to be, and how that person can help others do the same. 

Skip ahead a day:
The meeting ended up happening yesterday and Jessie and I found out more specifically what we will be doing. Jonni said that she wants us to work on creating a program to outline the experience of a short term intern (2 months or less) here at the farm. We worked on it and I think it is really cool that we get to take on such an endeavor. Basically, we will influence the experience of all short term interns from now on. I think that it is an awesome opportunity to make sure that all of the interns really grasp the GK spirit while immersing themselves into both community within and outside of the GK Enchanted farm. We were also told that we will be helping out Tita Brenda in the day care center working with kids. This thought both excites me and scares me at the same time. I am excited because I have already connected with many of the kids here at the farm. I am fearful because I know they are going to run me under the table and I will be tired as hell for the next two months of my life. Mostly, I am excited for the opportunity because I have worked with kids before and as much as I hate to admit it, I believe I am very good with kids and they seem to like me as well. Here it is pretty easy to get theirs attention because they are all entranced by my hair. I have had multiple kids come up and touch my hair and ask if they can "borrow" it. Anyways, the kids are pretty cute and it feels great to know specifically what I will be tasked with over the next two months. 



Me with some of the kids in the community! Jarric and Dustin.

Talk to you guys soon! Thanks for reading.

-Nate

A New Way to Think About Poverty

Today we talked at length about poverty, what we think of when we see it, what it looks like, and some of the underlying causes of this terrible pandemic. Many of us have a very basic idea of what poverty is (the economic and literal definition we learn in school at least,) but today that idea was challenged for me. At the farm, poverty is viewed not as a lack of resources but as a painful crisis in values. This crisis is a loss of intrinsic value and dignity. They like to say here that it is not poverty of the pocket that is the problem, but poverty of the mind and soul. 

In America, we seem to have a very unilateral view of poverty, and it is hard for us to look past that. We see homeless people on the streets and tend to avoid them. We tend to think that these people are just lazy and have squandered the opportunities that we all have "equally". In one of our orientation sessions here at the farm, one of the questions asked was "What are some of the causes of poverty? Why are these people poor?" At first, it was difficult to answer, but as the group conversations went on and comfort ability barriers were broken down, answers started flowing from people's mouths. My group alone was able to think of at least twenty different causes, and the thing that we found to be overwhelming true, especially here in the Philippines, is that many of these causes are things that are simply out of our control. It is often very difficult to think about this because many of us find it hard to put ourselves in the position.

I wanted to understand a little bit more about this whole "poverty of the mind" and lack of dignity thing that they were talking about at the farm so I could really embrace it. Tito Toni talked about how many of the poor Filipino people are poor, and don't realize that they could possibly not be poor. He said specifically that these communities have lost the ability to dream and one of the main missions of the farm is to re-instill that ability in the minds of the people. This made me realize how important it really was to have the ability to dream, because without it, you become complacent. So now, you not only have the problem that you have no money, but now, you are okay with it and do not have the ability see past your poverty. This is poverty of the mind. In a way it is more powerful than the traditional poverty we usually think of. It is very easy to accept a situation and let it be, but the difficult part is initiating change and implementing that change. This is precisely what they are doing at the farm and I have come to realize how important it actually is. The people seem so happy and thankful. This is partially due to volunteer help from students like us and the French interns, but I think there is a bigger reason. They now have now come to the realization that they can be the drivers of their lives. They can use their knowledge and handiness to innovate, create, and spread their goods across the world. 

Many of the social enterprises at the farm have products being sold not only in the Philippines, but also in Indonesia and even some countries in Europe. The different enterprises here include but are not limited to a toy making enterprise called 'Plush and Play', a beverage called 'Bayani Brew', and duck enterprise called 'Golden Duck', and many more. The fact that these enterprises have been so successful is a testament in and of itself to the necessity for places like Gawad Kalinga. A place like this that instills hope and focused on the ability to dream could really help a lot of the poor communities we have in the US. We can learn a lot from the successes, and failures, of GK Enchanted farm. 

Thanks for reading! I'll hit ya with another one soon:) 

-Natedogg out 🏾

Blog post 1:

I've been here for a couple of days now and I am thoroughly impressed by what I am seeing. For months I have been unsure of what to say when people ask "what will you be doing this summer?" and finally I believe I am starting to gain more clarity on how I can respond. Today we met the owner of the farm, Tito Toni, and he helped explain to us the mission and goal of the farm. He explained how everyone has a purpose at the farm and that the farm strives to serve as a social enterprise for the Filipino people. Social enterprise is a business model where everyone strives to be successful, but at the same time they are bringing those in the community with them. They are working as a collective unit to build a self-sustaining environment of success while helping the local community discover and utilize the world's most precious natural resource: the human mind. The farm also is the world's first farm community university and we actually arrived yesterday during the first ever graduation ceremony of the first 35 students of the university. Today we met three students, two who just graduated yesterday. From the two minutes that they introduced themselves to us, I was able to hear their background, their age, their inspirations, their aspirations, and what they have gained from their time here at the farm. One thing that was consistent throughout all of their stories was what they discovered in the farm. They all said that during their time at the farm, they discovered their self-worth, and they were able to find hope for the future. It was very inspiring to hear where they came from and how they were able to take control of their lives and turn them around completely in pursuit of their newly discovered passions. 

We are given so many opportunities on a daily basis in America that these students could not even dream of before and I believe many of us forget that. Tito Toni talked about how when we were all introducing ourselves (the IWU students), we all mentioned how we were not entirely sure what we would be doing after graduating. He stressed that it was difficult for us, because we were given the means to get the best education and go to great schools, whereas it was easy for these students at Gawad Kalinga because they only have this one option. They can decide to study here and pursue an education in social enterprise or stay in the slums living under a bridge with no hope for the future. This idea really hit home for me. I think that many times in America, we have certain perceptions of these populations that we know nothing about, and much too often those perceptions are negative. This is due to how society portrays and propagates these negative connotations in the media. We see images of poor communities in other countries and unknowingly associate these communities as being lesser beings. Often we feel sorry for these communities and donate money, food, and water. Though these donations are helpful and make us feel better about ourselves, they pale in comparison to letting these communities know that they have worth far beyond being what they know. The Filipino country has been conquered 3 separate times by Spain, the US, and Japan and over those 300+ years, the poor communities have lost their sense identity. This farm works to return identity to those who have lost it and help them realize their potential and unlock their minds. I am very excited to discover more of what this farm has to offer and I hope that by the end of my time here I will have a more clear view of my purpose, just as these students have leaving the community. 

Well that's all for my first post, but Stay tuned because I will be back later this week with more insight into my enchanted experience at the GK Enchanted Farm. 

Thanks for reading! 

Hello friends and family!

This summer I will be embarking on a journey to the Philippines and I have the unique opportunity to intern at Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm. The farm is a self-sustaining community the city of Angat, in the province on Bulacan. I am very excited for this opportunity and to discover all that this community has to offer. 

I'm hoping that through this blog I will be able to not only describe my experience with words, but paint a picture of my time here in each of your minds. I hope I can achieve that and I also hope that by the end of my time here, you and I both have a better idea of what the country is like, and what this specific community has to offer in terms culture and general lifestyle. Stay tuned for some great experiences and I'll see you all later.

Thanks!