Why Igorots in Metro Manila directly source goods from farmers

 Two pesos a kilo for cabbage. Four pesos for cucumber.

After spending to bring their produce to the nearest vegetable trading post in the last week of July, Cordilleran farmers were given a cruel rate, crushing their hope of raising cash to buy seeds for the next harvest. 

A Sad Story for New Gen Farmers

Shereen Umayat and Jessica Dapliyan, two young farmers from Sagada, had a cheaper option for their next maturing vegetables- let the plants rot in the farmland to stop having additional expenses. 

Asked how much she has spent for her cucumber, Umayat computed it to be at least P40, 000.

While there are active programs like Sustainable Sagada and Rural Rising organized to help ease the situation, not all produce in the remote Mountain Province town can be accommodated.

Dapliyan, a former innkeeper who shifted to farming following travel bans, started giving away her cabbage produce for free in September after unsuccessful attempts to sell what her family has been working since community quarantine restrictions were implemented. 

Trying the Metro Manila Market 

For generations, farmers in Sagada and other towns of the Cordilleras have been trading in marketplaces within the mountainous region and going to the lowlands is not part of their regular routine. But as they run out of options, they are forced to seek help outside the highlands.

Tapping Metro Manila-based Cordillerans or Igorots was the first move. Upon learning about the crisis, Christian Aligo, a Marketing Communications practitioner living in Quezon City, started the “The Sagada Harvests Project” on Facebook. 

With the assistance from Umayat, Menchie Buking of the Department of Agrarian Reform Mt. Province (DAR MP) and other concerned locals, The Sagada Harvests Project is able to sell out about three tons of produce in its first two runs.

Alongside Aligo are other Metro Manila-based Igorots including Luisa Gay Pugong, Jenny Lyn Likigan, Bing Podes Laguipen, and Hector Ngales who transformed themselves into vendors after their day job to help address the crisis.

Joining the force is the couple Atty. Pio and Noemie Jeanet Daoas who now spend their weekends on vegetables. With the help of dedicated riders, the couple deliver the goods within Taguig City at only P20. 

A Trade Friendlier to Farmers

As agreed, it is the farmers who set the price of their produce. Currently in marketplaces, it is the multi-level middle men who dictate the price and get a bigger portion of it.

When the rate at the La Trinidad trading post for cabbage was P2 per kilo, The Sagada Harvests Project purchased the vegetable at P20 per kilo-- as dictated by the farmers.

To further assist the Igorot vendors, DAR’s Sagada Linksfarmers Consolidation Center opened its doors to help screen quality produce prior to shipping. 

Recently, the regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) also offered transportation assistance to help lower expenses.

Meanwhile, local food producers Gabay Wines and Food Preserves and Masferre Country Inn & Restaurant have been doing experiments for delicate items like wild blueberry, wheat bread, and goat cheese products to check on the shelf-life of the products when offered in places with a warmer climate.

To know more about The Sagada Harvest Project and a list of Igorot vendors who directly source their goods from farmers, contact Aligo at 0956-174-8464 (Globe) or visit www.facebook.com/sagadaharvests now.

NEW Pampers Sensitive Wipes make cleaning poo a breeze for parents

_{NEW Pampers Sensitive Wipes is ultra-soft and strong and does not tear easily – for a gentle but effective clean that helps protect baby’s delicate skin from skin rash} 

Manila, Philippines – Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced parent, it’s a known fact that with every precious baby also comes a lot of mess to clean! Everything from feeding your baby, playing, and especially diaper changing, comes with its fair share of mess, but it doesn’t mean cleaning up can’t be easy.

To make cleaning a breeze for you and your baby, Pampers, the No.1 diaper brand in the world, is here to help you with the launch of the NEW Pampers Sensitive Wipes that offers gentle but effective clean for your baby.

Pampers Sensitive Wipes comes with soft and thick fluffy sheets that enable gentle, effective cleansing without easily tearing. Every sheet is guaranteed to be PH-balanced, paraben-free, phenoxyethanol-free, and alcohol-free with Pampers’ unique formula that helps protect your baby’s skin from diaper rash. It is dermatologically tested to be suitable for sensitive skin making it safe for your baby’s bum. 

“Pampers continuously aims to deliver the best products for baby's healthy development such as providing quality diapers suitable for baby's delicate skin,” said Akhil Meshram, Pampers Country Leader. “This is why we are launching Pampers Sensitive Wipes, to offer gentle and effective cleaning for baby especially when diaper changing.”

For beginner parents, it’s important that you have these essentials when doing a newborn diaper change: a clean and dry surface, clean diapers, sensitive wipes.

Using baby wipes to add to your diaper-changing routine leaves the baby feeling fresh after every wipe. Use wipes to clean the baby’s diaper region, wiping from front to back without missing out the sides and the outside areas, and then wait for the skin to dry before putting on a fresh diaper. 

With every diaper change, using a trusted sensitive baby wipe like Pampers helps in minimizing the risk of diaper rash. Because not all wipes are created equal, some easily tear apart. A good tip for parents is to choose wipes that are gentle and strong enough to properly wipe baby’s poo without tearing, so you use less wipes as you clean more.  

Pampers Sensitive Wipes offers parents that advantage to clean up poo and wipe’s baby’s bum with its safe ingredients and effective cleaning feature, which are also gentle to use on the hands and body too. 

  

“From my eldest hanggang sa bunso, laki sa Pampers ang mga yan. I’ve always believed that Pampers is the best diaper brand for my kids because they understand parents’ sentiments on what babies’ need, like how to avoid baby diaper rash and importance of diaper change. Trying the new Pampers Sensitive Wipes, super satisfied ako kasi ang gentle sa skin ni Marius and super effective! It was love at first wipe,” candidly shared by experienced mom Pehpot Pineda who is a well-known mommy blogger and a Pampers Ambassador.  

“It definitely made cleaning baby poo’s mess easier and faster for me. Thanks to Pampers kasi I don’t have to use more wipes than I should, so I’m sure I’m getting a quality product, no harsh chemicals pa! I definitely recommend this to mommies, especially rookie moms!,” Mommy Pehpot urges new moms to use the new Pampers Sensitive Wipes too. 

Whether you’re at home or outdoors, add the new Pampers Sensitive Wipes to your diaper-changing routine so you have peace of mind that you only give total protection to your baby’s delicate skin. 

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About Pampers® Sensitive Wipes 

• Protects Baby’s Sensitive Skin: Helps maintain skin's natural pH ·  
• 0% Phenoxyethanol, Paraben, Perfume & Alcohol: Specifically designed with your baby's skin needs in mind 
• Our Thickest and Extra Soft Wipes: 20% thicker to help clean delicate skin gently 
• As Mild as Washcloth and Water: Ideal for baby's sensitive skin
• Clinically Proven Gentle: Designed with your baby's delicate skin needs in mind 
• Dermatologically Tested and Hypoallergenic: To ensure they are gentle against your baby’s skin 

Pampers Sensitive Wipes minimizes the risk of diaper rash and makes sure your wipes are free from harmful chemicals that may irritate baby’s skin. Available in 2 different sizes for a suggested retail price of Php 139.00 for a pack of 56 sheets and Php 260.00 for a pack of 112 sheets. Wipe counts per pack vary by size and pricing is at the sole discretion of the retailer. The wipes are now available online and at major retailers nationwide.  

To learn more about the product and information on how to keep your baby’s skin dry and healthy, check out: https://www.pampers.com/en-us/diapers-wipes/pampers-sensitive-wipes. 

   

About Pampers®  

For more than 50 years, parents have trusted Pampers to care for their babies. Pampers is a part of The Procter & Gamble Company and is the #1-selling diaper worldwide. Every day, more than 25 million babies in 100 countries around the world wear Pampers. Pampers offers a complete range of diapers and pants designed to provide protection and comfort for every stage of baby’s development. Visit www.pampers.com to learn more about Pampers products, and find ideas and information to help your baby get the most out of love, sleep and play.  

About Procter & Gamble  P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit http://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands.

Call for Applications: 2020 S&T Undergraduate Scholarships

World-class natural remedy for Filipina beauty & wellness expert’s crowning glory

Hair loss is a concern for both men and women. It can have a devastating effect to anyone who experiences it. 

According to Web MD, the average adult head has about 100,000 to 150,000 strands of hair and loses up to 100 of them a day, which is normal. As people age, their rate of hair growth slows, and they can experience losing more than hundreds of strands which is quite alarming. So what can you do to prevent it? 

For beauty and wellness expert, Cory Quirino, embracing wellness is the first step to help improve the hair’s condition and make people look younger. 

“If you choose to have a wellness lifestyle, then expect wonderful changes such as radiant skin, energy, and a general sense of well-being,” she emphasizes. “In time, you will realize that you have successfully delayed the aging process.” 

The beauty and wellness expert says that choosing wellness as a lifestyle includes eating nutritious food, exercising, getting a good sleep, drinking generous amounts of water, managing stress, getting enough sunshine, and above all, staying positive. 

On top of a daily healthy regimen, a supplement is necessary to maintain a healthy hair and scalp. Many people opt to use chemical-based products. But for her, the use of natural products is a must and the best solution for hair loss. 

“There are hair treatment products in the market today that claim to be effective but their ingredients could contain chemicals that may prove harmful with long-term use,” she enthuses. “Choose natural. Say NO to harsh chemicals and let nature do the makeover,” she emphasizes. 

Natural ingredients such as virgin coconut oil (VCO) and aloe vera are loaded with beneficial properties, which boost the health of the scalp and hair. These and much more natural herbs and essential oils can be found in NOVUHAIR, a topical scalp lotion with 19 natural ingredients that work in synergy to help prevent hair loss, which the beauty and wellness expert approves of. 

“Even if I have been blessed with thick hair, I know that it has to be cared for,” she maintains. “I use NOVUHAIR topical scalp lotion once daily in the evening before bedtime. Next morning, I apply it on my scalp again, then a shampoo after 30 minutes. Those who wish to further thicken the hair, it is a must to also use the shampoo and conditioner daily.” 

Eventually, she noticed impressive effects after using this breakthrough product: significant lessening of hair fall, abundant growth of tress, and the return of locks’ luster. 

Apart from being effective, it’s a very safe solution, too. A local clinical study has proven that NOVUHAIR has no adverse side effects with continuous use. 

Moreover, NOVUHAIR is not just for those who experience hair loss. Younger people, especially the millennials, can use it for maintenance or prevention if hair loss runs in the family. 

Cory recommends NOVUHAIR to everyone, especially to those who want to maintain their hair the best way they can. For her, this globally-competitive natural product answers the needs of a discriminating, health-conscious public. 

Born on August 11, the granddaughter of the late Philippine President Elpidio Quirino is an author, and television and radio host. She has been a strong advocate for natural health, beauty, and wellness for more than two decades. 

“Twenty years ago, it was as simple a goal as weight loss. But when I saw the dramatic effect it had on my vitality and complexion, I knew that this was the good path to take. For those who wish the same things I wanted then, this would be just as easy to embrace,” Cory recalls. 

She wrote a series of best-seller books entitled “Forever Young”, which feature beauty and health tips as well as her own workout programs. Likewise, she also made a fitness video called “Cory Quirino’s Celebrity Workout for Beginners”. 

For her, living in the 21st century has its challenges. She says: “The best way to live long and be well is to live a natural life.” 

Truly, for a natural woman like Cory, her crowning glory deserves nothing but a world-class natural remedy that is NOVUHAIR. 

NOVUHAIR is available at Mercury Drug and other leading drugstores nationwide. You may also have the product delivered right at your doorstep through Lazada at https://bit.ly/2Jc92Vk

For more information, contact NOVUHAIR hotlines at 413.6570 and 0922.8830575, visit www.novuhair.com, and Facebook Page:  Novuhair Official. #choosenatural #ichoosenatural #novuhair #naturalwoman

Calel’s Wacky Art Shirts: Spreading Autism Awareness, 1 Shirt at a Time

Even though the word Autism is commonly heard, still there are several speculations about Autism and of the people affected by it. In the Philippines, it is estimated that there are around 1 million people living with Autism, yet not everybody can understand what it it’s like. The Autism spectrum Disorder is a condition where a person who is diagnosed with it will not have the same experiences but are noticed by the core symptoms. 

Meet Calel, he is a 6-year old who was diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) at the age of four. A year ago, he discovered his love for animals and drawing and once he starts on a sketch pad he just cannot stop – his mother Marie, started posting his artwork on Facebook, when a friend commented that if in the case the drawing is produced to be printed on a t-shirt – he definitely would buy.

 

After a few months, Marie launched Calel’s Wacky Art Shirts for 3 reasons: to help with Calel’s therapy needs, to develop the business to eventually be taken over by Calel (when he gets older) and to spread Autism awareness. 

Anybody would know that Occupational aned Speech therapy is costly, plus there are limited specialists in the Philippines. Kids with ASD need to attend SPED (Special Education) classes which can cost up to 60,000Php a year. For every shirt purchased, this will help Calel’s parents to make sure he gets the special treatments that he needs. 

Calel’s future is still unclear at the age of 6, he shows signs of progress but it is hard to tell if he will be able to live a normal life or yet alone become employed, if this becomes a success, Calel’s Wacky Art Shirts may become his own business to handle. 

With the first batch of t-shirts printed and distributed, people that order have started to ask about Calel and his condition – this helps Marie to talk about Autism and educate them on what Calel and their parents experience day-to-day including the highs and low.

 

There are so many designs to choose from and each is unique which you will surely love. T-shirt’s come in kids, men and women’s sizes. 

Calel’s Wacky Art Shirts are being offered at introductory prizes for the first 100 customers. 

Please visit their Instagram account for updates and designs: Instagram.com/calelswackyartshirts 

You may help calel by purchasing a shirt through their shoppee account: https://shopee.ph/mamaneesshop