On corporate social responsibility: What do you value in a company?

This is actually about the tree planting activity that Anino employees did a couple of months back. I wasn't able to attend because I was doing my thesis but I wanted to and I promised that next year I will be able to do this kind of activity with them.

Let me show you the photos first before I talk about why I am getting more and more attached to this company.

This is actually Anino's project with Haribon foundation. It was also the company outing. These are the beautiful beaches of Zambales.

I deeply regret that I wasn't there. Seriously. I normally do not like company outings (because I loathe parlor games), but I like this because it was fun AND relevant.

Click to view larger version of the above photo. As Vana described it on our company website:

Last June 17, Team Anino abandoned the concrete jungles of Makati to reconnect with Mother Nature in Mt. Tapulao and to cross the turbulent waters of Pundaquit, Zambales...Anino Games continues to support the environment through its annual tree planting initiative, which is now on its 3rd year. This time, the team roughed the rocky Mt. Tapulao to plant trees at Sitio Dampay, Palauig, Zambales on June 17, 2011, in support of the Haribon Foundation’s Road to 2020.

I guess one of the reasons why I am happy with Anino is that I had always been torn between my love for video games and the guilt I've been harboring from the kind of social divide we digital peeps have actually brought about because of the developments we do in new media.

It has been a while since I have worked with a company that shared my values. The CEO and CFO are vegetarians (I am not completely one, but I'd like to be like them in the future) because they care for the environment. They care about a lot of things. They're very socially aware and they're not just lip service. They actually go out there and do something tangible about it. They're not afraid of literally getting their hands dirty (see above photo, that's my boss) if that meant that they're going to help make the world a better place.

I had a rough first month here, truth be told, because I was struggling to reconfigure my paradigms. I had been in the academe for 5 years...that's the longest I have ever been in one field. I felt that a lot of my previous skills went into cryogenic hibernation while I was an academician. I started thawing and rebuilding my skills here. And I guess everything fell into place when the CEO decided to create a new department (Communications) and planted me there. He gave me some of his responsibilities as well, so he could pursue his extra-curricular activities (which are still mostly about social work and outreach projects).

His philosophy is that, if I were to promote the company, I should not just do it for the company's sake but for the entire Philippines as well. Our country has a lot of valuable talents that we've been constantly losing to brain drain, plus we need to recognize that educational and government institutions have to keep up because we are developing so fast. That's why even when I feel so exhausted, I value the the fact that collaborating with government bodies, schools, and other organizations are parts of my tasks.

(I'm actually excited about the launch of a collaborative project we're doing with two major government institutions. It's been taking a while -- three years to be exact -- but we'll hopefully release it by September 2011. The project is more of a vision-mission thing, since we want to show the world what Filipino culture and talent is all about.)

I guess what I'm saying is that I feel like I am empowered to do more for the country now. The fact that the CEO doesn't want us stuck within the confines of our small building and encourages all of us to actually go out there (he'd even adjust our schedules if it meant that universities and other institutions can borrow any of us) means a lot to me.

I guess that's what I value most.

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Human Nature's products for Independence Day

Although we all honor Independence Day as a national holiday, I can't exactly say that I feel it much. Everywhere I look, I barely see anything that pertains to our original culture. In fact, as Independence Day approaches, I realize that the one thing I miss most about being in the academe was the fact that I used to handle a subject (Digital Media in the Social Context) that incorporates social awareness into thesis proposals.

I'm glad Human Nature sees what I see and it's one of the things I respect about the brand. Founded in 2008 by Anna Meloto-Wilk and Camille Meloto, daughters of Gawad Kalinga's Tony Meloto, Human Nature has always professed to be pro-Philippines, pro-poor and pro-environment. In celebration of Independence Day, they are calling for the support of Philippine-made products and of our local farming community.

Here's a snippet from their Independence Day write-up:

Each raw material used in Human Nature products is carefully considered to make sure it has the potential to grow here in the Philippines and can eventually be sourced here too. The raw material for its top-selling product in fact, the citronella bug spray, is sourced from a local Citronella farming community in Labo, Camarines Norte, Bicol and its lemongrass raw material needs on the other hand, are met by the Lemongrass farming community in Negros. Its latest venture with a Filipino farming community is a partnership with the Passion Fruit farming community in GK Catigan, Davao where their passion fruit seed oil will eventually be sourced for Human Nature’s Hydrating Mineral Lipstick and all-new Passion Fruit Hydrating Lotion.

The now popular ingredient, "Manila Elemi oil" (pili), can be found in Human Nature's Balancing Facial Wash and toners. I've read that the ingredient is anti-aging and is used by Chanel, Dior, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren and Marc Jacobs in their perfumes.

I have not tried any of their new toners yet, but I love their facial washes, especially the variant that has bamboo bits in it. Which reminds me...I'm about to run out, hehe.

They also seem to have released new products in time for Independence Day, most notable of which are the Intensive Hair Mask (with gugo bark extracts) and the Natural Moisturizing Shampoo with CREAMFoam Technology. The latter is touted to contain their "star ingredient", the Philippine Coco Nectar. It's supposed to be enriched with 24 amino acids, 17 vitamins and 14 minerals.

Oooh, nifty new packaging! I likee!

Anyway, for those who are not yet familiar with the brand, just head on over to http://www.humanheartnature.com. I've been a long-time supporter of their products since I'm all for using organic and natural brands and it's a boon for these to be completely Philippine-made.

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SIDCOR Weekend Market

A preview of what SIDCOR offers: colorful cashews are just among the goodies you will find.

Back in November I received an invitation to an event at the Centris Walk. The details on the invitation practically had me drooling:

At the SIDCOR Weekend Market, foodies will delight in a wide array of fresh and cooked finds: seafood (i.e. from the common shrimp, blue crabs, and yellow fin tuna to the rare snails, sea centipedes, eel, black river snails, abalone, ulang (giant freshwater shrimp) and sea cucumber), veggies (organic blueberries, organic lettuce, watercress, pigeon peas (kadyos), fiddlehead fern (pako), and more), delicacies (Vigan’s Bagnet, Cordillera coffee, Laguna’s Carabao cheese, etc.), streetfoods (fried frog legs, grilled tuna belly, grilled squid) and a lot more.

A place for the discriminating and adventurous palate of food aficionados, Centris Walk is the booming dining and lifestyle destination at the heart of the Quezon City Triangle Park CBD. With its promise of “a new dining experience”, Centris Walk also houses restaurants specializing in different cuisines from Asian to Western to home-grown Filipino specialties.

Unfortunately, it conflicted with my Dad's birthday so I had to decline the invitation. I did promise to drop by on my own and I fulfilled that promise last weekend.

Our tour guide. Turns out that Tita May, my best friend's (Cris) mom, is always at SIDCOR. She says that her Sundays aren't complete without seeing what's in store for her. So Tita May offered to show us around. Yay!

Anyway, without further ado, let me give you a photo tour. Hehe.

Cris and Ate Nora perusing the brooms and other wooden crafts by the entrance.

And...well, Cris can never resist bread. Hehe.

Fish!!! There's actually more to this side of the market but vegetarians might not be happy about me posting "graphic" images of slaughtered meat. XD

Oooh, this is my favorite kakanin: puto bumbong.

Various kinds of barbecue. I think the square ones are made of blood?

This is where we ate after touring the entire place.

Old school Pinoy pizza. The sweet kind. Yeah!!!

And then there are clothing shops for those who are interested in fashion.

Yummy mushrooms! =^.^=

Sweet corn.

Lovely, lovely vegetables. This area is so green. I love it!

Tita May buying saba bananas.

Tinapang fish. These look delectable. My mouth started looking for rice when I saw this.

This is the part where vegetables become utterly colorful and vibrant.

Our favorite part of the market visit is a haven for horticulturalists.

White and light blue hydrangeas. These are my favorite flowers.

I'm not sure what these are but they sure are purty.

This little doggie was so bouncy. He looked straight at me. Can't take the cutie home, though...I have a cat.

Adorable Shih Tzu puppies.

More greens.

Gerberas are one of the flowers I really like. It's amazing how red this is. It's just a shame that its petals were damaged.

More hydrangeas, of bolder colors this time around.

And this gumamela is rare, said Tita May. It does look really exotic.

And I ended the visit with this reward. Puto bumbong!! Thanks for the gastronomic tour, Tita May, Cris and Ate Nora! I want to go back again soon. =^.^=

I forgot my regular camera again so all photos here are taken with my Samsung Galaxy S I9003 phone. It has that slightly dreamy effect, I think. Something to do with how it utilizes light?

What I like best about SIDCOR is how the sections are arranged. You start off with the crafts and the greens and then you progress into everything else. The smoky (barbecue) area is at the back, right before the wet market. This only means that you can skip the barbecue area altogether if you're not keen on inhaling that much smoke. The greens also help in controlling the flow of pollution so even if you love barbecue, you can easily segue into the veggies area to keep from being overwhelmed by the various meaty aromas.

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Anawangin Day 2: Wild Life & Island Adventures

Continued from Day 1...

We got back into the tent at around 5AM or so, but woke up shortly after that because Caloi etc. wanted to go to the river behind the campsite. I had been dying to see it but it was already night time when I learned about it.

Day 2 marks the most adventurous part of the trip, as we didn't spend the entire day in lethargy, unlike the day before. Plus someone exciting nearly greeted us on the way back to camp. More about that later.

On our way to the river, we passed by this tree. I think this is perfect for Twilight moments. Hehe.

I like this tree stump. I could sit here all day and contemplate crazy ideas.

Everyone marching off into the horizon.

We found this cute askal frolicking on the bank of the river. (Should I be calling it askal? It looks like it lives in the forest...)

And this is one of the campers' dog, Pepper. It didn't want to go further into the water, making the owners think that it isn't as brave as the askal.

Cris wanted some quality time with this tree, too. It looks like it's in a fun place. I wanted to make lambitin on it, actually.

Keane's shot. It looks like I was hanging out with models. Hihihi. (Or you could put a logo with the words "ABMA 43" on top of us, a la "Beverly Hills 90210".)

This little creature is what nearly greeted us on the way back. It found its way into our bag and made itself at home (hm, it was really cozy in there), but was killed before Cris and I returned to the camp site. That was Ryo's foot in the dark. This is also his photo.

EDIT: I was just told that it wasn't our bag the snake got into. It was our tent the snake got into. It only rested on our bag for a bit before going for our shelter.

We were slow in packing up. It was already noon when we got ready for island hopping.

Jenn certainly enjoying herself, with the sun, sea and wind on her hair. =^.^=

Our first -- and apparently last -- stop was Capones. We had a lot of things on our itinerary but the sun unforgivably beat down on us. By the time we left the island, we no longer had the energy to go island hopping.

Cris immediately sought refuge in the only shade available. @_@ She's right there, encircled by the Japanese hiragana の.

What small shade it was. I had to cover my face because the heat was unbearable. It really hurt to expose skin. I told the others not to go too far because they could verily expire from heat stroke. I was not kidding.

A view of the Capones beach.

You can't deny that the rock formations are beautiful, though.

Some of the guys wanted to go trekking but they were stopped right here by the very very very very tall grasses.

Meanwhile, I contemplated the skies behind two hills. (Thank goodness for wide angle lens. These two are not even remotely close to each other.)

Give to Caritas Manila and help save lives...

And yes, true to AB Multimedia Arts form, we just had to have a photo shoot.

Failing the initial attempt at trekking the island's front, the guys attempted to trek behind the island. Can you see them behind Caloi?

No?

Ok, zooming in. (But not too closely. I still want details of the rock textures...)

This is a different photo, actually, but this was the time they noticed I was taking photos of the landscape.

I'm actually not too happy with the sand here. They hurt because the pebbles are sharp and ginormous! I sort of had a quick flashback of my 2008 Bicol trip, where the beaches were pristine and white...

This is what happens when you're bored. You make nice little symbolic gestures. Hihihi, Jerrah!

Goin' home! (Thanks to Keane for the picture.) We were chance passengers that took a Victory Liner bus from San Antonio straight to its Cubao terminal.

For details on how much we spent and the essentials we brought along, please check out my post about Day 1.

Special thanks to Leng and Tin for organizing this camping trip. It couldn't have happened without you, guys. (Thanks to Jerrah for doing most of the cooking, too. Hehe.)

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