Going natural is Human Nature
MANILA, Philippines - It’s the newest addition to the burgeoning commercial landscape along busy Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City. You can’t miss it, especially with its giant sign with the familiar valentine-heart logo hanging over the entrance.
This is the newly opened flagship concept store of Human Nature, the leading producer of natural cosmetic and personal care products in the country.
“We would like this to be the venue for innovative products and social entrepreneurs,” said Anna Meloto-Wilk, president of Gandang Kalikasan Inc., makers of Human Nature products. “The store will showcase the excellence of Filipino ingenuity.”
In her response, Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, who graced the store opening, expressed her appreciation for their faith in the city, indicating that it is a good place to do business.
Anna, who is 32 years old, has lived in Quezon City most of her life, while her father, Tony Meloto, founder of Gawad Kalinga, studied in Katipunan when he was a young boy. The thrust of Gawad Kalinga, which can be said to be the fountainhead of Human Nature, is towards community development and nation building. “This is our time to rise,” Meloto said. “It is the best time to live in the Philippines.”
Human Nature’s advocacy, which is “pro-Philippines, pro-poor, and pro-environment,” is reflected in their product line, which includes personal care, hair and skin care, as well as baby care products. The products are tagged “100-percent no harmful chemicals.”
Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte One of the most popular products is the sunflower beauty oil, a multipurpose oil that serves as a moisturizer as well as a night cream. “It already has a cult following,” says Anna, who is pregnant with her fourth child. She uses the so-called miracle oil to prevent stretch marks that may result from pregnancy.
Another popular Human Nature product is the citronella bug spray made with organic virgin coconut oil, organic citronella oil, and organic lemongrass essential oil.
Other products include Human Nature moisturizing shampoo and body wash with aloe vera, egg white and mandarin, as well as mandarin-scented moisturizing hair conditioner with avocado and seaweed. The jasmine-scented natural hair mask is made with avocado and gugo bark.
Raw materials are locally sourced, benefiting grassroots communities in the countryside. The store will carry not only Human Nature products but also other local products from different GK communities nationwide, such as coffee from Sulu, Bukidnon, and Batangas.
One whole corner of the store is dedicated to partner social entrepreneurs to showcase their products, such as the “statement plant leather goods,” which are made from water hyacinth, “but almost look like leather,” according to Noreen Bautista of Jacinto and Lirio.
There are also the Blue Bamboo furniture and crafts. Bamboo is said to be one of the most sustainable resources. Unfortunately, it is not properly harvested and the supply can hardly meet the high demand, noted Cherrie Atilano of Gawad Kalinga.
The GK Enchanted Farm in Angat, Bulacan, is the first of a number of selected sites in the country where GK communities work hand in hand with social entrepreneurs who help take their products to the marketplace. Eena K. Meloto of the Gawad Kalinga Center for Social Innovation says the goal of the GK Enchanted Farm concept is to “start up social business that is land based; to bring people
back to the land and, with sustainable livelihood, spur countryside development.”
Young social entrepreneur Xilca Alvarez’s Gourmet Keso is a product from the GK Enchanted Farm. The most popular in the goat cheese line are the chevre with garlic and herbs as well as the chevre with cashew and truffle salt.
Another product from the GK Enchanted Farm is Justin de la Cruz’s Enchantea, which is a ready-to-drink bottled iced tea made of a healthy brew of lemongrass, pandan, duhat and avocado leaves.
Another healthy product from the farm is Alvaro Benitez’s Golden Egg yellow-colored salted duck eggs, which use natural turmeric for coloring.
TheoPhilo are artisan chocolates made from homegrown cacao.
Human Nature started with just Anna, her husband Dylan Wilk, who is British, and her sister Camille Meloto, who is in charge of R&D. They now have over a hundred employees. Many come from GK communities like Rhea Galvero, who now works as cashier at the Human Nature flagship store. In 2007, the house where she lived with her family was demolished. Fortunately, they became beneficiaries at a Gawad Kalinga village in Bagong Silangan. She met Anna, who was a speaker at a GK seminar that she attended, and was inspired. Rhea says that GK gave her not only a house, but also a life.
