Anniversaries

We just celebrated the 25th anniversary of Women’s Business Council Philippines Inc., which we headed in 2014-2018 and it was nice seeing how it started in 1997 with then president, the late FVR and young women like Atty. Lorna Kapunan and Sabsy Palanca, Atty. Elena Lim and Zenaida Gordon, among others.

In October we will be celebrating 20 years of the Philippine Coffee Board Inc., another non-stock, non-profit organization which was conceived to create a million jobs and promote Philippine coffee. Today, we can say coffee has created more than a million jobs, indeed.

And soon, a sorority I joined in my college years will be celebrating 90 years of existence! Oh my Lord, these are institutions that cover many generations and there must be a reason why they are still around. They have to remain relevant and stay ever dynamic in responding to the challenges in each sector that still exists today: women empowerment in business, promotion of Philippine coffee and sisterhood for good, respectively.

There is something about perseverance of founders and resilience of the younger set of officers that make an organization last. And that is what I wish for Slow Food International, a grassroots movement that was founded in 1986 by Carlo Petrini in Italy and just last month we changed leadership and transferred it to a younger set of Slow Food leaders from across the world. While Petrini remains as chair, a young Ugandan farmer named Edie Mukiibi has taken on the reins along with a younger set of board members.

And this is why we need the youth to get involved. Be it for civic groups or special interest sectors like coffee and food, the young must start now. Find your area of interest and if such a group does not yet exist, go ahead and organize one. It is a thankless job and runs purely on heart and soul and the mind, of course.

These groups move the needle, so to speak, in shaping policy and getting government leaders to effect change. These groups positively and not militantly bring change to the table and inspire and influence lawmakers, policy makers and other private organizations to adopt their cause or purpose.

Such is the case of our Plant Coffee, Pilipinas project. Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation (PDRF) will be giving us a grant for a few thousand trees to be cared for by indigenous farmers in Mountain Province to address reforestation efforts of a young farmer group and to augment the supply of coffee which has been declining over the years. Other NGOs are welcome to collaborate with the PCBI (www.philcoffeeboard.com) and put their tree planting projects to good use.

For one, coffee bears fruit while it captures carbon, and that is carbon capture for those wanting to get points for Net Zero targets. ESG is on the top of every company’s list and carbon capture is a good way to reach goals. But please stop planting Mahogany, an introduced variety that destroys the biodiversity even if it is easy to plant, grow and sell. Plant coffee instead.

In the food sector, we hope to influence the Department of Agriculture to distribute OPV or Open Pollinated Varieties of seeds, rather than GMOs and altered hybrid seeds. It’s time to liberate the farmer from the silent and invisible bondage he or she has been a victim of. Let the farmer grow his or her own seeds. And help them start growing their own food. And not be mendicants for ayuda forever. If I could map out where the ayuda goes, I am certain a lot have to be in areas where our citizens can actually grow food. The system of patronage has to be broken and everyone taught to be self-reliant instead.

Even in the Department of Tourism, food has a big role to play. It is with good news that Sec. Cristina Frasco will be joining us at Terra Madre in September in Turin, Italy so she may witness how Slow Travel and travel through food has made communities resilient and progressive.

Food is now the magnet for tourists to come to  destinations that are not the usual haunts. There are also many travelers looking for gastronomic delights and the country has so much to offer in this department. A tourist can learn how to make budbud or suman, learn how to gather diwal or seashells other than the usual activities tour guides offer. The answer may be Slow Travel.

And once you get an organization going, coalesce with other like-minded groups. The Philippine Coffee Board is aligned with the ASEAN Coffee Federation so we can bring about changes regionally. The Philippine Women’s Economic Network (PhilWEN) is a federation of business groups like Board Directors, Business and Professional Women and Filipina CEO Circle, among others.

Our NextGen Organization of Women Corporate Directors (NOWCD) is the Philippine counterpart of Women Corporate Directors International (www.womeninboards.org).

And Slow Food is a movement in 160 countries, speaking different languages, yet understanding one purpose: Good, Clean and Fair food for all.

It starts with a thought: How can I effect change in government, in society or even in the world? You have to get together with like-minded people and get the ball rolling. While it is good to join socio-civic groups for philanthropy and medical missions, there is room for special interest groups that, indeed, make that special difference in our lives.

Whether it is for something you really care for like coffee, something we all need like food, it must be something that really makes your heart and soul work incessantly and continuously. The work never ends because if we stop, they will stop, too.

Gather your friends and define your mission to make the world a better place. Then celebrate your anniversary 20 or 25 years later. But keep going.