Gawad Kalinga's Leslie Espinosa and Nanay Linda Maningas paint Human Nature's true vision of family.

Gawad Kalinga's Leslie Espinosa and Nanay Linda Maningas paint Human Nature's true vision of family.

 

Christmas has always been about family – the people whom we sacrifice for, dream for, and wake up each morning for. The people whom we love the most. Our people.

This season, we dare you to redefine whom you call family. For at Human Nature, family means the poor.

We journey to the countryside’s cradle of social innovation, the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm in Bulacan. Here we find former slum-dweller Nanay Linda Maningas, whose brilliant recipe gave birth to Bayani Brew – a popular thirst-quencher well loved by farmers and TV stars alike – and Filipina-American Leslie Espinosa,  co-founder of the newly opened School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED) – which trains children of farmers to be world-class entrepreneurs. 

Meet Leslie (left) and Nanay Linda. Together with their passion to serve the poor, they paint our vision of true family. 

Two women, ordinarily worlds apart, brought together by one purpose: to help our countrymen rise out of poverty and into a first-world quality of life.

 

Leslie Espinosa: Growing Hope with the Seeds of Tomorrow

Before visiting the Philippines, Leslie Espinosa, an America-raised Filipino, had a great future going for her as a makeup artist and hairstylist first for film and theatre anywhere from San Diego to Los Angeles, and then finally for popular Broadway shows in New York City.

But when her father lost a long battle against cancer, Leslie felt displaced and had the need to reconnect with her Filipino roots. And so she plunged heart-first into a volunteer teaching program in the Philippines leaving the glitz of the Big Apple for a small public school in Balintawak. One year full of sweat, tears, risks and bayanihan later, Leslie has found a home in Gawad Kalinga's Enchanted Farm and a purpose in School for Experiential and Entrepreneurial Development (SEED).

"Our team at the GK Enchanted Farm is completely inspired by these students," says an excited Leslie on their first batch of SEED students. Staying true to one of GK's vision-mission of equipping the poor to help alleviate themselves from poverty,  SEED is a two-year program co-developed with TESDA that aims to train and nourish graduates to tackle poverty through agriculture and innovation all while uplifting the poor in the process.

"We are constantly encouraging our students to think big and dream big," continues Leslie. "In each class we have different activities and lessons that are immediately applicable the minute they walk outside of the classroom."

But only after a few months with the program - it just started August of this year - Leslie realized that the students' success is gauged beyond their performance inside the classroom: "It is all about their mindset and attitude.  They are already learning what it takes to be a social entrepreneur and a lot of it has to do with the character each of them are developing. With this foundation they can start to think critically and solve different challenges in life and business."

Education for all. SEED students break into small groups to brainstorm on the day's activity. These bright, hardworking children come from a poor socio-economic background but are now provided with the opportunity to make optimum use of their talents and skills. Photo from SEED Philippines

 

When asked what's her vision for the first batch of SEED students, Leslie replies, "Part of it is to make their dreams reality. I want them to realize their potential and the possibilities in life. I see them becoming leaders in their families, then their communities. I see them becoming role models to other young people because they are the next generation of nation builders."

And Leslie, along with everyone in SEED, is inviting everyone to be part of this dream!  "To support countryside development, you can support the products of social enterprises, come and visit the GK Enchanted Farm for a day trip or a fulfilled weekend with friends and family. Better yet, you can attend a weekend course on how to start a social business."

"There are 45 different dreams [to support in SEED]," continues Leslie, "and I am constantly thinking of who I can invite to the farm that will connect to each of the students. We love inviting people to share their expertise and knowledge with our students.  Contact us to volunteer or be a guest lecturer!"

Know more about the program and their students through SEED's official Facebook page.

 

Linda Maningas: Brewing Social Change

Linda Maningas, fondly called Nanay Linda, was one of the nanays in the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm who were given livelihood training by GK volunteers. It's a regular project now found in many GK communities, helping equip nanays with the skills needed to make a good living. But little did Nanay Linda know starting that day, she became a part of something bigger than herself.

Part of the livelihood training was how to make brews from local ingredients, and for Nanay Linda, she found the right recipe in lemongrass.  "She would eventually regularly serve hot lemongrass tea to the GK volunteers who would help out in the farm," relays Ron Dizon, president of the Bayani Brew Crew.  A drink that's good for the health and yummy on the tastebuds? It was an instant hit!

"And then alas," Ron continues, "Tito Tony [Meloto] had the idea - why not bottle this and serve ice cold?"  And that's when the idea of producing and selling the drink at a bigger scale started gathering steam. One of the first to help out was Human Nature, including the tasty drink in the Christmas 2012 Magalogue. Xilca Alvarez of the Bayani Brew Crew tells us the story:

"We were overwhelmed after the Magalogue Turnover as Human Nature dealers apparently wanted to give these in packs of four as Christmas gifts. From producing around 4,000 bottles only the month before, the sudden influx of orders catapulted to almost 20,000 bottles in less than a week's time! At one point, we literally ended up hiring an entire GK village getting more than 40 packers for the holidays."

Well, the hard work and hustling definitely paid off. Fast forward to two years later and Bayani Brew is now available in leading retail stores, restaurants and coffee shops all over the Philippines! Loved by farmers and celebrities alike - Kris Aquino has even said it on her morning show that it's her favorite drink -, it's well on it's way to making social change happen, one bottle at a time.

Meet the Bayani Brew Crew! From L-R: Xilca, Ron, and Shanon. Photo from Destination Changemakers

And how did Nanay Linda, the inspiration behind the classic flavor, as well as the whole community reap from this success? Ron offers an answer: "To show them our appreciation of their contribution, we've provided the nanays a monthly medical allowance and full scholarship for their children. In fact, Nanay Linda's daughter just graduated this 2014!"

Want to be part of this crew brewing for social change? Bayani Brew is looking for R&D bayanis that can help them develop more yummy flavors. As explained by Ron, "We'd like to develop more flavors ​because more flavors ​ ​​made ​from local ​ingredients mean more farmers we'll get to help out. After all, our core mission is to make subsistence farmers' hand-to-mouth existence a thing of the past.

Connect with and know more about Bayani Brew through their official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. You can also visit them at their official website. 

 

This is what Human Nature is about – loving our country, our rich environment, and loving our fellow Filipinos. Every Human Nature product is a testament to this love and feels as good on your skin as it does in your heart, for you to enjoy and share with others. 

We dream of developing world-class farms and globally successful social enterprises with GK communities and multiplying their income as we help create the market for their products. 

From the genius of the poor springs goodness. Let it grow in your hearts this Christmas that you may love the poor as you love your own. For they are our kin, our inspiration, and our partners in building a beautiful Philippines that we can all call home. Merry Christmas, from our family to yours.