Gawad Kalinga volunteer Thomas Graham shares his experience in the GK Countryside Fair at the Enchanted Farm, Bulacan last weekend.

Gawad Kalinga volunteer Thomas Graham shares his experience in the GK Countryside Fair at the Enchanted Farm, Bulacan last weekend.

By Thomas Graham, Volunteer Writer of Gawad Kalinga

As I perused the flyer for the GK Countryside Fair last weekend, I couldn’t help but be curious. Drawn to the slogan “Eat, Shop, Help End Poverty”, it appeared to offer me the chance to do two of my favourite things (eating and shopping), and yet this time not have to feel guilty about it - after all, it would be for a good cause! Certainly, anything arranged by GK was likely to be a far cry from the typical countryside fairs I had grown up with back in the UK, where old age pensioners and cake baking competitions tend to dominate proceedings. This was a countryside fair with a difference - the chance to show us city folk the magic of the Filipino countryside, as well as the vast potential it holds to bring this nation out of poverty. 

The Filipino Countryside Could, and Should, Produce Much More

Whilst Thailand leads the world in rice production, New Zealand’s cows seem to dominate the dairy industry and Costa Rica can teach us a thing or two about coffee, the Philippines seems to have accepted life as an importer of so many of its consumables. And yet a brief observation of this nation’s climate, as well as its vast expanses of fertile lands which all over the country are left sitting idle, suggest things should not be this way. Whilst gorging on cheese, chocolate or salted eggs, all produced locally by GK's young and ambitious social entrepreneurs together with local farmers, the Countryside Fair was an opportunity to realise the huge potential for this country to produce more of what it consumes. In this way, GK's Enchanted Farm can be seen as a model for sustainable job creation and economic development in the countryside.

When Nation Builders Get Busy

It was hard not to be caught up in the excitement of the occasion. A typically inspirational address at the beginning of the event from “Tito Tony” himself set the tone for the rest of the day. “More and more people are learning to love this country” he said, and through the Enchanted Farm’s growing army of social entrepreneurs, more and more young Filipinos appear willing to translate that love of country into a firm commitment towards its future. After all, isn’t it about time that this country’s greatest export became its produce and not its people? Moving around the event’s social enterprise demo areas, I met a lawyer-come-cheese entrepreneur, a former UP student-come-future ‘golden egg’ tycoon and a young Frenchman committing his future to this country’s essential oil industry. Clearly, the ‘GK bug’ is being caught in the most original, yet wonderful ways.

Local Solutions, Globally Relevant

As “Tito Tony” represents GK at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin, China this week, one of the key issues to be discussed is that of food security. The impact of climate change, population growth and our growing appetites in general all point towards an impending food crisis which is not only of Filipino, but of global concern. The answer lies not in rural-urban migration, but in increasing the productivity of our countryside. The ambition is that GK's Enchanted Farm, the site for the Countryside Fair, is soon replicated at other destinations throughout the country, and shows just how job creation in rural areas can also help address the issues of food sustainability nationwide.

Packing Fun into the Fair

But aside from these rather more serious issues, the Countryside Fair was, simply put, just a whole lot of fun! And fortunately it’s set shortly to become a regular Sunday event. A great reason to get off the couch, escape Manila’s filthy air, support the local farming industry and learn about the huge potential of the countryside. Oh, and don’t forget to gorge on the locally produced goat’s cheese while you’re at it!