Human Nature Launches in Singapore's Lucky Plaza!


Straight from the island of hawker centers and merlions, we're proud to announce that Human Nature Singapore finally opened its doors in Lucky Plaza last April 24, 2015!

Located in the heart of Orchard Road – one of Singapore's most popular tourist spots and shopping centers – Lucky Plaza has gained its reputation as a top Filipino destination. Now, whether they're flying over on holiday or for work, our Pinoy friends and family can turn their SGD's into good deeds by supporting our natural products and partner communities easily. And as a bonus, they can also shop online by visiting Human Nature Singapore's official website!

Human Nature is located at:

Lucky Plaza Orchard,
#01-70/70A (fronting main atrium)
And #04-87/88 (fronting lift)

Show your support by liking Human Nature Singapore's official Facebook page here!

Sustainably Made

by Wanna Cancio



Growing up in the city can leave little opportunity for us to climb trees or build treehouses. That's probably why a good number of us fail to realize the value of growing trees and safekeeping our forests.

Despite the sweltering heat of the mid-summer sun, Mara Sebastian-Marzan of MARSSE Tropical Timbre agreed to let me tag along in one of their monthly tree farming seminars at their plantation located in the heart of Umingan, Pangasinan. We started our long drive from the metro in the wee hours of the morning and Mara kept me amused (and awake!) with her interesting stories about her late dad, Mr. Mario Sebastian, who founded MARSSE. She shared with me stories about her how her dad's stubbornness gave birth to the lush green forest in Umingan that we have now.

The tree farm was Mr. Sebastian's dream. He shrugged off how a lot of people would call him crazy for insisting on investing time and money on something that will only bear fruit after at least 20 years. Beyond serving as a source of income for his family, the tree farm was Mr. Sebastian's contribution to a greener Philippines and a greener world.

MARSSE (pronounced "mar-say") Tropical Timbre is among the largest plantations in the Philippines that farm tropical hardwood trees. The key to their success and growing popularity is their commitment to sustainability. They promote sustainable management of forest plantations and also advocate the use of modern forest technologies.

What started out as 60 hectares of barren land is now a tree plantation with over 125,000 Honduras Mahogany, a sprinkling of Teak, an impressive bunch of Kamagong and Acacia, and other hard wood trees.

We arrived in Umingan just in time for the seminar. Eukel, Mara's older brother and current CEO of MARSSE immediately offered to show us around. He invited us to ride their tractor so we could get to the heart of the woods.



I felt like a child exploring nature for the first time. An orchestra of cicadas greeted us when we got to the mouth of the farm. Aside from being a good indicator of a healthy forest and active ecosystem, cicadas sound is also used to mark the beginning of dry season.

We had a great time going around and discovering the deeper part of the MARSSE forest. Eukel eagerly taught us basic practices in tree farming like pruning, spotting unhealthy trees, and collecting seeds.

After a tiresome but definitely worthwhile tour around the MARSSE tree farm, we proceeded to learn more about how the SustainablyMade finished products are made, from their cool gadget stands to their best-selling wooden boards.



One of the amusing but tedious initial steps in manufacturing wood products is drying. MARSSE usually dries their lumber using their kiln while they dry special artistic pieces in open air. The rest of the craft work and wood magic happens after the drying – which can sometimes take up to 6 months! SustainablyMade follows a careful and mostly handmade process in their workshop. Given that they only harvest a maximum of around 300 trees in a year, they make it a point to guarantee that they only offer quality wood supply and products.

I also had the chance to talk to some of their team members. Each one of them genuinely shared a heartfelt appreciation for the opportunity they found in working for MARSSE. Some of them, who were even around my age, spoke about how they were able to support their families and help their parents with household expenses, all thanks to MARSSE.



Visiting MARSSE's tree farm helped me understand the importance of developing sustainable tree farms to ensure a future where the need for wood is met in harmony with nature. Ultimately, it contributes to the health and ecological balance in the world by protecting, maintaining, and nurturing the eco-diversity of the environment.

Barangay Human Nature Holds Fiesta in Eco-Chic Style!

by Ara Alinea
Photos by Jansen Cheng


"Welcome to Mr. and Ms. Barangay Human Nature Bayani and Beauty Pageant!"

The Commonwealth Flagship Store's after-hour buzz booms into life as, from the stock room until the café area, the whole Human Nature family held up their colorful signs and filled the air with enthusiastic cheers.

This month's Advocacy Night was definitely one for the books as representatives from different departments, called "barangays", showed off their unique talents and quick wit!



What's in a Name?

The night started off with an interesting and inspiring story by Gawad Kalinga's Mari Oquineña on how Bayani Challenge was called well, Bayani Challenge.

Started in 2006, the big idea was to go to communities and start building houses and other infrastructures needed by the community. Through this whole process, volunteers experienced challenges not just in heaving sacks of sand but also in the loss of little comforts such as a working toilet. But with this loss came a new gain - of friendship, of community, and of bayanihan.

"That's why it's called Bayani Challenge. Your heroism will be put to the test." And with that, kuya Mari in behalf of Gawad Kalinga, invited the Human Nature family to be fellow heroes for five days in the upcoming Human Nature Bayani Challenge this June!

365 Bikes for Leyte!

Digitals Head Darlene Ramos-Gan also shared goodness raised from Bayani on Wheels, a passion project with fellow biking enthusiasts. As of November last year, they've raised a total of 365 bikes for Leyte with more than a 100 bikes already donated to GK Pago and their service team!



These will provide fishermen who have been affected by Typhoon Yolanda better and faster transportation. Fifteen bikes were also given to Tanauan, Leyte for their PNP Bike Patrol.

The rest of the bikes will be distributed to other Gawad Kalinga sites in Leyte that need them the most.

Cheers to Bayani on Wheels!

Getting to Know the Family

And then it was time for the main event!

With the loud cheering from the whole store as their background music, representatives from the different Human Nature barangays, clad in eco-chic (e.g. recycled) costumes, opened with a short dance number.

Next was the showcasing of each contestant's unique talents which ranged from singing and dancing to the unexpected fortune-telling.



This was followed by a question and answer portion led by the night's three judges - Human Nature president Anna Meloto-Wilk, last year's Miss Human Nature Reby Baldoz, and GK volunteer and French heartthrob Louis Faure.

The end of the night found winners in Barangay Flagship Store as Barangay of the Night, Barangay Marketing's Tina Almario for Best in Costume, Barangay Carmelray's Genny Roja for Best in Talent, and finally Barangay Supply Chain's Elmerei Cuevas and Barangay Flagship Store's Rhea Galvero as Mr. and Ms. Barangay Human Nature Bayani and Beauty!

Though the whole pageant lasted for more than hour, it seemed like everything passed by in a blur. We caught up with some of the contestants to think back on that night's highlights:

"I was nervous but I knew I needed to enjoy it," says reigning Ms. Barangay Human Nature Rhea. "My fellow officemates were expecting so I had to give my best and make the most of it."

When asked if making the costume and props - which were all made from recycled materials - was the most difficult part, Rhea smiled and said "No! Actually, that was the easiest part. Everyone chipped in on the ideas and helped out in making everything."

"It's life-changing - oo, totoo!" shares Barangay Human Resources' Nikko Oliva. "It was my first time to join a pageant and I didn't think I would be able to do the things I did even when considering my overconfidence," he laughs.

And the best part of the night for him? "I was surprised that there were so many supporters. That night, I really felt that Human Nature was one family. I saw that even if we were from different departments, everyone cheered for all the contestants. We really supported each other."

And right there is the true essence of the night encapsulated perfectly - to celebrate the company's advocacy within the Filipino culture of colorful fiestas, joyous laughter and the warm sense of community. That is the Human Nature family!





Would you like to share your good news and inspirational stories with the rest of our Human Nature family? Send your goodness stories to nicole.sa@humanheartnature.com! Three stories will be featured each month, so come and share the goodness!