This month of March, we pay tribute to the many women who've served as inspiration for many people in the appreciation of all things natural. We give our love and admiration to the catalysts for change in our lifestyle, choices, family, society and the environment. We've dedicated the whole month of March to each and every woman trying to make a difference, bringing people around them closer to nature.
We
look up to Dr. Anneth Rigon's love and passion for bamboo and
distinctive local flora. Her research and social initiatives led to our
collaboration on several indigenous plants, essential oils and community
works. An educator by heart with a spirit of an adventurer, being out
on farms or hiking through forests and hills is always fun with her. The
bamboo tea we have in our store is among the products of her work.
Her
name is Balot. She's a working mom of two, an aspiring writer, APAS and
RID warrior, a student of aromatherapy and the woman behind Lana Lane PH.
We admire her boundless curiosity, vibrant energy and intimate
knowledge of essential oils. She's one of the many who's had real,
life-changing experience by becoming conscious of her health choices and
going natural. Now she's paying it forward and helps many women through
her blogs, writeups and products.
Spontaneous, fun, resourceful and energetic. That's how we describe Jirbie of #couchwasabi.
Start talking about essential oils, natural stuff and beauty products
with her, you will find out what we mean. A student of aromatherapy,
she's been very generous of sharing her knowledge to people on how to
use essential oils in everyday life. Among her favorite is the
Ylang-ylang which she finds very beneficial for women in sooooo many
different applications. Its always fun being in her workshops, never a
dull moment, full of information and lots of ideas.
We
came across Marianne and her husband on our trip to Sorsogon. Around
their place is the rich, volcanic soil in the vicinity of Mt. Bulusan
where lush foliage and tall Pili trees live. She, with the help of
several women in their community, gather Pili fruits for the extraction
of Pili oil. This is a photo of her sorting Pili and the pulp will be
separated from the nuts later on. To them, it is important to get only
the best fruits to yield the best oils which we use on the Manila
Castile soaps and our Pili carrier oil.
In
the early days of Casa de Lorenzo, we got acquainted with Gil Anne.
She's a licensed aromatherapist and among the founders of https://www.facebook.com/groups/essentialoilsphils.
We adore her practicality, no-frills straightforwardness and the
ability to guide fellow moms into the fragrant world of essential oils. A
mom of 3 and a part time tutor, she made an effort to make her home
plastic-free and runs the house in an environmentally conscious manner
down to the small details. May her drive and enthusiasm for all things
natural be inexhaustible for the many years to come.
We are blown away by Dana's
deep appreciation to many things natural. Profound is an understatement
if we'd describe her soulful familiarity with music, crystals, energy
healing and yoga. When she was young, she dreams of having an apothecary
filled with herbs, flowers and oils, which served as inspiration to her
own mixes and infusions. A kindred spirit in the admiration of nature,
we look forward to the things she and many other women do so we all can
appreciate our environment better.
To many she's #theessentialqueen,
and we see in Vicky why so. An early adopter of Doterra products, long
before everyone began talking about essential oils, she's been actively
spreading the word of its wellness and health benefits. Full of charm,
vibrance and all that positive energy, we love hanging around with her.
An awesome resource on things to do with essential oils, there's no dull
moment with her highness. Maybe next time, we’ll invite her for tea.
A Chevening scholar taking up her Masters in Sustainable Development at
the UK’s University of Surrey’s Center for Environment and
Sustainability, Jen Horn takes pro-environmental behavior seriously. As the founder, chief collaborator and community-builder of MUNI Community,
she brings people together, with the call of concern for nature and the
environment, and infuse this with the mindfulness in all things we do
in our everyday life. MUNI and its members have been actively creating
conversations to cultivate sincere empathy and responsibility for the
planet we live in, while pushing it further by encouraging everyone to
be participative and engaged citizens geared towards causing change in a
larger scale. This means getting actively involved with matters of
lifestyle, commerce, community and even governance. We are very much
inspired Jen, and we look forward to MUNI connecting with more
Filipinos.
To introduce Ana
is both a challenge and an honor. We can run out of words to describe
and space to put what we can say. Charming, inspiring, knowledgeable and
extremely resourceful, she lives and walks the talk. A full time mom,
dedicated wife, and the heart and soul of #bodyfoodallnatural,
we look up to her with amazement. She combines art, science and nature
into wonderful handmade creations like a master crafter. She is
selective of her methods, meticulous of her ingredients, particular
about her impact to the environment, and intense about what she teaches
in her classes. Students of #bfan_makersacademy swear Teacher Ana set the bar so high, it will be hard to match.
Imelda Sarmiento, fondly called "Ime," is one of the most gracious and
lovable personalities we've met. There is not one person we know who
have poured so much passion and genuine dedication to the environment
like this woman has. Her advocacy, spark awareness and interest to the
Philippines' Native Trees. Working with like-minded individuals and
organizations, she is planting and promoting the almost neglected trees
indigenous to our country. As the lead person for Green Convergence Philippines
native tree causes, the book Philippine Native Trees 101 was published
and succeeded by 202 and 303. We Filipinos are very blessed, because
people like Imelda are standing up for the preservation of 3,600 native
tree species unknown to most of us. For the men and women who have lived
along with nature, these trees are part of their memories, lifestyle
and identity. Hopefully, we the younger generations, find a sense of
belongingness and nationality with these trees. Filipinos living in the
Philippines filled with Philippine native trees sounds about right,
don't you think?
