I have read over and over again “Home is where Grass is Greener.” and my heart is heavy with a feeling of defeat. I did not expect to end poverty over night, or make millions of pesos with our first attempt at business. I knew it was going to be tough. But, I wasn’t prepared […]
Of Politics, Family, and FMD (This is for you, Franklin Drilon)
Because a lot of who I am, and what I do, is because of Franklin Drilon. For the past six years or so I have tried to lessen my political postings. Once upon a time (about ten years ago) my blog was filled with my little opinion pieces on our government, development, and other social issues. […]
Top Ten Tips for Rally Goers with Political Kids
Trying to raise political kids? Trying to raise socially aware, and politically active kids is a challenge. But we try. This week marked the beginning of the campaign season in the Philippines. In a few months, we’ll be electing a new president, vice president, and other national and local government officials. This evening, I took […]
GK Growth Map, Rolling Out and Staying Put
In 2008, I decided it was time to go back to school. I was determined to pursue my degree in sociology, hone my skills in statistics and prove to myself that GK is sustainable, based on empirical data (and not just feel-good anecdotes that we all know are true also). I got sidetracked (or perhaps […]
Back to the Ground (Literally) for Gawad Kalinga
For the third time this year, volunteers coming from the kapitbahayan (the residents of the Gawad Kalinga villages) will be coming together to help in rebuilding, repairing and starting the ground work of the farm lots of families from a specific Gawad Kalinga community here in Camarines Sur. This October 4-6, the volunteers will head over […]
Why Have a Postcard Project?
Why Postcards? 1. We love snail mail. Because of the internet, it has becomes so much easier, and faster (perhaps, even more reliable) to communicate with the world. Email and private (or even public) messages just take minutes to get to your inbox. Even bills and bank statements can be sent to your email address. […]
Farm Builds with Gawad Kalinga – Perspective of our French Volunteers
For more than a month, a group of young French students spent their time with Gawad Kalinga and the Spiral Sun team discovering parts of Bicol and the communities as well. Read about the adventures of Selma, Loure, Nicky, Baptiste and Simon as they joined farm builds, rode ATVs and ate their way around Naga and the […]
Philippine Travel Tips
Philippine Travel Tips Are you travelling to the Philippines? Whether you are coming for work, for leisure or for an adventure, these travel tips might be able to help you prepare for the trip. THINGS TO BRING (aside from nice, light, clothing, of course) 1. Insect Repellant There are all sorts of insects that you should watch […]
Tourism Advocate From Bicol Invited to Speak for Digital Influencers Marketing Summit DIMSummit 2014
Tourism Advocate From Bicol Invited to Speak for Digital Influencers Marketing Summit DIMSummit 2014 Apple Allison says, it’s a dream come true for a “probinsyana” like her. I first met Apple a few years ago. Tom and I were slowly putting together the Spiral Sun, and fixing our itineraries for fun and meaningful Bicol trips. […]
Nanay Needs: the SaYa Baby Carrier
We do a lot of moving around because of work (and because we love to go to new places and meet new people), but we are also hands-on parents. I breastfeed J and have not been separated from him longer than two hours. Fortunately (or unfortunately) for J, he gets to come along with us […]