I decided to go and see this year's Hortikultura plants fair in Quezon city.  The event is organized by the Philippine Horticultural Society at the Quezon City Memorial Circle(QCMC).   For a non-Manila resident like me, I had to ride the bus from Pampanga and reach Manila the other night.  To help you know how to get to Quezon City Memorial Circle...here's the way i did to get there.  First, from Sta.Cruz Manila, walk to Quiapo Church and pass through the underground junction leading to the other side of the road facing Quiapo Church head-on.  From the roadside, ride a jeep with the Philcoa route.  As of this writing, jeepney fare is 17.00 pesos to QCMC.  

       If its your very first time to go to the park, you may ask the tsuper(jeepney driver) to tell you if you have reached QCMC.  The jeepney driver will let you alight at the roadside just opposite of the park.  Look for the Underpass sign and follow the steps leading to the underground passage.  Upon exiting the passage, you will find yourself at the QCMC.  It is as if you are in a distant island at the center of the sea, facing the main island.  Ask the roving guards for directions leading to the event. 

        The Hortikultura event area consists of several plant booth sellers and a few food stalls.  On the side, you will find the seminar area where speakers are invited to give a talk on popular and interesting topics in Horticulture and plant care.  Some of the topics are "Staghorn Propagation" and "Landscaping with Native Philippine Trees".  I forgot the original and complete list of seminar titles since I did not attend any, given that I have to go back in Pampanga in the evening. 

       Most of the stalls sell cacti & succulents. And these items are the cheapest plants sold at the fair.  Other sell Bougainvilleas and flowering ornamentals, while some stalls have native Philippine Tree seedlings.  I was able to buy one Crab Cactus plant or Schlumbergera species.  You will also find famous Plant Traders like Purificacion, Wilson's and King Louis Garden.  In my opinion, prices of plants are above average compared to other plant fairs and plants traders.  It is a good event for plant enthusiasts like me. However  there are some points for improvement that I would like to share. First, the stalls are arrange in a one-row format.  I believe that having two rows or more is more enticing for the buyers and this will project more traffic in the selling area.  Second, the provided streamers & banners are insufficient in my opinion.  More presence and more visibility will attract more visitors.  Lastly, there is no music being played in the event.  Music in events give life to the shopping experience.  It will brigten up the mood and the surrounding area. 

        Unsatisfied with my loot, only one Schlumbergera seedling, I went around asking people how to ride a jeep back to Centris or Edsa corner Quezon Ave.  From that journey, I stumbled on the permanent plant traders in the park. There, I was able to get a Passion Flower Vine.  It was a good find given that its the purple species with fragrant blooms.  

        Riding a jeep back, I stopped and looked around in Centris Market, yet another Plant fair that happens weekly at Centris Sunday Market.  I ate Baked Macaroni, Takoyaki and drank a papercup of Lemon Cucumber drink.  My loot at Centris is far more than what i got in Hortikultura.  I got a Coelygene orchid, a Sanggumay, yellow sanggumay and native Cymbidium.  

        Got home in Pampanga at around 6:00 in the evening. It was a nice and fulfilling plant shopping experience.  I'll definitely go back to Centris for a Paphiopedilum orchid and others.

        I am inviting you guys & girls to visit Hortikultura at the Quezon Memorial Circle on or before  February 10, 2019.  Then fill in the gaps by passing-by on to Centris Sunday Market.  Remember, the Hortikultura is only until February 10 while Centris Sunday Market is a weekly event. 

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www.instagram.com/jamosthexplorer 

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        Woodworks, furnitures and wood artcrafts are famous in Pampanga, particularly in the areas of Guagua & Lubao.  However, in Angeles, small entrepreneurs of this class have also opened shops in the city.  While waiting for Kuya who went out of his shop, an old lady came to talk to me and started a small-talk conversation.  In that convo, she was able to tell me the jist of her entrepreneural journey, from her start-up to the challenges of having a family while running the business.  From that short and simple conversation, I learned things from Ate who is a Bamboo craftswoman.  But the best things do come last.  Before we parted ways, she asked me our family's business, but was not familiar.  So I spoke of my grandfather's business in the past, and she almost jumped when she heard the name of my grandfather's bakery.  This experience emphasized the point that we don't have to talk and listen a lot, to know a lot.  Sometimes, we learn more from deep, impromptu and personal conversations with other people.  Here's my original post on Instagram. 

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        Woodwork & Sash Factory: Pampanga's Old Art & Craftmanship.  Habang naghihintay kay kuya na gumagawa ng mga pinto, upuan, cabinet at iba pang muwebles...nakipagkwentuhan si ate na kapitbahay nilang gumagawa ng bamboo crafts.  Kinuwento niya kung paano nya naitaguyod ang negosyo nya, kung paano siya niloko ng mga kamag-anak sa negosyo, naikuwento din niya kung paano sinayang ng anak niya ang biyayang binigay nya.  Naitanong ko kung ilang taon na siya,  70's na daw...aba kasing edad ni daddyow ko.  Tinanong naman nya kung anu negosyo namin, eh hindi niya kilala......dahil naman sa edad niya binanggit ko na ang negosyo ng LoLo ko dati ay ang GoldenCity Bakery....*boom*....."putragis!" sabi niya..."eh nung bata ako naglalako ako ng tinapay nyo!" ahehehe. Minsan sa ganung small talk, malalaman mong small world nga ang mundo.

#adulting #conversationswithmorrie #bondingwithseniors #townfolks #aintgettinyounger #jamosisforever

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Originally posted on my Instagram:

www.instagram.com/jamosthexplorer 

Follow me there! 

Bahay-Sari, kahit munti,

ang produkto dito, ay sari-sari. 

JoyDishWash at Sabon, 

Sigarilyo at Mani, 

Gawgaw, Tuna at Honey. 

KatoL, MinoLa, 

Kumo't PangLabada, 

at tsaka meron pa, 

Tinidor, Kutsara. 

si Modess, at Kotex, 

Bawang at Luya. 

sa Paligid-ligid 

ay puno ng "Pera" !

#philippines #heritage #entrepreneurship #Microenterprises #singalong #nurseryrhymes #jamosisforever

        I stumbled upon an article a few days ago.  The topic was on Social Entrepreneurship(SE).  It was a very creative write-up on the concept of SE where the heat of the Valentine's Day season was taken into consideration.  It talks primarily of the love the goes between Social Entrepreneurs/organizations(SEO) and their respective Social/societal group partners.  These groups are seen as marginalized and neglected in the concept of SE, thus SEO's saw the need to help them cope with the ever developing challenges of our society.  Notably, SEO's help these groups by "partnering" with them in producing products and services that are significantly profitable in nature.  If it's not, then it won't be Entrepreneurial.  Social Entrepreneurship seeks to combine and manage resources to produce outputs that are not just profitable, but provides a significant, social value in return.   Social Responsibility or Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) on the other hand, given that am writing this impromptu tonight, is the concept where an organization, particularly a business organization takes into consideration our society in their plans, projects, decisions and outputs (for better definition, please search for management books/online articles, thanks).  We can show the CSR concept in two basic implementations. First, it can be effected internally through scientific/causal research on products and services before they are sold in the market. This makes sure that the products won't harm a consumer or the environment as a whole.  It can also be internally applied by using sustainable raw materials, economic/environmental materials and/or recycled materials.  The second way is an external application of the concept.  This goes directly to consumers or our society as a whole.  This can be seen by providing feeding programs, all expense paid medical checkups and/or by outright donation of goods or cash to an affected social group.  Another external way of CSR is through more activity/interactive projects such as Storytelling Sessions,  Kids shows,  Sports and games, Cooking Lessons and Entrepreneurial tutorials. 

        Given these definitions,  I have my personal opinions on Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility.  For SE, after a very introductory research experience on the concept, I completely disagree with the implementation of its essence.  It maintains that SE is a great way of encouraging Entrepreneurs to be entrepreneurs because it satisfies both the profit objective of an entrepreneur and the very loving feeling of being able to give back to society because you employ marginalize and neglected groups who, without the SE, wouldn't have the chance to earn profits, build houses, or have properties.  But the question comes from the middle-ground, the psychological contract, or the kasunduan of the social group and that of the SE. The contract of much will they be getting from the enterprise, the usapan or bargain of what the group gets from doing the job in producing the output of the enterprise; this is where my doubts on the concept of SE are.   On Corporate Social Responsibility,  it is a better way of providing help to our society, it is more reassuring.  But sometimes,  organizations use the concept of CSR in the wrong way.  This is most particularly seen on a Fastfood's home shelter project for kids. It states that for every Smiley Meal that you buy, they give a peso to the Home Shelter Project.  The program is very manipulative of the CSR concept because it indirectly states that, "we will only help, when you but something...if you don't buy, we won't help".  However,  to remedy this program is to just take the poster/ads off the counters.  They don't have to tell people that "we help when you buy".  The idea is to "just help when you can".  If they are after a certain budget before they can implement the CSR, then just do it when you can.  And if you want people to know that you help people, that you help our society because you want others to replicate the good deed, then document your program from planning to implementation. Then after giving, you may by all means, show it to the public, both for internal satisfaction and public relations, and also for others to see and follow.   For Social Entrepreneurship,  I still can't combine the concept of Social and Entrepreneurship....that is because if you are after profits, you are Entrepreneurial...no social effects will change the idea of entrepreneurs earning profits from their undertakings.  By employing marginalized and neglected groups, giving them income opportunities, it is for me, no different from employing college graduates or professionals.  For Entrepreneurs who profit from social values that they emphasize,  I'd suggest that they simply call it CSR or find another construct to define it.  Because unfulfilled social values needs to be addressed by the government.  Entrepreneurs cannot/should not profit from the lack of it.   When Entrepreneurs say they gain profits and at the same time fills up social problems/gaps, they take advantage of the poor services provided by the government, and thus by effect is not really helping our society.  If the social problem/gap is solved by the government, will the SE stop its operations? If yes, then it is definitely not helping the society, it exploits the problems of our society.  

(The topic is quite old for me, meaning there could be new developments and new definitions for the concept of Social Entrepreship and Corporate Social Responsibility...therefore, if there are new studies and conjectures from more recent research, feel free to discuss or comment your sources, additional references. Thanks. )