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CONT ENTS 46 EATS Organic ice cream
30 COVER Salt endures changing generations
MAY 2015 03 HEALTH
07 FIXTURE
04 BEAUTY
22 FEATURE
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51 RECIPE
Attuning to nature through alternative birth
Your skin isn’t the only thing that needs to be protected
CRAFT
A natural remedy concocted for skin bathed in sunlight
Living in an archipelago doesn’t dispel the Filipinos’ fear of water
16 FEATURE The life aquatic of an entrepreneur
Strange, exotic, and edible creatures from under the sea
An eight-legged dish to prepare for your next summer barbecue Cover photo by Geric Cruz
EDITOR’S NOTE The heart of the sea Like the sea, there is an ebb and flow to life. Whether we are swimming in calm waters or are deep in the middle of the tempest, there is much to learn. Up and down, back and forth, give and take, push and pull—such is the rhythm of life. This issue delves deeply into the sea’s calling and its lessons. We look into the life of Kiddo Cosio and his family who chose to live closer to the water. “Water is such a wonderful object lesson for life: teaching us flow … the importance of washing oneself clean of the stuff of life,” he says. Monica Eleazar-Manzano also shares
the gentle transition of her baby from her womb to the world through water birth. “Truly, the most gentle birth I can give,” she says. The sea also continues to remind us that we are the salt of the earth. Our recent trip to the salt farm in Dasol was quite an existential one. Salt is made through the natural evaporation of water from the heat of the sun. The crystals are formed then scraped from salt beds. Pondering on our experience, we recognize that, like salt, we are also formed through hardships and it is in enduring such trials and brokeness that we find meaning in our lives.
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Northern Living is published by Hinge Inquirer Publications. 4F Media Resource Plaza, Mola corner Pasong Tirad Street, Barangay La Paz, Makati City. Visit www.facebook.com/ northernlivingmagazine now. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at @nlivingph. We’d love to hear from you. Email us at nliving@hip.ph. For advertising, email sales@hip.ph. This magazine was printed responsibly using recycled papers with biodegradable inks.
FEEDBACK
DOG DAYS NORTHERNliving Hi Northern Living! I really like the adoption story on the dogs. I'm a dog lover and their portraits inside are so adorable! What a really nice issue. Marga Benitez
GROUP PUBLISHER BEA J. LEDESMA MANAGING EDITOR BEVERLY DALTON ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITOR DENISE DANIELLE ALCANTARA EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS LEX CELERA, PRISTINE L. DE LEON CREATIVE DIRECTOR NIMU MUALLAM GRAPHIC ARTIST DANICA CONDEZ CONTRIBUTORS WRITERS CHARLIE CARBUNGCO, AJ ELICAÑO, MONICA ELEAZAR-MANZANO, INA AMOR MEJIA ILLUSTRATORS LEE CACES STYLISTS EDLENE CABRAL, CHARLIE CARBUNGCO INA AMOR MEJIA, HAIR AND MAKEUP CHUCHIE LEDESMA, BULLET REYES PHOTOGRAPHERS GABBY CANTERO, KAITY CHUA, GELOY CONCEPCION, GERIC CRUZ, RALPH HILARIO, INA AMOR MEJIA, ARTU NEPOMUCENO, PATRICK SEGOVIA COPY EDITOR SEPTEMBER GRACE MAHINO PROOFREADER CESCA VIZCONDE EDITORIAL CONSULTANT RIA FRANCISCO-PRIETO CUSTOM ASSOCIATE MANAGING EDITORS PAM BROOKE CASIN, ANGELA VELASCO EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS PAULINE MIRANDA, KRISTINE FULGENCIO, THERESE STA. MARIA ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES SHANNA MALING, INA MATEO, GENE PEREZ GRAPHIC ARTISTS ROI DE CASTRO, TEJ TAN, YAYIE MOTOS, JAYCELINE SORIANO, JANINE ALCANTARA PRODUCTION MANAGER NOEL CABIE PRODUCTION ASSISTANT MARICEL GAVINO FINAL ART SUPERVISOR DENNIS CRUZ FA ARTIST JR LAROSA
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AVP FOR SALES MA. KATRINA MAE GARCIA-DALUSONG KEY ACCOUNTS SPECIALIST ANGELITA TAN-IBAÑEZ ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES ABEGAIL GINAGA, ANDIE ZUÑIGA, SARAH CABALATUNGAN, ALETHEIA ORDIALES SALES SUPPORT ASSISTANTS RECHELLE ENDOZO, MARA KAREN ALIASAS HEAD OF MARKETING AND EVENTS ROUMEL ITUM MARKETING ASSISTANTS ERLE VIRGILIA MAMAWAL, JANNELLE TURIJA GRAPHIC ARTISTS LEE CACES, MAYSIE LECCIONES
HEALT H
OUT INTO THE WORLD Reclaiming the sacred power of birth through water TEXT MONICA ELEAZAR-MANZANO ILLUSTRATION DANICA CONDEZ
After giving birth via Caesarean section eight years ago, I knew I wanted something different for the coming of my second child. From conception onwards, I planned everything meticulously, almost obsessively. My research led me to do a home water birth, a VBAC or vaginal birth after a Caesarean birth. Through my readings, I found that it is no longer believed that once a C-section, always a C-section. In fact, the New York Times stated that there has been a medical shift in opinion. The National Institutes of Health found that a VBAC is safer to do than a repeat Caesarian. Also, a VBAC with more than one repeat Caesarean does not pose any risks.
The relaxing effect of water, with its support and warmth, helped alleviate my pain during labor. It also gave me a private and protected space with less medical intervention. In my research, it is found that babies born into water without medical intervention have good, even better, Apgar scores than babies born on land. They come out very calm, awake, and alert. Psychologists also state that when babies are born peacefully, they are most likely to become compassionate adults. Because of the holistic experience, mothers who have had water births want to experience this kind of delivery again. For my water birth, I chose to do it at home. CNN Hero of the Year 2011, midwife, and author Ibu Robin Lim mentored me on this process. It seemed natural for my baby to leave my womb and swim out into warm waters before emerging to our physical world. I was free to move into positions led by my own body. I did not cut her umbilical cord until it fell off on its own after the third day. This process allowed my baby to receive all the blood and stem cells she needed. Lotus birth, it is called—truly the most gentle birth I can give.
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BEAUT Y
THE SCORCHING TRUTH
The burning facts of SPF that you need to know TEXT BEVERLY DALTON ILLUSTRATION LEE CACES
We are all very aware of how hot Manila can get, what more during these recent dog days even when we’re trying to cool at the beach? Truth is, there’s no escape from the sun. And because there is no break from the heat, the least we could do is to be safe from the harmful rays of the sun: we turn to sunscreen. All year round, most especially this summer, we slather on this protective gear to bring redemption to our skin. After all, we know that wearing sunscreen every day is the easiest way to prevent everything from photo-aging to skin cancer. The fact is, even if we’ve been living in this tropical country for years, we’re not as sun-savvy as we think. There is something about sunscreen we should be wary about. The sunscreen that we religiously and indulgently apply to our skin at the beach before we go for a swim is slowly killing coral reefs. According to National Geographic, a new study finds that chemicals in sunscreen can awaken dormant viruses called zooxanthellae. These dormant viruses provide coral with food energy through photosynthesis and contribute to the coral’s vibrant color. The chemicals
in sunscreen cause the viruses to replicate until their algae hosts explode and when they explode, the coral turns white and dies. Even low levels of sunscreen could activate the viruses and could completely bleach the coral in just four days. We must also remember that it is not just chemicals in sunscreen that affect the water. So do other compounds contained in the other products we use every day. So what are sun worshippers like us to do? Reading the label of our beauty products, including sunscreen, is a must. If it has paraben, cinnamate, benzophenone, and a camphor derivative, we are better off wearing a wide-brimmed hat to the beach. Of course, there are other options: we can also buy a natural or organic reef-safe SPF product and wait at least 15 minutes before going to the water. This is to make sure that the lotion is already absorbed by the skin. If we heed summer’s call, it’s not just asking us to go to the sea. It’s asking us to love the sea truly and take care of it.
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CR AF T
HEALING SALVE
Put your aloe vera plant to good use with this simple recipe to soothe sunburn TEXT, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND STYLING INA AMOR MEJIA
ALOE VERA GEL
What you’ll need: 3 big aloe vera leaves 1/4 cup petroleum jelly 1 tbsp. cold-pressed virgin coconut oil Drops of lavender essential oil (optional) Jar with a lid Garden gloves for protection Small whisk Small sharp knife or sharp scissors Spoon Directions: 1. Pick out 3 big leaves from your aloe vera plant and carefully cut them neatly (close to the soil) using a knife or scissors. 2. Allow the resin (the yellow substance that oozes from the cut leaf) to drain, and then discard it. 3. Cut each leaf into segments and then cut each segment open. Scoop out the gel using a spoon until you have about 1/4 of a cup. 4. Add the petroleum jelly, coconut oil, and lavender essential oil. Whisk until everything is incorporated. 5. Place the gel in a jar and store in the refrigerator to cool. NOTE: Do not use on open wounds, and only keep for a week.
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FIXT URE
IN THE DEEP END
There lies an irony among Filipinos surrounded by 7,107 islands TEXT AJ ELICAÑO ILLUSTRATION DANICA CONDEZ
On Sept. 26, 2010, almost exactly a year after Typhoon Ondoy had struck, an article ran in the Inquirer titled, “Filipinos should learn how to swim, Coast Guard says.” Though mostly anecdotal, it exemplifies sentiments echoed by other sources over the past few years. Even if the Philippines is an archipelago, not all Filipinos know how to swim— something made all the more important precisely because of where we live. One major factor is education. In a document by the Philippine Drowning Prevention Council and the Philippine Life Saving Society, the first priority area identified is water safety education. The report, self-explanatorily titled “Philippine Drowning Prevention Plan 2010-15,” cites that papers by the UNICEF Innocenti Research Center showed that the lack of water-safety skills was a major cause of child deaths in the Philippines, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Thailand, and China. Many kids simply do not have the opportunity to learn how to swim early in life— something which may have dire consequences later. Gender may also have a role to play. A number of studies on the role of gender in disaster mitigation were published starting in the late 2000s, authored by groups like UNICEF, the Asian Development Bank,
and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Common to many of these studies is the assertion that because girls are less likely than boys to be taught physically-oriented life skills such as swimming and tree-climbing (particularly in Asian countries like the Philippines), they are thus left more vulnerable during disasters such as floods and tsunamis. Still another element in the equation is environment—in particular, the cities to which more and more Filipinos continue to flock. Urban areas, specifically, more landbound ones such as Metro Manila, will tend to have less natural swimming areas (particularly given the increasing garbage and water pollution problems), and very few have easy access to swimming pools. City dwellers often have to go out of their way to find places to swim, and this adds yet another barrier when it comes to practicing the skill. Despite all this, swimming remains an important life skill, and one that is well worth taking the time to learn. It promotes physical fitness, helps build resistance to disease, and can serve as a fun and relaxing way to spend time with friends. And you never know—one day, it might just save your life.
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NORT HERNER AG Saño has been involved in marine mammal research all over the country.
A MASTERY OF REPETITION
How AG Saño’s repeating imagery can instill his advocacies into the public’s minds TEXT PRISTINE L. DE LEON PHOTOGRAPHY GELOY CONCEPCION
It takes a lot of variety to hold a crowd’s attention. However grand your artwork, soon enough, people demand to be enticed by something different altogether. Repetition blunts impact—or at least it does in the mainstream context. Clearly, the streets obey a different rationale; here, where hundreds of AG Saño’s dolphin murals dominate, repetition fuels the enduring influence of his art. AG Saño was set on painting 23,000 dolphins back in 2010. Having watched The Cove, a documentary exposing dolphin slaughter in Japan, Saño painted his first dolphin mural the morning after. “It was probably a spontaneous, a very instinctive reaction as an artist,” he relates. “I just wanted to pay tribute to the dolphins, so I painted the wall with my research team in Babuyan islands.” Then came the Facebook status, the painter declaring his advocacy
on a whim. “We’re going to paint one dolphin for every dolphin they capture,” he posted, hardly comprehending that he had just pledged to paint an ambitious 23,000. The invitations surged in, first from the provinces, where strangers offered up their walls as canvass, and then from CNN, which asked to feature his story in a show that ran worldwide. Soon enough, urban walls were awash with Saño’s psychedelic murals. Once you make a public artwork, the world owns it already, you don’t own it anymore,” he explains. “It’s in the mercy of everything other than yourself.” After painting with about a hundred thousand volunteers— students, activists, beauty queens, and street kids—he leaves his murals at the world’s disposal. It’s public art in the strictest sense, yet after over 35,000 dolphins painted around the country, critics naturally raise their brows: Aren’t we being bombarded
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with too much dolphins? Some say it’s like turning the city into a coloring book of sorts. Isn’t the advocacy forgotten in the repeating art, its substance lost in the visual spectacle? “Actually, it’s the opposite,” reasons Saño. Back in the day, he goes on to explain, child labor was accepted until visual artist Lewis Hine went around the United States, taking pictures of kids in factories. He saturated publications with repeating images until a law was made to abolish the unjust practice. With his murals, Saño is set on achieving the same effect. “There are no rules in street art,” he says, “but [what we use is] the power of repetition. You saturate not just the walls but the minds, and sometimes even the hearts.” It’s just a matter of carrying out one impossible task after another: painting 23,000 dolphins, ending marine life slaughter, and Saño’s personal ambition: “[painting] a dolphin in outer space.”
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NORT HERNER Painting murals means accepting that the work may either be vandalized or destroyed. The point is to create art that doesn't alienate the public (right). AG SaĂąo plans to continue his advocacy as long as there are captive dolphins (extreme right). SaĂąo paints the longest wall along Katipunan avenue (below).
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FEAT URE
LIFE AFLOAT NORTHERNliving
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FEAT URE
In a Malabon compound, floodwater serves as a reminder of the pains and the hard-won little victories through the years TEXT DENISE DANIELLE ALCANTARA PHOTOGRAPHY GELOY CONCEPCION
Living near the water is paradise, they say. May it be a shack by the beach, a cottage by a lake, or a house by a creek, it is the perfect setup to beat the scorching summer heat. But what happens when one day, the rain poured so hard in your city that floodwater rose and didn’t recede even after 24 hours? Or, in Artex Compound’s case, after 10 years? Imagine waking up with the entire first level of your house submerged in floodwater, all your appliances wet and drowned to electronic death overnight and your little sidewalk eatery swept away. There is no other way to traverse the compound but to travel via a do-it-yourself boat. The basketball courts where children played every morning and afternoon is now under water. You have no more places for worship since it sits dredged in water. “There was a time when we walked on dry land. I’d do my rounds around the compound during lunch and merienda to sell food,” recounts Claire Yocogco, resident and member of PANAC or Pagkakaisa ng mga Naninirahan sa Artex Compound. She describes that the place used to be more lively than somber. “More people would go in and out of the compound because of the annual sports league we’d organize every summer.” “It didn’t happen overnight,” says Loida Lumagas, a resident since 1979. Malabon is known to be one of the lowest lying areas in Metro Manila, and its residents are no strangers to heavy floods every year. “There used to be a pump to flush out floodwater during the rainy season,” she continues. However, it was the residents who shouldered the expenses to operate the pump, and it wasn’t cheap. “We pay 10 pesos every day for the oil used.” They would use the pump thrice a day to keep the water out, but with the continuous increase of oil prices, the residents agreed that they couldn’t pay for the expense any longer, especially with no support from the local government. That was the day they decided to live a life afloat. How can one live normally in a water world? How do you buy food from the sari-sari store? Where do the children play? Nature isn’t the only enemy. Labor disputes had long been fought within the Artex Yupangco Textile
Mills Corporation, the residents’ former employer. (The compound was built to house the workers of the said corporation.) Employees were paying weekly rent out of the low wages they were earning from working eight-hour shifts in the factory, so in 1984, the factory workers united and fought for fair wage. Artex subsequently ceased operations in 1989, the owners fleeing without a word. Five words in bold red letters are written on a concrete wall: “We are still on strike!” Today, residents live above waist-deep waters during the summers and one storey-deep waters during typhoon season. After over 10 years of adaptation, the residents have learned to live with and love their circumstances. They’re able to travel via small boats that could fit four people at most. Owning a boat isn’t a must since there are boatmen who are willing to take passengers from one point to another for only five pesos per trip. They use strings to connect one house to another and use them as pulleys to transfer light items. This is especially useful whenever they have to buy something from the sari-sari store. The compound is still alive. It seems to be an isolated one yet still has everything it needs to survive: electricity, cable, and telephone lines. Karaoke can be heard from one of the houses early in the morning. The sound of breakfast sizzling and kumares gossiping can still be heard. “It took us some time to adjust. If I could sell lunch and snacks before, now I can only sell snacks that are easier to carry on the boat like turon, carioca, buchi, and ginataan,” Yocogco says. Recreation isn’t a problem since there’s a nearby basketball court outside the confines of the perpetually flooded compound. They still join leagues and continue to win despite the lack of resources. Plus, they have a newfound sport, boat racing, and residents all come together to organize boat races every Christmas and New Year, open to all age groups. When asked why they chose to stay, Yocogco says, “If we move to a resettlement area, for example, in Bulacan, it would be too far from work.” Convenience is also a factor: Artex is near the school, the market, and their livelihood. Despite the formidable situation, home is still where the heart is. She looks around the place and says simply, “This is where we grew up and found love.”
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FEAT URE In 2013, despite living over water, rows of houses were burned down into ashes because someone left a pot of adobo cooking unattended.
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THE WEIGHT OF WATER
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FEAT URE
Learnings and notes from a young man and the sea TEXT BEVERLY DALTON PHOTOGRAPHY KAITY CHUA
April 7, 2015. San Juan, La Union, golden hour. A boy cries because a jellyfish stung him. A little girl, in her tiny yellow bikini, frolics around the shoreline. A young woman sitting on a blanket, cuddling her baby, comforts the crying boy. She then turns to the little girl to make conversation about cute-cumbers. And the young man beside the woman, whose life is stirred by the current around him, turns to me and says, “This is what we literally do. It’s not that exciting but it’ll do.” It has been two years since Kiddo Cosio and his wife Amy moved to La Union. “It is better,” he tells me; no regrets on leaving the city life behind. “I get to spend time every day playing with my children, surfing, watching sunsets, teaching the little ones to swim, or taking walks on the beach.” Looking back at his past city life, Cosio tells me that he has always been drawn to the water. “I’ve always lived in big cities. But my fondest childhood memories are of short boat trips with my family around the Hong Kong islands, where we lived when I was a kid.” The place they had lived in overlooked the busy harbor. “[It] further fueled this romance with the sea,” he recalls. It wasn’t long before he answered its call. “I took up surfing, and traveling to surf was how Amy and I dated.” Both had been regularly taking trips to La Union, and it was in 2013 that staying there became a full-time arrangement. They got married, and when they had kids, moving to the beach was the only way they could sustain their ocean-loving lifestyle. I was expecting a lot of idleness in Cosio’s life but it’s quite the contrary. Apart from family life, he also runs a business, the famed El Union coffee shop that serves specialty-grade coffee. The shop keeps life interesting as coffee makes way for conversations with visitors and introduces him (and even his wife and kids who hang out there by midday) to people from the city and other parts of the world. “Meeting a diverse mix of travelers on an almost daily basis has given me an even greater appreciation for people and how they go through life in their unique ways. It’s humbling to be reminded regularly that you are not the center of the universe, much less the world,” he says. I also became curious about how their day progresses, but he assures me that life by the sea could be just as predictable as it is in the city. “Truth be told, our family’s life [here] is
more of a routine than wild Manila. But it is a good and healthy one that involves work, family time, recreation, and social life. It’s quite balanced. I know that one can achieve balance in the city; but it’s a lot less simple and a lot more expensive to do so.” Unlike me who settles for meditation in the four corners of my room by sunrise, Cosio is up by dawn checking if he can lock in a good surf session before work and family come calling. “Living by the water means that I have an outlet for my energy. Same goes for my entire family. Water is such a wonderful object lesson for life: teaching us flow, the importance of being in tune with the elements around us, the importance of washing oneself clean of the stuff of life, and starting fresh,” he muses. By nightfall, he and his wife read books to the kids. Some nights, they’re out hanging at the town’s hip hostel Flotsam & Jetsam. “There, we play music, hang out with travelers and friends from Manila.” Kind of like the night we were having. “It bears mentioning that our life is not always as idyllic as it may sound. We have late nights when the kids refuse to calm down and sleep.” His wife shares that they are very hands-on with the kids and do not have helpers by choice. “All my energy is for the kids and I know some day it will pay off,” she says. Cosio adds that their house is often a mess: spilled milk, a naked toddler peeing off the staircase and onto the laundry down below, crushed cookies scattered amid a sea of toys. “It is a beautiful mess—the evidence of creative energy, rather than destructive force. Kids are kids, and we are not ashamed to be authentic about that. We are not apologetic for their wildness,” he says. April 10, 2015. Manila, my room, 6:41 a.m. I still think about the Cosio family and what it would be like for me to live away from the city for a while. Will I be able to do it? A question that haunts me since the day we met. I recall him saying how simple life is: “The beach is always a good idea—whether our day was fun and the kids were manageable, or whether it was a day of toddler tantrums and stress, we always go to the beach.” I close my eyes and imagine the shoreline, and then I drift for a while in the middle of the water before I get ready for work. And like the image of the sea I am in, I hear Cosio say, “Nothing in life is static.”An assurance of change to come.
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FEAT URE Cosio, with his third son Adam, heads to the beach by midday (right). Smores, a favorite treat by surfers (extreme right). Cosio and staff all have to taste multiple cups of coffee a day just to make sure the brewing parameters are on point at El Union.
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FEAT URE
“Living by the water means that I have an outlet for my energy. Same goes for my entire family.”
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RAY OF LIGHT
The season’s prerequisites to enjoy summer’s waning days TEXT BEVERLY DALTON PHOTOGRAPHY ARTU NEPOMUCENO
1. Cotton dhurrie, P15,000, Craftsmith Living. 2. Leather shoulder bag, P5,680, Liana Navarro, Firma, Greenbelt 5. 3. Chasing Curtained Suns by Jerrold Yam, P750, Craftsmith Living. 4. Real Tan, P895, Ritual. 5. White ginger handcare kit, P250, Nippon, www.nipponesthetic.com. 6. Cap, P250, Ritual. 7. Abaniko, P40, Ritual.
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FEAT URE
FIND AND YOU SHALL SEA
Belt fish If you go to a dampa and ask for a belt fish, you wouldn't be able to find it for tinderas know it as dagat ahas, due to its resemblance to the snake. Its long body (longest recorded belt fish was found to be seven feet long) is made of delicate white meat. How to prepare: Its clean flavor goes well with rice and citrus. Clean the fillet before steaming. Top with simple ingredients like garlic, ginger or scallions. Ten minutes oven time and it’s ready to eat. Squeeze a little lemon to finish.
Rare and delicious finds from down under TEXT BEVERLY DALTON STYLING CHARLIE CARBUNGCO PHOTOGRAPHY GABBY CANTERO
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FEAT URE
Fish egg sac Inside the fleshy pink sac of a fish lies a delicacy so rich that it is only meant to be eaten in small portions—on top of sushi, a slice of cheesecake, or as a dip for chips. But the sac, as if roe isn’t already rich enough, when buttered, becomes a totally explosive dining experience. How to prepare: Melt butter in a small skillet and add the egg sac. Cover and let cook for about three minutes then carefully turn over and sauté on the second side for another three minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.
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FEAT URE
Batotoy Available at your local dampa, the batotoy is not to be confused with a clam—although it does share a resemblance. Better known as cockles in other parts of the world, these small, heart-shaped shells contain a delicate morsel of flesh that can be eaten raw, steamed, or boiled. How to prepare: Cockle shells are often full of sand so it’s best to soak them in fresh water for several hours before eating. It’s best served raw with vinegar—an exotic summer dish to whet the appetite.
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FEAT URE
Gindara You’d be surprised to find that the sablefish or gindara can be as heavy as 10 pounds and is found deep in the waters off the Pacific coast. The white fleshy meat is soft in texture and comes with a warning: it’s high in fat. So it is best shared or eaten in small portions. How to prepare: Gindara takes time to absorb marinades so keeping it soaked in your flavor of choice (like salt and pepper, or a miso glaze) before grilling.
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FEAT URE
White clams If you want to be more scientific, call them bivalve molluscs. These shells, available almost any time of the year in your local grocery store, are lean sources of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, which makes them good for the heart. How to prepare: Soothe a sore throat with a ginger clam soup. Bring water to boil and add the ginger and clams. Cook for about five minutes or until clams open.
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COV ER STORY
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COV ER STORY
IN THE LAND OF WHITE GOLD
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COV ER STORY
Shaking up the views on local industry-building with grains of salt TEXT DENISE DANIELLE ALCANTARA PHOTOGRAPHY GERIC CRUZ
A condiment so common it could be found in enumerates. But production of salt is not an easy every dining table and kitchen of every household. task. It is heavily dependent on nature—the sun and A mineral so ubiquitous it can be traced in almost the sea. The constituents of Dasol pray for sun and everything we use. Grains so small we failed to recall more sun. More sun means speeding up the process its significance to the human body and its impact to of salt making and a heftier harvest that can make up human civilization. for the halt in production during the rainy season. We live with a level of salinity almost equal to Dasol has a total of 10,000 salt beds across nine the ocean—explaining the connection between coastal barangays and an additional three barangays humans and our natural that has access to brackish waters yearning for salt water. Salt is from riverines, salt farming is a very basic: it helps preserve our “Everybody will always family-based industry; every food and makes it taste better. family has an allocation of 25 to need salt. Its uses go But we tend to forget that 35 salt beds. 400 families benefit beyond the physical, this is and earn from direct harvesting beyond the culinary where life began and where we of salt. The aforementioned built communities to survive. figure does not take into industry. We find During ancient times, salt was account the other workers that sodium chloride in so important that it was used as help in the production process. currency, tracing back the Latin Everybody in the salt-farming health, cleaning, and origin of the word ‘salary.’ community has a role. The vast In a province on the northwest salt beds are to be formed and beauty products like part of Luzon Island, there lies shaped by the family in-charge soap and toothpaste.” a municipality that lives on and some helpers. There is a salt—Dasol. The province of separate group of people who Pangasinan is known to have places broken clay pot pieces— the best aquaculture experts in the region. With an activity similar to tiling—on the salt beds. There fishponds and cages scattered all throughout the are also people tasked to weave baskets and sacks province, Dasol stands out with its local industry used during harvest; and designated people are of salt making. “Back in the day, fishponds were also needed to measure and weigh the heaps of salt also the main source of income in the area,” shares harvested and to carry the heavy sacks. Noel Nacar, elected mayor of Dasol. Nine out of 18 When the clock strikes three in the afternoon during barangays are coastal barangays. Their 33-kilometer the dry season, everyone will start working in the salt coastline facing Dasol Bay makes it as a perfect setup farm. It is their 3 o’clock habit of harvesting salt. for aquaculture. But Dasol found a livelihood more “However, our constituents can take another job apart beneficial and sustainable than aquaculture. from being a salt farmer. If the husband has an 8-to-5 Dasol’s local government prioritizes what’s best job in the city, the wife can start feeding water into for all of Dasol’s inhabitants. “Everybody will always the salt beds to start the process in the morning. Then need salt. Its uses go beyond the culinary industry. after work, the husband can help out in harvesting the We find sodium chloride in health, cleaning, and salt with their kids,” Nacar explains. beauty products like soap and toothpaste,” Nacar When asked what’s distinct about Dasol’s salt,
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“Dasol is the home of quality salt for a reason. Our salt is pollution-free.”
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Nacar turns to me with pride and says, “Dasol is the home of quality salt for a reason. Our salt is pollutionfree.” Protecting and developing the industry entails making the protection of the environment—both land and water—a top priority. The local government enacts different programs to ensure that their waters are clean and safe from illegal fishermen. They reforest their mangrove sanctuary regularly since mangroves serve as the natural filter of seawater. “Last March 27, in partnership with the Maritime Industry Authority, we launched a training program for fish wardens or bantay dagat,” asserts Nacar, “With programs like these, we hit two birds with one stone. We protect the industry and the environment.” Nacar admits that there is a higher monetary yield if they shift their livelihood to aquaculture or mining like their neighbor municipalities. “We have to take into consideration the long-term effect of the other industries,” explains Nacar. He notes that if they pursue aquaculture, their local fisherman will lose their livelihood; they’d have to fish farther into the
sea or fish on the waters of other municipalities. On the other hand, even if they have the opportunity to earn more revenue from mining—in fact, millions compared to thousands they currently earn from salt farming—the people of Dasol believe that they would only be taken advantage of by investors in a short span of time. “Mineral is a limited resource; it’s like a ticking bomb. What would happen to us once all the minerals have been collected?” Nacar further justifies. Fe Ballen, municipal planning and development coordinator, adds: “Our generation will not suffer because of our greediness; it is our children who will pay for the destruction of Mother Nature.” Nature has provided abundant blessings; however, with these come responsibilities. Man knows better than to lay waste to nature’s creations, making it better for the next generation. Looking past the now has helped Dasol to create an industry they could proudly call their own—an industry that is by Dasolinians for Dasolinians—without harming the environment.
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FIVE DAYS ASTRAY Break away from the city and find refuge in unknown places STYLING EDLENE CABRAL PHOTOGRAPHY GABBY CANTERO
On Crystalle: Button-down shirt, P2,399, River Island, SM Megamall. Shorts, P1,599, Suiteblanco, SM Megamall. Sandals, P1,990, Bershka, TriNoma Mall. On Kat: Denim Jacket, P1,799, Suiteblanco, SM Megamall. Shorts, P819, and sandals, P1,700, both Forever 21, SM Megamall.
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On Crystalle: Long-sleeved button-down shirt, P1,795, Bershka, TriNoma Mall. Trousers, P1,490, H&M, Robinsons Magnolia. On Kat: Tube jumpsuit, P915, Forever 21, SM Megamall. Opposite page: On Crystalle: Straw hat, P845, and sandals, P1,698, both Forever 21, SM Megamall. Dress, P1,690, H&M, Robinsons Magnolia. On Kat: Knit pullover, P1,015, and sandals, P1,700, both Forever 21, SM Megamall.
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SHOT ON LOCATION PINTORESCO. MAKEUP CHUCHIE LEDESMA. HAIR BULLET REYES. MODELS KAT AND CRYSTALLE OF ELITE MANILA.
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On Crystalle: Dress, P1,995, Bershka, SM Megamall. On Kat: Jumpsuit, P2,195, Bershka, SM Megamall.
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On Kat: Jumper, P1,995, Bershka, SM Megamall. On Crystalle: Blazer, P2,195, Bershka, SM Megamall. Shorts, P699, Sfera, SM City Makati.
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NOLI SOLI Ad FP.indd 13
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EATS Turn back time and enjoy cotton candy, jellybeans, and ice cream in one cup called the Snow Drop. The Milky Cube includes a piece of honeycomb. The Macao Dream contains a macaron of your choice and almond crumble.
THE GOOD DOLCE
Here’s a farm-to-cup trend you should definitely try TEXT DENISE DANIELLE ALCANTARA PHOTOGRAPHY GABBY CANTERO
Childhood memories of good summer days would usually be about playing in the park after siesta, biking around the village with friends, and stopping by the neighborhood sari-sari store to buy five-peso fruity ice candies. Let’s get real: a summer day in this tropical country would not be complete without a dose of a sweet cold treat. In this intense heat, you could just nibble on anything cool and refreshing all day. But desserts are not as simple as mixing sweet fruits with shaved ice. The standards have now been raised in the search for a really good cold dessert in the metro—and by good, we mean the healthy kind of good. The era of the frozen yoghurt, once considered the healthy alternative, is now nothing but a sweet memory, especially with Manila recently welcoming a newcomer that’s the first of its kind in the Philippines: Milkcow. Seann Tan, co-owner of Milkcow, chanced upon this ice cream bar in Korea during a vacation trip. “We passed by Milkcow and that’s when we tasted it. We came back the next day, and the day after that, and started thinking of bringing it to the Philippines,” he recounts. But how can small cups of ice cream change the game? Well, their ice cream is organic. It’s
considered healthy, because they use organic milk straight from Korea, and it comes from cows that aren’t fed or injected with chemicals in order for them to produce more milk. The increase of health consciousness among Filipinos has helped raise the hype for this kind of dessert. The creamy, smooth, butter-like texture of the ice cream is good on its own. It’s not flavored with vanilla, chocolate, or whatever taste you can think of; it’s simply good old full cream milk, and its rich flavor sets it apart. You can order the Milky Way, the plain cup of soft serve ice cream, and ask the server to add sea salt for additional flavor. Milkcow is also known for the Milky Cube, an order of the soft serve ice cream with a piece of all-natural honeycomb, a topping you don’t get to see every day. Get that natural saccharine flavor and indulge on the gastronomic experience of honey oozing out from the honeycomb with every spoonful of ice cream. Aside from an array of set toppings you can choose from, you can have fun and make your own combinations. Start with an order of the Milky Way then select from the variety of toppings offered on the side menu—from jellybeans and cocoballs, to cotton candy and macarons.
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SPECIAL FEAT URE
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April 2015 Volume 8 | Issue 20
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The bedroom is everyone’s favorite sanctuary. A good night’s sleep is sure to refresh and recharge your body, mind, and soul for the coming day. But assuring yourself a deep slumber is not just about eight hours of shuteye. The ultimate safe haven from a long day is a mattress that provides a superior sleep experience. Uratex Premium Mattresses delivers on such a promise. Each mattress offers a revolutionary sleeping technology that relieves pressure off each body part and relaxes you into that much needed slumber. Uratex has four collections for you to choose from, depending on your preferred comfort: the Perfect Serenity Collection, the SensoMemory Collection, the Premium Touch, and the Orthocare Collection.
April 2015 Volume 8 | Issue 20
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EATS Milkcow also serves quality macarons. Try the Buttered Popcorn macaron and get the sweetsalty version of kernels in every bite (right). Indulgence in a cup in two words is Milky Pop. It consists of caramel popcorn and caramel syrup (below). Milkcow sources their honeycomb from Korea (below, right).
Milkcow. Ground Floor, Eastwood Mall, Libis, Quezon City. 374-3698. www.facebook.com/MilkcowPH. www.milkcow.ph.
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NOLI SOLI Ad FP.indd 10
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EATS For individual orders, there’s sisig and binagoongan (right). Diners can play domino, sungka, and dama—which accounts for the crisscross patterns on the table. Follow @nlivingph on Twitter and Instagram to know more.
CATCH THE RIDE
Aboard Gerry’s Jeepney, Pinoy fare and culture are at their rollicking height TEXT PRISTINE L. DE LEON PHOTOGRAPHY RALPH HILARIO
Pinoy culture isn’t dead—or is that too big of a statement for one restaurant to defend? There’s a stereo outside asserting ’70s nostalgia loud and clear: “A-a-a-h! Awitin mo, at isasayaw ko!” Seated around the tables, people are playing dama, domino, and sungka, like we’ve been transported to some game room in the past, if ever those kinds existed in our grandmas’ time. Diners are eating off a banana leaf with bare hands—“boodle fight style,” as the resto’s owner Gerry Javier would like to call it. If the jeepney has for so long been the roving embodiment of mass culture here in the country, Gerry’s Jeepney has converted its concept into a booming restaurant. On the walls are signages speaking of how drivers are sweet lovers and of how “God knows hudas not pay.” It’s loud, colorful, flamboyant, with a streak of religion and irreverence on the side. Apart from the clever sets of thinking expressed by the design, the restaurant evokes virtues that have long been the lifeblood of the jeepney: Filipino ingenuity and a strong disregard for social rank—a brief moment of equality, or more realistically, its promising rough tableau. The boodle fight, as Gerry’s wife Sally explains,
“[originated from] the military. Every member [places] food on a banana leaf. . . they close the lights and the official says, ‘Okay, boodle fight!’” Everyone, regardless of rank, partakes of the feast with his bare hands. Such is the experience that the restaurant invites its diners to revel in. Its set menu—amusingly labeled as Cubao, Quiapo, Ayala, Monumento, and Alabang— are where all-Filipino fare come together, spread out on a huge banana leaf. With their bestselling meal Ayala, a full bounty of fried rice is at the center of the feast, with a scrumptious spread of liempo, hipon, inihaw na bangus, and ensaladang talong sitting swimmingly around it. No utensils or stifling rules for decorum stand in the way; closeness fuels the character of the jeepney. In keeping with this tradition, folks from all walks of life come to bond in the restaurant, unafraid to display their voracious appetite for food. There are banderitas hanging about outside, lively swaying to the festive air as the stereo booms proudly, “Disco fever!” It’s the spectacle of Pinoy culture: raw, honest, and dynamic—and those looking to satisfy their appetite for everything that tastes and feels Pinoy are welcome to hop aboard.
Gerry’s Jeepney. 154 Maginhawa St., Sikatuna Village, Quezon City. 435-6824.
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RECIPE
SEA ON A STICK
Revel in this light dish from the sea that comes with a distinct texture TEXT AND STYLING CHARLIE CARBUNGCO PHOTOGRAPHY GABBY CANTERO
GRILLED OCTOPUS WITH SALSA ROMESCO INGREDIENTS
1 pc. octopus 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 cup parsley 2 pcs. eggplant 6 pcs. cherry tomatoes 1/4 cup olive oil For salsa romesco 1 pc. onion, minced 2 cloves garlic 1 can peeled tomatoes 1 can pimiento 1/4 cup of olive oil Almonds Parmesan cheese
For salsa romesco 1. Sauté the onion, garlic, and almonds until caramelized. 2. Put the peeled tomatoes and pimiento in the pan. 3. When it starts to boil, cook in low heat, and let it simmer for around 30 minutes. Stir continuously. 4. Blend it together using a blender and strain it, so you will get a fine sauce. 5. Season with salt, pepper, and parmesan.
PREPARATION
1. Using running water, clean the tentacles until ink is removed. Prepare boiling water with salt. When water starts to boil, leave it for at least 45 minutes. Once tentacles are soft, let them rest for 20 minutes. 2. Cut the tentacles to 1-inch pieces. 3. Sauté tentacles with olive oil, garlic, and parsley. 4. Blanch the tomato cherry for around 10 seconds and peel out after. 5. Cut the eggplant into cubes and deep fry it until it softens. 6. Assemble the octopus, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes in the barbecue stick. Then grill it to get that smoked flavor.
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T HE GET
SET IN FLUID STONE
The wild whimsy of the ocean encapsulated in a clutch TEXT PRISTINE L. DE LEON PHOTOGRAPHY PATRICK SEGOVIA
Designers have, for so long, attempted to capture water. Imagine the sailors who have fallen prey to the currents’ magnetic draw. Oceans, however, are notorious for defiance. While we construct buildings and highways anywhere on land, large bodies of water resist structure and definition. It’s fluid verging on chaotic, and for most designers, never has any element served as a more fascinating muse. Anchoring its design on the precious malachite stone, a clutch by Aranáz commits to cloth the water’s shifting composition. Malachite stones, it was believed, mirrored the emotions of their bearers, and on them figured rage, gloom, passion, and joy—the violence of waves, or the peacefulness of the sea. We are, after all, bodies made of mostly water, and the stone records our emotions that shift as often as the tides. The bag, though made of neoprene fabric, allures with its seemingly changing surface: ripples evoking the natural lawlessness of the tides or the waters within us, continually astir. We get lost in the mesmerizing swirls, a mark of nature’s most powerful phantasm, drawing any unsuspecting onlooker down into its dreamlike waves.
Aranáz TÚ. 4L, SM Mega Fashion Hall, SM Megamall.
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