Sustainable lifestyle

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

- CHIT U. JUAN

Seventeen years ago we thought there was no place to buy ecobags, virgin coconut oil (VCO) products, honey, healthy shampoo, natural throat sprays and many other healthy products that are now mainstream. It did take a whole decade for these industries to start becoming commercial. Today, and most especially after the COVID lockdowns, you can find turmeric, honey and VCO in most chain stores and even convenience stores. They have become essential products—alcohol, hand sanitizers and VCO soaps.

More than a decade ago there was nowhere you could buy adlai, now the diabetic's alternative to white rice or imported quinoa. Today, adlai is in supermarkets and other specialty stores. In all products found in our local farms, we now can trace where our cacao comes from, where our coffee is grown and who harvested our heirloom rice. Traceability became part of the marketing story. And the farmer, he or she is now out there known in their Facebook pages as the source of this or that product.

I am happy this happened. When we started a 'sustainable lifestyle' store almost 20 years ago, people looked at us and either wanted to laugh at the idea or felt sorry we were dreamers about to fail. But it makes us happy to still be around and inspire the younger generation to copy, yes copy, the idea for it to echo or reverberate. "Ka-look-alikes" were welcome as long as they knew the source of their products and could stand behind them. That is what makes a brand earn the trust of its customers and loyal patrons. My two partners Jeannie Javelosa and Reena Francisco agreed with me that we would remain open as long as we had a role to play—that of inspiring others to make these products available.