Monday, July 28, 2014

More activities



Last April I did another project presentation again here in Bread Homes. This time it was about all the projects of ORGANIC MINDS and what we truly believe as an individual, as an organization, and as activists promoting the importance of building an intentional community. The event was the annual homeowners’ general assembly and it was attended by more than fifty people who are members of the association, mostly parents, and including some politicians, lawyers, and other so called professionals. But the thing is, some of these so called important people missed my presentation because they were awfully very late during the event. 



I was satisfied by the way it turned out but I also noticed that during my talk, there were people who “raised eyebrows” and thought what I’m talking about were very impossible ideas and very radical to swallow and digest. I understand their skepticism but I just think it’s not a positive one. Maybe if I can try to analyze their background, I can understand why it seems far away from the essence of what I’m talking and promoting. At the moment, the only person I know who are showing interest in collaborating with us is the president of the “senior citizens’ association” of this subdivision. Through phone, we talked about planning a program together for their organization. I’m still hoping we can find more interesting people here that might want to help or be part of the gardening project or whatever things they want to do with. 


During summer, we also had our children’s summer art class. This is one of our ways to connect to children and introduce them to things and ideas that might be helpful to their development as a person in the heart of this very complex society. With this program we also introduce them to many different topics regarding food and how it is being produced, what are the effects of junk food, what is fast food, what are toxic ingredients and artificial additives, etc. 



Through this program we can also practice our skills in teaching and explaining things and also some important factors in a family or in a community. With this we can also aid them in developing their skills in art and music as a way to express their thoughts and feelings for the sake of their health and happiness. Although we fail to maintain the consistency of this project due to other activities and yes, lack of volunteers at the moment, I can fairly say that the children not only learned (and will continue learn) from the project but also enjoyed the moment like how they enjoyed their freedom through playing with their friends. Some of the workshops we gave are: music, anti-MSG/Aspartame/GMO poster making, recycling, basic drawing and coloring, zine making, collage art, and basic painting. Speaking of this program, we would like to thank our friend Arvin from Manila and Gopesh from Oregon for helping us. And also to Arvin’s friend Mr. Cheng who donated worth 5,000 Php of chairs from his company Uratex. We really appreciate what they did as it helps us make this program effective and more possible. 






For now we are trying to have a community gathering every Sunday. We invite people to come and spend their time with us doing things what they feel comfortable doing: cooking, gardening, making art, playing music, teaching kids, fixing things, recycling, or just watching documentary films that are related to our projects and issues of concern. Through this we can have more opportunity to let them experience the projects and have their support more often. In this way we can also learn more things from them regarding their own ideas and perspectives especially in connection to our vision and goals. So far there are few people showing up almost every Sunday. 




Every Friday, we also go to the local organic fair at the city hall for our FOOD FREEDOM exhibit and information drive in supporting the local farmers and the organic movement. As what we basically do, we exhibit posters, talk to people, play music, and hand out flyers about GMO, MSG, Aspartame, Fluoride, and other issues related to health, community building, and food politics. Although we try our best to go there every Friday, sometimes we miss it because of our body’s limitation. 




In addition, we are also starting to introduce the Really Really Free Market (RRFM) now to the people there. The last time we did it, it was great! There were lots of curious people came by and asked questions, some of them are people who are working in the government. Hopefully they are familiar now to the beautiful concept of this action or event and give their part in the future. 




RRFM is one of the most simple but brilliant ideas on how to fight capitalism, labor exploitation, industrial pollution, and over-production in this world. It is also a very concrete example of how to create a community that truly cares for each other and value the spirit of “gift economy” – the sharing and giving of services, time, food, entertainment, etc. - instead of our current economic paradigm that encourages greed, selfishness, competition, and over-consumption. 

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