Abra's bamboo jeep

Chris Adriatico's bamboo jeep. Since 1992...

Breakthrough Bamboo

In recent times, designers, engineers, and social entrepreneurs have shown the versatility of bamboo in a diverse range of uses and items. It is now used as a component material in car parts, computer equipment, musical instruments, as a building and even bridge construction material, ecosystem rehabilitation, tourist site, pulp and paper production, furniture, handicrafts, food, medicinal purposes, and for tools, among others. As Michael Block of Green Living Tips wrote, you can eat, wear, and build with bamboo. The Philippine Department of Science and Technology (DOST) notes that Thomas Edison supposedly used a carbonized bamboo filament in his experiments in developing the light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell also used bamboo for his first phonograph needle. Patricia Mayville-Cox calls it the new cotton.

Interest is high because of bamboo’s characteristics. It is a grass of the family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, and tribe Bambuseae. Bamboo has around 92 genera and at least 1,000 species. It is present practically all over the world. In the Philippines, where it is generally called “kawayan,” there are 62 bamboo species grown, 21 species of which are endemic to the country. Ten are commercially-important species. Bamboo is present and/or grown in an area covering an estimated 39,200 to 52,700 ha. (Rojo 1999). Thus, bamboo is a renewable resource, grows fast, is durable, has natural beauty, is easy to maintain, and has many commercial applications including as a replacement of wood. It captures carbon dioxide. It is a green material. It promotes green technology and innovation.

Bamboo computers

Dell recently came out with an eco-computer in bamboo casing. To be released later this year, Dell says it will be 81% smaller than current desktops and will use 70% less power. ASUS also debuted its bamboo line of laptops and computer peripherals at CeBIT in Germany. Apparently, according to EcoGeek, there is a market for bamboo and wood framed computer and electronic equipment.

Bamboo bridges

Bamboo has a long history in construction. It is used as scaffolding and panels for concrete casting. China recently opened its fist bridge that could be used by trucks. A 10 meter, eight-ton capacity bridge opened to traffic last December 12, 2007 in Leiyang, Hunan Province. Designed by Professor Yan Xiao at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering, the Leiyang bridge has significant implications on structural bamboo and pedestrian crossings and bridges in bamboo-rich developing countries.

It is also complements earthquake architecture. Bamboo structures of the National Bamboo Project in Limon, Costa Rica survived the devastating earthquake of 1992. Architect Michael McDonough is building a demonstration 33-meter bamboo bridge in a temperate redwood rainforest near Mendocino, California. The objective is to build on the experimental models developed in the 1960s in the United States by Buckminster Fuller and Robert LeRicolais. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate bamboo’s structural and aesthetic capabilities.

Bamboo vehicles

Bamboo is a viable material for transportation. In Cambodia, people exasperated with the woeful rail service, built their own bamboo train that reaches speeds of 40km/h (25mph). In Africa, the Design for Development Society is spearheading the design and development of emergency medical transportation devices (EMTD). Using the criteria of site specific materials, designs, and systems; the organization has identified bamboo has a key material. Hence, they are looking at designing, producing, and piloting five bamboo ambulances.

Bamboo bikes

For me personally, there are exciting developments vis-à-vis bamboo and biking. In this era of permanent sky-high oil prices, biking is getting a second look as a healthy and cheap alternative vehicle. In recent years, innovative designers have taken to bamboo as the material for bike frames. Craig Calfee of Calfee Design has designed and tested a bamboo bike and concludes that they are just as good, if not better than the usual high-tech materials used. His high-performance bamboo bike frames sell in the$2500 range.

Calfee is not only a bike businessman, but someone who believes in the potential of the bike to help societies. He partnered up with the Earth Institute at Columbia University to develop a bamboo bike program in Ghana. The potential to scale up and replicate is significant.

Inspired by Calfee, Bruno Meres, an engineer and industrial designer based in Bratislava, Slovakia, designed his own bamboo bike. His innovation is a woven bamboo bike frame. After one year of intense use, the bike is in good shape. He also noted that bamboo makes the bike ride less jarring.

Bamboo bikes have a long history. The Veteran Cycle Club notes that in England, Patent No.8274 filed on April 26, 1894, was on a bamboo bike. In the London Stanley Show of 1894, bamboo bikes were a show sensation. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a company named London Stanley sold a bamboo bike model in 1898. Today, a complete do-it-yourself bamboo bike construction manual can be found at Instructables.com.

Bamboo should be a leading material in the Philippines and Filipinos should be experts in bamboo application. Afterall, it is part and parcel of our culture, history, and environment. We’ve used it for housing, furniture, ritual, games, food, medicine, tools, etc. Heck, we even have one of the most spectacular bamboo organs in the world, the Las Piñas Bamboo organ.

Gerry Brioso referred us to the bamboo jeep in Bangued, Abra, where government worker Chris Adriatico built a bamboo jeep as early as 1992. Local officials also use a bamboo vehicle, seen below, in official activities to promote bamboo use in the province. Kitschy, but an attention getter.

Bamboo is high tech and green tech.

Bamboo is a sustainable business for Filipinos.

Additional information:

Master Plan for the Development of Bamboo as a Renewable and Sustainable Resource. 1997.

Rivera, Merlyn N. (N.D.) Philippine National Report on Bamboo and Rattan. Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), College, Laguna, Philippines.

Rojo, J. 1999. ‘Bamboo Resources of the Philippines’, In Proceedings of the First National Conference on Bamboo, Iloilo City, Philippines, 65-70.

ONE a Filipino Celebration: Fil-Ams’ coming out party

This coming Memorial Day Weekend, May 24, 2008, the busiest highway in the United States will be the Filipino-American Highway (CA 54-CA 125). Thousands of Fil-Ams and Filipinos are joining a huge motorcade to launch the Gawad Kalinga ONE celebration at Kimball Park, National City, Metro San Diego, starting at 10 a.m.

ONE a Filipino Celebration seeks to honor and celebrate the Filipino dream for solidarity and pride in our culture. Now is a good time to do so, and San Diego is the ideal site to celebrate the best in the Filipino.

Afterall, Fil-Ams comprise the largest Asian/Pacific Islander population in San Diego County with a population of over 145,000 as of 2005. San Diego City alone has 75,000 Fil-Ams. Fil-Ams have been present in San Diego since 1903 when a handful of Filipino students attended State Normal Street, now known as San Diego Sate University. Fil-Ams since then have been an integral part of the socio-economic and political life of San Diego.

Fil-Ams in San Diego have an estimated median household income of $56,264, a per capita income of $17,835 and a disposable income of $1.97 billion as of 2006. Over half of Fil-Am occupations are white collar with 32% in management or professional positions and another 29% in sales and office work. Another 18% are in the services sector (Sources: Asian Pacific Legal Center 2005, U.S. Census 2000, Filipino American Development Initiatives 2006, www.gk777sd.com).

Nationally, about four million Filipinos live in the United States and have a median annual income of $65,700 second only to East Indians (U.S. Dept. of State Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs 2007, U.S. Census Bureau 2004). In the U.S. Census Bureau of 2002, Fil-Americans owned over 125,000 businesses, employed close to 132,000 people, and generated nearly $14.4 billion in revenue. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) estimated that at least 65% of the remittances to the Philippines in the year 2000 came from the United States.

Clearly, Fil-Ams are significant economic group in the United States and the Philippines.

Victoria P. Garchitorena (2007), President of Ayala Foundation Inc. noted that this “culture of migration” of Filipinos not only has influenced development in the Philippines; two sets of phenomena have also emerged. The first is the development of an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) middle class with “aspirations, ambitions, and ideas” for a better future for their children that includes education and demands for better services and governance. The second is that overseas Filipinos are major contributors of “time, talent, treasures”.

The reasons for this philanthropic spirit include a desire to give back and help the mother country, the Filipino culture of compassion to the poor, underprivileged relatives and town mates, a wish to maintain ties with the homeland, and a concrete expression of their faith and values of sharing and caring.

Garchitorena and the Institute for Migration and Development Issues’ (IMDI 2006) Jeremiah Opiniano note that about 3,000 Filipino associations exist in the United States alone. Many of these associations are conduits for donations and assistance to the Philippines. These associations vary in type such as hometown associations, professional groups, alumni associations, community organizations, faith-based groups, student associations, cultural associations, national associations, and dedicated and public charities. Recipients of their aid include churches and other faith-based institutions, universities and colleges, hospitals, NGOs and foundations, government, direct to individuals, and special projects and initiatives.

This diasporan philanthropy is no clearer in the work of Gawad Kalinga supporters and volunteers in the United States. Of the 1,700 Gawad Kalinga communities established in the Philippines since 2003, 311 were sponsored by Fil-Americans and their friends and relatives. Two successful San Diego businessmen alone, Tony Olaes of ODMart and Robert Sanchez of GlobalTel Media, have committed to funding 20 GK villages and at least 4,000 GK homes respectively. Both are incidentally, the key movers and organizers behind this ONE celebration.

Thus, there are reasons to celebrate. The Philippines is an emerging economy, despite the corruption and inefficiencies that plague the bureaucracy. We are developing as a nation because of our culture of resilience, of daring and risk-taking, of hard work, competence, and ethical work discipline. Our OFWs are the best reflection of this. As one business professor told me, Filipinos are the best in work that entails nurturing.

We are also tops in the compassion business. Gawad Kalinga, an ambitious Philippine community development cum nation building movement, seeking to build 700,000 homes in 7,000 communities, in seven years, is reshaping the field of community development. The global implications and replicability of GK’s nation-building model on the emergence and development of other forms of social movements and civil society–state governance are compelling. The late Jesuit historian and visionary, Horacio dela Costa (2002) once wrote that for the Philippine nation to develop to the best of its abilities and potential, the Filipino people must do three things, namely: (a) build and strengthen communities; (b) link the communities with common goals-ideally national goals; and, (c) recapture the bureaucracy. Culture trumps all and Gawad Kalinga’s model may be one cultural model for nation building.

In recognition of the success of the Filipino and the potentials yet to unfold, the Fil-Am community and Gawad Kalinga/ANCOP USA are sponsoring ONE a Filipino Celebration. As a coming out party of the Fil-Am community, ONE seeks to show what solidarity in the community can achieve. Activities include:

• The culmination of the Highway/Caravan of Hope 65-city speaking tour of Gawad Kalinga International Partnerships Coordinator Dylan Wilk and GK1MB USA Coordinator, Nathan Mari along with their spouses. See http://www.ancopusa.org/highwayofhope/;
• The FILIPINO SOLIDARITY CARAVAN on America's only Fil-Am Highway (http://www.gk777sd.com/caravan.html);
• ONE Celebration, from 10:00 a.m. -6:00 p.m., Kimball Park, National City
  11:00 am. Hosted by Danny Javier of Apo Hiking Society, the celebration will feature GK officers led by founder Tony Meloto and numerous surprise guest performers. The celebration ends with a Vigil Mass, and;
• GK Builders Summit (May 25-26, 2008 at the Marriot Del Mar Hotel). This is a two-day workshop on engaging potential and active GK One Million Volunteers or GK1MB. See http://www.ancopusa.org/gksummit/schedule.htm for the schedule and workshop details.

Be part of history unfolding. Join in creating a vision of the Philippines that is fueled by hope and made real by the compassion, love, care, and generosity of Filipinos. Make your business the Philippines. The Ateneo Graduate School of Business did when their 40^th anniversary theme was “Our country is our Business.”

As Tony Meloto said, “Truly I am blessed that God made me a Filipino.”

Pangea Day was awesome!

These are the hands, what are you going to build with them?
- a line in the song sung by Dave Stewart, Co-Founder, Eurythmics at the Pangea Day celebration

Pangea Day ended about 50 minutes ago. Yet the sights, sounds, and the messages linger on. Pangea Day was a powerful four hour global performance. It showed how the power of convergence on a global scale of film, art, music, dance, information and communication technologies (ICT). In other words, CREATIVITY in the different disciplines and activities of humanity can promote peace, forgiveness, social justice, remembrance, and most importantly LOVE for our fellow human being.

This was an experiment in promoting peace- through social memory, of combatants in the Middle East getting together, opening their hearts, and talking to one another, in the hopes of forgiving one another. As one victim asked, "If we who have lost the most precious in our lives can forgive, why can't others and our leaders?" (or words to that effect).

-through laughter as an Indian guru suggested and performed...

- through remembering the past and working at a better future...

-through music, singing another people's national anthem...

-through sports, by playing volleyball using a border wall as the net..

- through the lived experience of oneself or of others...

My dissertation research on Gawad Kalinga has opened my eyes (and heart) to the powerful force of love, servant leadership, caring and sharing. It also made me aware that much can be achieved through the CONVERGENCE of CREATIVITY and of CREATIVE, LOVING PEOPLE.

Look into yourself and those around you.

Become more aware of the creativity to do good in yourself and the good being done by others.

One speaker noted that "we are the same species, with the same problems, living in one planet..one day there may not anymore be the OTHER..."

One world, one heartbeat.

Check out Karen Armstrong's inspirational speech at Pangea Day.

Pangea Day is on now!

Pangea Day is on!


They've started show the films.

The current film is about refugees and war in Africa.

Check out http://www.pangeaday.org.

Anthropologist Donald Brown is now speaking about the "human universals of language", which include the spoken and written word, gestures, facial expressions, social memory, etc.

24 films, 4 hours, 180 countries simultaenously showing the films...Bringing the world through film...

Pangea Day

Pangea Day

Pangea Day is this coming Saturday, 10 May 2008 at 18:00 GMT. The 24 films chosen out of more than 2,500 entries from over 100 countries will start broadcasting in the Philippines at 2:00 a.m. In Tucson, Arizona, the showing starts at 11:00 a.m.

Pangea is the brainchild of noted filmmaker Jehane Noujaim who won the TED Prize (annual Technology, Environment, and Design conference) in 2006. The annual TED Prize is worth $100,000 and a ‘wish’ that TED organizers assist in fulfilling. Ms. Noujaim’s ‘wish’ was for the whole world to get together through film.

Her 2006 wish is now about to become a reality.

Her vision inspired so many groups, organizations, corporations, and individuals. In over 180 countries, there will be Pangea Day gatherings and showings. What’s notable about Pangea Day?

Pangea Day and the films underscores the transformative power of:

• Creativity- film, music, the written and spoken word
• The beauty of Earth
• Love, friendship, peace
• The struggle over the evil, injustice, and violence in the world
• The enduring notion and reality of community, from local to global to local and the power of ONE global family
• Culture, acceptance and embracement of diversity and our own uniqueness as individuals and as a member of a community
• Wisdom and knowledge and learning
• Convergence of science, spirit, and art, as well as people, talent, time, and resources
  

Pangea comes from two Greek words: Pan meaning entire and Gaia, meaning earth. Pangea is the hypothesis that the all the continents once constituted a single supercontinent about 250 million years ago. German astronomist and meteorologist Alfred L. Wegener first proposed (1912) this continental drift theory and suggested the term Pangea.

The metaphor of an original wholeness now separated, but whose configurations complement each other is a powerful one for humanity.

Watch the film. Get inspired. Love deeply and ACT (excuse the pun)!

ONE, a celebration of Gawad Kalinga in San Diego, May 24, 2008

Poster and text below from:
http://www.gk777sd.com/

ONE is on! The unique Filipino celebration will introduce itself on Saturday May 24, 2008, at Kimball Park, National City.

ONE is a movement standing for solidarity among Filipinos in America, where diversity is acknowledged, appreciated and invited to find unity in common causes seeking the serve the highest interests of Filipino-Americans. Beyond that, ONE also seeks to actively facilitate the fruition of Fil-Am dreams to build a homeland of their dreams. In pursuit of this, ONE links with Gawad Kalinga, the fast-growing nation-building movement that focuses on dismantling a shameful poverty in the homeland that is a blight to all Filipinos wherever they are in this world.

ONE will be from 10 am to 6 pm at Kimball Park, home to major Filipino events in the county. It will be a full day of festivities where the best of the Filipino will be showcased and harnessed to propel a great initiative for solidarity and honor. The day begins with two grand events - a caravan of heroes helping the homeland through Gawad Kalinga which will begin from several points from LA to Las Vegas, and a fun ride organized by the Sikad ng Bayan and joined by other cycling groups. These will converge through the Filipino - American Highway in National City.

ONE then shifts to Kimball Park where different Fil-Am organizations representing all the different provinces will converge. It will be a day of fun, food, music, dance and fellowship where even children will be catered to. Kimball Park will be a landscape of colors that reflect the tropical ambiance of home.

ONE is born!

Let us be ONE People and ONE Unified Nation once and for all.

Lessons from Peru's former President, Dr. Alejandro Toledo and Gawad Kalinga

Today, I attended a symposium entitled: Social Justice in Health: Local to Global at the University of Arizona.

I also presented a paper on Gawad Kalinga entitled Save the Poor Save the Environment, Save the Environment Save the Poor: The Gawad Kalinga Social Movement on Community Development. This is my third presentation on GK in the past three weeks.

In the symposium, the keynote speaker was former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo who led Peru from 2001-2006 and was very successful in reducing poverty, inequality, and exclusion (PIE) through various creative and commonsensical means. Peru's social and economic indicators speak for Alejandro's success.

I liked his talk. First, he calls himself an "accident" in that meeting two Peace Corps volunteers eventually led to him, a sheep herder and shoeshine boy, studying at the U. of San Francisco, eventually earning a PhD in Stanford, teaching in Harvard and Stanford, working at World Bank and other top agencies, and culminating with becoming Peru's most effective president. He said that his "accident" should be normalized for all Peruvians and Latin Americans.

The other point is that his effectiveness at governing lay not really in his academic credentials (an understatement), but rather in his inexperience in politics. Not being a professional politician enabled him to reduce military spending by 23% to the shock of his generals and reallocate the funds to social services, including education. He was also able to forge a fair and free (not lopsided) trade deal with the U.S. and expand trade deals with the E.U., China, and India. Hence, Peru's outstanding economic growth and poverty reduction numbers.

He emphasized to the American audience that political INexperience is NOT a barrier to effective governance. We had a laugh at his "meddling" in U.S. elections.

During the open forum someone asked him about the need for family planning in Peru. His answer was full of wisdom. Dr. Toledo said that family planning should be taken in its whole context. It is not simply about providing contraceptives. Rather it involves providing the information in a socially acceptable manner. It is about education. It is about health and nutrition. It is about improving the household situation. It is about poverty reduction. It is about choice and freedom. But choice and freedom is made and attained respectively only when a person or the family is healthy, has access to affordable nutritious food, is not poor, educated, and is earning a decent living. He added that higher income societies usually have smaller families. Thus, family planning is best implemented within a context of total human development.

What does all of the above have to do with Gawad Kalinga and Harvey Keh?

First, Dr. Toledo, Barack Obama, the highly successful "Life is Good" clothing chain or even charismatic movements share one thing in common, the message of HOPE. Excluding the charismatic movements, the first three emphasize that the power of HOPE, combined with positive energy, creativity, and hard work will lead to success. If it works in business and in politics, why not in social change?

HOPE is the key word in a world full of elections in the next two years. I think the Hope message resonates well with voters. HOPE will probably get you elected, but it is certainly needed in CHANGE.

Second, social movements work best when they don't let organizing get in the way of mobilizing. Both go together, but one should not be at the expense of the other. Harvey Keh calls for greater vigilance against graft and corruption. Yet, he doesn't show us how and defaults to values transformation, which, incidentally, is a core initiative of GK. He calls for more honest officials. We're all calling for that, but the real question is how do we get from here to there? Keh's irony or bureaucratic "iron cage" is that he heads two organizations, and is a ranking officer of a third. As some have noted, what is an organization if it cannot mobilize and deliver SOCIAL CHANGE?

The current state of Philippine "opposition" politics is that they fail to appreciate the transformational value of GK . In failing to do so, they miss out on the opportunity to provide transformational and charismatic leadership.

Dr. Toledo said that democracy is useless if there is no SOCIAL and ECONOMIC democracy. Democracy works best if the PIE is reduced, PIE being poverty, inequality and (social) exclusion. Democracy is strengthened when the citizens are engaged. They are engaged when they have a roof over their heads, when they have access to healthcare and nutritious food, when they are earning a living, and when they are educated. Democracy is multidimensional.

Pre-colonial societies in what is now the Philippines were ruled by datus or chieftains who attained their status in two combined ways namely, leadership and bravery in conflict and leadership, intelligence, and creativity in engendering a peaceful and prosperous community. It was not an either-or, but an AND of: physical security and economic well-being.

Thus, any group that seeks to challenge the incumbent administration, rightly or wrongly, needs to present to the Filipino people their roadmap for political, economic, and social democracy.

If one wants to tear down the house that is the Philippines to drive away an "unwanted guest", please make sure that the house to be re-built can withstand 265 kph winds, has running water and flush toilets, has a beautiful garden, and is near schools, health centers, and places of work. Please also make sure that meaningful work is available and that the neighborhood is peaceful...

In reality, no one, no organization, no institution has presented a model of social change that is comprehensive, holistic, scalable, replicable, self-sustaining and importantly ADAPTABLE to different contexts than what GK has proposed and is proving with each passing day.

Dr. Toledo's Peru has shown what an inspired, positive, and creative political leadership can achieve. His is a model of leadership at the pinnacle of POWER. Filipino politicians would do well to probably follow in Dr. Toledo's foot steps if they think they are up to the task.

GK, on the other hand, provides for servant leadership from the ground up. It is a bottoms up approach to development in the near absence of effective governance. Dr. Toledo's wish and aim is for the likes of him, an "accident of history", becoming the norm.

GK is showing how future Dr. Toledos will be formed. It would do well for Dr. Toledo to consult with GK.

Lastly, the brouhaha over the alleged Vatican displeasure of GK's "overemphasis" on social work is belied by the annual solicitation letter I get from the Bishop of the Diocese of Tucson for the numerous social works they are engaged in the diocese. The list is long, the beneficiaries numerous, the goals ambitious.

Is the Bishop overextending himself?

Should I report him to the Vatican?

For groups such as Couples for Christ or even the Roman Catholic Church to retain membership they need to increase their social works. Afterall, that is what AGAPE is really all about, loving the most vulnerable in society as Jesus did. CFC then is on the right track with its Gawad Kalinga ministry.

While Arizona may be in a unique situation because of the xenophobic immigration issues and the sexual abuses scandals of the clergy, I have noticed the increased activism, social justice, and social works initiatives of the Catholic Church here.

There are unmistakable 'signs of the times" especially in the field of social change. GK has read these signs well and acted on it. Massive mobilization of volunteers, talent, and resources. Sharing and caring. Servant, heroic leadership. Looking into ourselves and recognizing our greatest assets. Treating the poor as partners in development. Tapping cultural traits of padugo, bayani, bayanihan, bayan. Claiming the true definition of faith and patriotism. Discerning the yearnings of the Filipino diaspora for a progressive Philippines. Channeling the "legacy" angst of the elite into nation-building. Harnessing peace as a productive force. Making 'convergence" work effectively. Melding the "science and spirit" of community development. Showing the effectiveness of adaptive management. Finally, laying the groundwork for what the late Fr. Horacio dela Costa said about "recapturing the bureaucracy."

GK stalwarts Boy Montelibano and Tony Meloto said that GK will appeal to certain people and that all GK needs to do is "build it and they will come."

I agree. I believe that revolutionary/ disruptive social change is really through culture work that is creative, positive, optimistic, and charismatic. GK best exemplifies this.

Beauties and the...cool dude

Beauties and the...cool due, originally uploaded by livingplanet.

Fellow was nice enough to stop and have his picture taken. He placed his arms around the ladies, but they said, "Hey show the tattoos in your arms!"

4th Ave. is a pride of Tucson. Nice colorful homes turned into shops and restaurants. Lots of environmental initiatives launched here. Native SEARCH, the biking community, hydroponic, and other eco-shops mingle with artisan, artsy, bars, and coffee shops. Lots of creativity and innovation here.

4th Ave. denizens: Dangerous blonde and men in kilts

Two of, if not the biggest events in Tucson, Arizona in terms of visitors, are the 4th Ave. Fall and Spring Fairs, which bring out the Tucson community. Families, merchants, artists, denizens, hippies, musicians, and all sorts of folks gather to eat, drink, trade, sell, buy, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the 4th Ave. Fairs. They enjoy the over 400 booths hawking everything, dozens of food and drink booths, children's games including two climbing walls and rides, and street musicians, artists, and fortune tellers. It's quite an experience.



My memorable sights include this beauty with her pet snake.



Men in kilts

Padyak

From Padyak.org

The UP Padyak Project

- a bicycling project for the University of the Philippines Diliman Campus, which aims to make a concrete contribution to the University on its Centennial celebration. Initiated by members and alumni of the UP Mountaineers in response to the imminent threat of global warming among many variants of the environmental crisis. This project aims to promote bicycling as means of transportation and lessen dependence on fossil fuel vehicles. It also aims to promote health and fitness in the campus community.

Students will be renting the bicycles at very affordable rates, which will cover rent of an easy-rider bicycle, training, access to bicycle racks and cable locks per semester.

The dry run of the project will start on April 11, 2008 (Summer 2008) through the help of volunteer bikers. Full implementation of the project is planned for June SY 2008-2009.

These brightly-painted bicycles with step-through frames are designed not for speed but for comfort, safety, visibility and function. Utility baskets will be mounted on the handlebars where students can place their belongings.

The UP Padyak Project is privately funded by the members, alumni and friends of the UP Mountaineers.

Of Bike Racks and Trashcans: The 4th Ave. Spring Fair 2008 April 6

One of America's top street fairs is held every Fall and Spring along six blocks of 4th Ave. in Tucson, Arizona. Named after 4th Ave. where the fairs are held and now on its 38th year, the 4th Ave. Fall and Spring Fairs attract 200,000-400,000 visitors. Over 400 arts, crafts, and clothing booths, dozens of food and drink vendors, street musicians and street performers, political activists, hippies, artists, and all sorts of people join the merchants, stores, and restaurants along the hip, hippie, and artsy 4th Ave. The three-day celebration is an expected and fun-filled gathering of the Tucson community and out-of-towners.

The 4th Ave. Spring Fair was held this weekend (April 4-6) and had some great finds in terms of art, jewelry, crafts, and collectibles. Two wall climbing towers were set up along with a “VAN GROW” kids hands-on-art area. Dozens of food booths served an international menu ranging from Mexican, Thai, Greek, Italian, among others to regional fry bed, tri-tip BBQ, fried chicken and more.

4th Ave. is also known as a bastion of the biking community in Tucson. Bike swaps are held regularly with the next one coming up on April 20. The last swap attracted 15,000 participants. On both sidewalks of 4th Ave. are bike racks and trashbins made out of old bike parts. Many look eclectic and funky and add to the artistic and iconoclastic atmosphere in 4th Ave. Check out my photos below.

Martin Luther King's 40th

I attended the annual Society for Applied Anthropology (SFAA) recently in Memphis, Tennessee. It was a good and relevant time, considering it was the 40th death anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Being a starving graduate student, I booked my hotel far from the conference hotel and took the bus everyday. I considered renting a car, but being the nosy anthropologist, what better way to explore Memphis than by public transport and walking.

The bus I took passed through the deteriorating parts of the city as well as those struggling to renew itself. I saw many boarded up homes and buildings, walls with graffiti, and homeless people. It was dreary and depressing.

On the way back to the hotel, I would take the night loop. At first it was scary, as the passengers were predominantly of one color. A few were a bit aggressive in their panhandling. But after a few minutes, I couldn't stop myself from eavesdropping on the conversations of the passengers. I even had a hard time from laughing at the jokes of this group of FedEX workers as they ribbed each other. They really enjoyed their "schoolbus" ride home.

I had fun talking to the bus drivers and my very knowledgeable cab driver, Mr. Turner. Ordinary folks were helpful and friendly in their own way. Good luck Memphis!

Gawad Kalinga at the University of Arizona

Last 4 March 2008, Dylan and Anna Wilk along with their two babies, Nathan Mari, and their cousin visited the University of Arizona and talked about Gawad Kalinga and the Highway of Hope caravan. They are on a 65-city speaking tour which will culminate in San Diego on Memorial Day weekend. Their speaking tour seeks to generate awareness on Gawad Kalinga as well as to recruit volunteers to the GK One Million Bayani (Heroes) volunteers or GK1MB program.

At short notice, close to 30 persons attended including the heads/ officers of the Filipino-American Sampaguita Club of Tucson (FASCOT), the Filipino-American Students of the University of Arizona (FASA), the U. of Arizona multicultural office, the U. of Arizona international students office, the Diocese of Tucson, students, and residents of Tucson.

Dylan eventually wrote about his trip to Tucson and his hope for a GK Arizona village with saguaro cacti, boots, and spurs as village symbols. We hope so!

Check out the videos below.

Dylan's story of how he learned about GK.



How you can help...



Nathan Mari, GK1MB Coordinator



Nathan's clothes and enlightenment...



Fr. Miguel Mariano, Diocese of Tucson responds...

the costumes

the costumes, originally uploaded by livingplanet.

I was in Memphis for the whole week attending the annual Society for Applied Anthropologists (SFAAs). No first time visit to Memphis is possible without visiting rock n roll's greatest singer's mansion, grave, and exhibits. Elvis Aaron Presley parlayed his good looks, great singing, cool demeanor, sexy dance steps, and charming personality to a cultural and commercial revolution.

His costumes were not only fashion statements but cultural statements as well, copied by other rock stars. His interests were varied. He was a good marksman, loved martial arts, was into luxury and sports cars, and liked his Harleys, golf carts, and powered up motorized toys.

He was generous to a fault and loved to party. He was appreciative of the audience and really cared for them, worrying if he still had an impact. Many say he was courteous, likable, and considerate.

He may have had many faults, but no one can fault him for his music, his dance, and that uniquely cool demeanor only an Elvis Presley can summon up.

You rock Elvis.

From a fellow twin....

p.s.

the Flickr photos were taken without flash, since the exhibit banned flash photography....

Pinoy Polka, the Papaya Dance

What do you get when Filipinos invent a new dance craze called Papaya, danced to the song of Polish phenomenon Urszula Dudziak? Pinoy Polka!

They get everyone, from the U.S. Ambassador Kristie Kenney (very charming and good looking!), to dance...




The Philippine Army got into it..



It's being covered by the worldwide media now...



Recently, ABC's Good Morning America talked and danced about it...

Check out the response in Poland...

Virtual Power: The Brian Gorrell Saga

Brian Gorrell picture taken by himself

Power is of different forms. The most obvious is the coercive one based on the threat of violence or the use of money to be able to threaten reprisals. However, there are five other forms of power including: (1) the power to reward for complying a.k.a incentive, (2) the power of legitimacy, which enables one to make a request or order, (3) the power of expertise or knowledge that enables one to get something done especially during a crisis situation, (4) "referent" power, which attracts would-be followers to a perceived leader, and lastly, (5) informational power, which is unique and desired information that is held by someone (French and Raven 1959, Raven 1965, Yukl and Falbe 1991).

In countries of high inequality such as the Philippines, the elite control these varied forms of power stemming from early access to material resources such as land and other natural resources and the largesse from holding public office for generations. Today, the elite, organized around family and extended through clans that share the same thinking and culture are in business, in politics, and control the flow of information, the means of communication, and the construction of social and political meaning. This hegemonic power may look impregnable, but as they say social theory must conform to social reality (Balicasan and Hill 2003).

And the reality is that the powerless may not really be powerless at all. They have options, they have agency, meaning they can think, reflect on their situation, and act. Banding together or accessing resources or groups willing to help can provide them with even more latitude to change their situation and gain more independence from the powerful. It is a struggle, maybe even a long and painful one, but the powerless can enter the realm of the possible. A political scientist and ethnographer, James C. Scott wrote a book entitled