On May 25, a one-day event called ‘Gulay Pa More Fiesta’ took place at the CSSP Parking Lot in UP Diliman, Quezon City. Join by different organizations and advocates, Gulay Pa More! Fiesta is dubbed as the country’s first ever fiesta highlighting the abundance of Philippine flora.
The first-ever fiesta highlighting Philippine local and indigenous crops was a celebration that brings to the forefront the abundance of Philippine flora and our wide array of plant-based dishes that are important to our many local communities’ economy, culture, and resilience. The fiesta featured food innovations by participating chefs and small food businesses and an organic talipapa to promote interest in keeping our native biodiversity alive. Gulay Pa More! also aimed to promote Philippine food heritage and plant-based cuisine, raise awareness on sustainable food systems, foster solidarity and create community, honor the invaluable work of farmers, small producers and advocates, and institutionalize this fiesta as an annual event.
Co-organizing the event, the Institute for Social Entrepreneurship in Asia (ISEA) and the Poverty Reduction Through Social Entrepreneurship (PRESENT) Coalition also joined the fiesta with a mini-booth featuring social enterprise products. As part of the campaign to mainstream the PRESENT Bill advocacy, a raffle promo was available for every booth visitors during the event.
ISEA President and PRESENT Coalition Convenor, Marie Lisa Dacanay welcomed the fiesta-goers in behalf of the Gulay Pa More organizers. She also thanked the partner organizations and sponsors of the first-ever celebration of Philippine flora! Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte also joined us in our advocacy towards the passing of the PRESENT Bill.
This event was organized by Good Food Community, Agroecology X, Gulay Na, Lokalpedia, Masipag and PRESENT Coalition in partnership with University of the Philippines – Diliman and ISEA. It is supported by SAMASA, Oxfam Pilipinas, Foundation for a Sustainable Society, Inc. (FSSI), Foundation for the Philippine Environment, Agroecology X, Mga Likha ni Inay, CARD, and CARD MRI Hijos Tours.