10 December 2021, Concepcion Industrial Corporation (CIC), KM20 East Service Road, Muntinlupa. FEED arrived at 2:30pm at the CIC facility to first complete the RT-PCR test prior to carrying out the Food Forest training of 25 staff in the basics of urban gardening, utilizing a combination of native Philippine vegetable seeds and cuttings for CIC’s vertical wall.

CIC coined their project Harvest for Hope, inspired by their desire to green their outdoor workspaces and to contribute to carbon capture on their facility, being situated in the highly urbanized Muntinlupa area. Five teams comprising 5 staff were organized into groups in order to make the hands on gardening workshop more effective: Plantitas of CLS Corp; Green Thumbs; Plantita Yam; OTC Billing Tea; and Late Bloomers.

FEED’s training was carried out by Diane Penales, VP Operations, who focused on the demonstration of establishing seedling trays, seed preparation, cuttings care, and the benefits of the root and other crops; and Anne-Marie Mananquil Bakker, Director, Partnerships who delivered the Sustainability Talk and background on Climate Change and why it matters so much to plant in urban settings, more so now that the prices of commodities just keep going up. Best thing about the training was that participants brought their own planting materials, upcycled from generic soda bottles!

CIC’s Harvest for Hope program is a concrete example of how civil society can make a significant contribution to the Earth’s greening, even if it may seem so small, every effort to capture carbon and produce climate smart greens in the city is a step towards a greener future for all; not to mention a possible community contribution project, whereby seeds harvested can be harnessed, dried and shared with others less fortunate in ones surroundings; as well as health and wellness therapy while at work, encouraging everyone to get involved in nurturing for their own plants.

Concepcion Business Services, Inc. (CBSI), CIC’s shared services group, also held their greening the Sierra Madre planting last 15 June 2019, planting 360 native Philippine forest trees in Siniloan, Laguna, as part of their efforts to offset their carbon footprint.