What does community supported agriculture look like in the Philippines today? This episode we chat with Charlene Tan, who started the Good Food Community CSA (community supported agriculture) program with a small group of volunteers in 2010. Back then, the idea of fresh vegetables delivered weekly to your door - to city dwellers who lived in Manila - wasn’t such a common concept. After all, if you had your pick of produce available at grocery stores, why lock yourself into a limited supply of vegetables that you may not even know how to cook with? But Char and her team were determined to make a difference - in the lives of the farmers they came to know well, and in what people thought about locally-grown, backyard “bahay kubo” vegetables. It truly takes a village to succeed, and eight years on, the Good Food Community’s growing base of customers and advocates prove that sustainable agriculture and profitable farming can co-exist in the Philippines. Show notes 02:05 Food sustainability in the media 04:00 About Good Food Community 05:35 Starting a community supported agriculture program 08:55 "It was something completely new" 11:30 Consumer challenges 12:10 The "bahay kubo" vegetables 15:45 Farmer challenges 19:25 Food accessibility in the Philippines 20:10 Building a cooperative 21:45 On rice and food security 24:10 Ate Lady - a young, model farmer 27:55 Weekly "bayong" deliveries 29:45 "There are many ways to talk about sustainability" 31:50 Hopefully, a movement 33:10 Choosing the riches we have 34:00 Working with agriculturists 35:45 Building relationships and presence 36:40 A sense of place Links for this episode * Learn more about how the Good Food Community started and their CSA farm share program. Then follow them on Instagram! * Read "Why The Philippines May Run Out Of Fish By 2048", my winning essay for the 2018 Food Sustainability Media Award. * Also check out this lovely feature from CNN Life on four women who are changing Philippine agriculture. Char is in great company! SUBSCRIBE TO EXPLORING FILIPINO KITCHENS AND SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!