If the Philippines had its own version of Modern Farmer magazine, Cherrie Atilano would be on the cover of an issue. She’s the founder of a social enterprise called AGREA, whose goals are to help eradicate poverty for farming and fishing families, alleviate the effects of climate change and help establish food security in the Philippines. That’s a lot for even the biggest organizations! So how does a young Filipina farmer even begin to address those challenges? Cherrie’s story is equal parts thrilling and educational - and totally entwined with the greater story of Philippine agriculture. Show notes 01:10 Young Filipino farmers 04:50 Building a "one-island economy" 05:50 3 pillars of AGREA 09:00 What agriculture looks like today 10:05 "I found my purpose" 10:55 Dad's wisdom in salt 11:30 Why a farmer's life is like a period and a comma 14:20 Growing up on a sugarcane farm 16:30 How a book on gardening changed everything 19:55 "I did not want to be a doctor" 20:30 Learning agriculture 21:30 Moving to Manila 23:00 Starting the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm 24:05 Inspiration behind AGREA 25:30 Life on an island 28:00 Creating an "ecology of dignity" 32:45 Developing values, technical skills and financial literacy 36:50 AGREA in action 40:15 "We're all in this together" 43:25 Training agri-preneurs 44:50 The garden classroom 46:35 Resilient kids 48:45 Lessons from a 10 year old Links for this episode * Learn more about AGREA's programs here. * Watch Cherrie's talk on "How to make farming cool for young people" at the EAT Asia-Pacific Food Forum. * Follow Cherrie on Instagram @farmerpinay! SUBSCRIBE TO EXPLORING FILIPINO KITCHENS AND SHARE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW!