I got a place in Rockwell. So I am going for it. It’s a bit tight but I’ve decided to go for it. Launch G Stuff. It’s stuff I personally like. It’s following my dictum on health and giving. I used my money, but 100 percent of the profit goes to help the communities I am dealing with in the Green Initiative. The whole concept is geared towards feeling, “Yes! This is the way to go.â€
G stands for so many things: G – Gina. Things I like. G also stands for green – it’s good for the environment. It stands for Good. Good for the community, 100 percent of the profits will help sustain communities around the country — particularly those involved in the Green Initiative, which was launched in May. G means good for you — it’s totally healthy. The food line of G Stuff has no white sugar, white flour, chemicals, preservatives or anything unhealthy. G Stuff is also a commitment to things local. We have so much in this country. I am not rigidly local, but where we can use local, we should. It will jack up the economy in our country. My staff came up with other ideas G — giftable. We wanted something with some pizzazz, refinement.
G Stuff also has a VCO line. I wanted to help this indigenous community in Brooke’s Point that lived in Mt. Matalingahan, a gorgeous mountain range with lush bio diversity (according to Conservation Internationale). I needed to find a way to bring up their standard of living while living amid this God-given paradise. Since there were so many coconut trees and they earned so little from copra (P12 a hectare!), why not put up a VCO plant?
With the money from Manny Pacquiao (P5 million), I put up a VCO plant that cost P1.5 million. The Philippine Coconut Authority guided us all the way. The last time I was there I was so impressed with the meticulousness of the process.
The VCO line has scents. I have a fragrance line called Island Scents — with Sampaguita, Ylang-Ylang, Rosal — I have already stopped using the fragrances I buy from the States. I was taken aback when I found out that even if I had bought things from a health food store – it had ingredients (methylparaben) that I was told were carcinogenic. I figured the more products I have that use VCO, the more VCO I will need, and the more I can help the community. My aspiration is to be able to eradicate poverty in the area through care of the environment.
Healing crystals will also be available in G Stuff, which was introduced to me by Dr. Rey Villoria. This is salt from Ilocos exposed 1,300 degrees centigrade for 96 hours. Forty-eight hours for cooking the salt. It is very pure salt.
I was supposed to have a root canal. I then found out that if I cut the nerve in my tooth, eventually the whole tooth would die and even the teeth around it. So I decided to try brushing my teeth with the healing crystals. Lo and behold — the pain disappeared. It’s been three years and the pain has not come back! What I do now is I mix the salt with baking powder, and put drops of clove oil and VCO. It’s the best ever for oral hygiene.
In G Stuff, nothing, but nothing, will be unhealthy. That’s my commitment.
From beginning to end G Stuff is about people coming together in a spirit of giving. The design of the store is by Grace Eleazar – a dear friend who is a creative design genius. She is currently launching an amazing retirement home in Tagaytay. I went there last week. It’s remarkable! Nestled in the natural surroundings of Tagaytay — the units are so reasonable. They come fully furnished and with access to 48 health sessions a year! The fees range from P5,000 to P18,000 a month. That’s so, so reasonable. What’s specialabout her retirement homes is that they come with the “software†– health programs that I believe in. I like her project because it gives life to the possibility of having the Philippines as the retirement haven of the elderly.
Grace designed the store. When she first showed me the sketches – plants in the background, grass carpet for the flooring, I felt wow! So my type. It will look unlike any Rockwell store.
Then I got celebrity chefs to donate their expertise and come up with yummies using the resources of the community (pili nuts, cacao) — within the parameters of G Stuff. I have to hand it to these chefs. I called them on a Friday – and they came full force on a Monday. I totally love them. They came up with delicacies a week later. This is their donation to the country – yummies carrying their name. Enjoy, and send them gratitude for caring. The challenge is to be able to mass-produce and still bear the essence of their creativity.
Sandy Daza, the owner of Wooden Spoon, a food columnist and an icon in the culinary field for 20 years, created a special gourmet tuyo. Glenda Barretto, the owner and the genius behind the successful Via Mare Restaurant, made a yummy version of pili popcorn and coco jam, which is perfectly paired with suman. Myrna Segismundo, the owner of 9501 (the exclusive dining restaurant in ABS-CBN), prepared her own crunchy and creamy versions of carabao cheese and roasted bell pepper dip and spicy Pinoy sambal.
Gilbert Pangilinan of Kai Catering prepared vegetarian chips made of sweet potatoes, yam and beets and two kinds of salad dressing: the red onion honey grape seed and wafu dressing. We dressed fresh alugbati in wafu and it tasted spectacular. Chef Him Uy De Baron, the owner of Nomama Restaurant, created his own version of pili trail mix. Chef Jessie Sincioco, the owner of Chef Jessie Restaurant and the first Filipina pastry chef, baked flourless mini-pili cupcakes with banana and jackfruit. And completing the roster of famous chefs working with me is chef Robby Goco, the owner of Cyma Restaurant and Green Pasture, who prepared different flavors of hamburger starters. I don’t eat meat, however, I will include Robby’s starters because my kids are carnivores and this is something that they will like.
G Stuff store is a work in progress. I am sure I will have many more products that will evolve as my staff, my friends and I go around the country. I am upbeat because the starting point is right. The foundation is pure and correct. I love the products. The process involves people working together. How can we go wrong?
Even the contractor gave me a huge discount. Everyone came in to help... I am so sure if only for that the shop will be a big success.
G Stuff is located at the fourth floor, Rockwell Power Plant Mall. It is beside Payless and Music Academy. Get your Christmas stuff from there. Oct. 26 to 27 is the big launch. We work together. We make a difference. We have this life. We make our country better.
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I can be reached at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com.