Kwaderno by Jacinto&Lirio

Live A Story Worth Telling

#LiveAStoryWorthTelling

We all have a story to tell. Sometimes, we find it in the unexpected. Little do we realize that what we think is meaningless, can actually bring us great value. We only need to start looking at things differently. Seeing the extraordinary in every day, and believing in the possibilities of what could be. Soon we’ll find ourselves with an empowering story—a story worth telling. A story worth living out.

If our story inspired you, inspire others as well! Tell a story on how you are empowered to live the life you choose to live. We want to know what makes you unique and most importantly, how you embody your style in your everyday life. Share your story with us on facebook and twitter or email us at contact@jacintoandlirio.com.

My #LiveaStoryWorthTelling Entry: Living God’s Dream for My Life

by Anne Krystle Chua Mariposa

Don’t Waste you Life by John Piper

It was not always plain to me that pursuing God’s glory would
be virtually the same as pursuing my joy. Now I see that millions of people waste their lives because they think these
paths are two and not one.

Waste a day? a BIG NO NO to me. What more wasting a lifetime? Productivity and efficiency is one of my core values. This also came out when I took a test to find out my personal chazown, which is God’s unique purpose that’s solely mine to fulfill.

www.chazown.com has offered a free online test which allowed me to form my life’s purpose statement:

To lead a God-centered fashion business that strives for excellence and efficiency while maintaining a harmonious relationship with my coworkers and other stakeholders that is brought about by transparency, collaboration, diversity, teamwork and concern for people and the environment.

Before I was able to form this, I had to connect my core values, spiritual gifts, and past experiences and environment.

I grew up with Chinese parents who like most Chinese families would train their child how to do business as early as 7 years old. At that young age you would already see me in our TERRIE boutique at Virramall or Greenhills doing sales talk to customers.

My business sense was also seen in school. I pioneered the selling of stickers and handmade paper envelops when I was just grade one. During Christmas, I would sell TERRIE accessories and clothes to my classmates.

My whole mother side was all in the fashion RTW retail business. I always wondered why they didn’t just form one brand, so that with their combined efforts there will be more fruits.

This explains why teamwork is such a big motivating factor in my life. I get most inspired to work when I’m working with committed and passionate people all working to achieve one goal.

From here you can see that fashion is one of the seeds that grew in me. When exposed to something so much, it’s either you will hate it or love it. In my case, it became my passion. As young as seven years old, I told my mom that I wanted my own department store someday, but I knew that I couldn’t do this alone. I had to have a partner. I have to collaborate with others.

And then, there it was. God gave me Jacinto & Lirio. God also blessed me with a partner whose so into collaboration. A partner named Noreen, whose strengths are my weaknesses, whose weaknesses are my strengths.

It’s so funny because I just realized then that my connection to an eco-fashion company like Jacinto & Lirio was the fruit of my inclination to recycling back in my elementary years. This was mostly seen in my artworks at school or my newspaper/old magazine pages gift wrappers for Christmas presents I give out to my friends during Christmas. As a matter of fact, they used to call me “Ms. Recycle.”

My innate love for recycling can also be seen in my “need” to create something out of garbage. Whenever I see broken accessories or other objects that would be considered as trash, I always try to fix it and make a new product out of it that I can use. Usually the new product I create has something to do with fashion products.

With Jacinto & Lirio, I am indeed creating something stylish out of a pest. I am the Creative Director of the brand, so my main task is to design products out of the water hyacinth and turn it into something of value. Value, not just to the eyes of the end consumers, but value to the lives of the less fortunate.

Right now, I cant say that I have fully fulfilled my God given purpose in life. But one thing is for sure, I am confident that God is continually molding my passion, to be in line with His dream for my life.

#LiveAStoryWorthTelling

We all have a story to tell. Sometimes, we find it in the unexpected. Little do we realize that what we think is meaningless, can actually bring us great value. We only need to start looking at things differently. Seeing the extraordinary in every day, and believing in the possibilities of what could be. Soon we’ll find ourselves with an empowering story—a story worth telling. A story worth living out.

If our story inspired you, inspire others as well! Tell a story on how you are empowered to live the life you choose to live. We want to know what makes you unique and most importantly, how you embody your style in your everyday life. Share your story with us on facebook and twitter or email us at contact@jacintoandlirio.com.

Mythbuster : A Jacinto & Lirio Internship Experiment (Part1)

by: Lia Malferrari

There’s a show on the Discovery Channel called Mythbusters where the most common myths are either proven to be true or busted. The team goes through a series of experiments to see if there is any substance behind what could have been a rumor grossly blown out of proportion or an actual fact passed from one generation to the next. I enjoy that show because (1) I always love learning new things especially about things I thought I already understood, and (2) the team’s quips and personalities are just so fun to watch.

My summer at Jacinto & Lirio was sort of like that, a summer of learning new things about stuff I thought I already learned in school and while working, and of being surrounded by a team with great personalities (J&L board & fellow interns included) who were fun to be around. As for the myths to be busted? Let’s tackle them below one by one.

Myth: It’s too late to start over
I’m 24, graduated in 2008 with a degree in Business Administration and you could only imagine that applying for an internship at my age and time in my life (I graduated 4 years ago, which is already an entire college life for someone else) was not easy. I had already worked at one of the top companies in the country where I was receiving a substantial pay and awesome benefits package and did not know if I could go back to something unpaid and usually reserved for incoming 4th year students. What pushed me to send that email to Noreen (J&L CEO) asking if I could still participate was that nagging feeling at the bottom of my stomach that somehow this experience would change my life and open me up to new experiences and to a world I was not a part of before, and that what I gain working for them in experience would be worth so much more than working freelance instead during my free time. I realized through my work with Jacinto and Lirio that it is never too late to start over, change the path, and enter a new world. You just need the willingness to give up a lot of things, lower your pride, and open your mind to possibilities.

Myth: That businessmen (usually pictured in their Armani suits and Alligator dress shoes – and usually male), are nothing but power hungry piranhas who feed on the less fortunate and work toward nothing but profit, profit, profit.
As a woman into business myself, and a daughter of a self-made entrepreneur, this was never a myth I believed in. But I know, ever since my days in college, that a lot of people outside the business world have that misconception that businessmen are nothing but corporate slave drivers (and why are they always male as default?) who don’t care about anything except making money. Maybe all those people should get to know our world a little more and maybe they should start with the social entrepreneurs I’ve met during my internship. Never before have I seen more powerful women taking a stand against global issues and working on uplifting our pride as a nation until I entered the world of Social Entrepreneurship. Women like Noreen and Anne have showed me that there are businesses who legitimately care (and not just for their CSR / Marketing campaigns) about others and try to make a difference in the world. And although it is natural for a business to care about profits, there is so much more that drives the business to continue. To take a quote from Gawad Kalinga – Less for self, more for others, enough for all, and these businesswomen I met over the summer embody this philosophy to the core.

A Meaningful Summer at Jacinto & LIrio

by : Hannah To

Gone are the days of bumming around from morning to night. This summer had been an incredibly busy one for me—not because it had to be, but because I wanted it to be. Nothing beats the gratification I get from helping other people while enjoying and learning at the same time.

Working for Jacinto and Lirio is a blast. I’ve certainly become more aware of the problems in our community; at the same time realize how beautiful and rich it is. I decided to work for Jacinto and Lirio because I wanted a backstage pass to the world of social entrepreneurship and the retail industry at the same time. I didn’t expect to learn so much from plainly marketing the products, and I owe that to the brand’s inspiring advocacy.

Upon working as an intern, I realized that pursuing a social enterprise isn’t a one-shot deal. There are a lot of factors to consider, and it isn’t as easy as creating a typical start-up business. Our items don’t sell out as fast as other commercial products, our direct partnership with the community is time-consuming, but the customers are happy and the community is served. The results are amazingly rewarding. I’m very thankful to work alongside a very responsible and motivated bunch. Not only are they serious with the tasks at hand, but they’re also very helpful and inspiring. I learned a lot from my fellow interns, too. These are the kind of people we should be cultivating ourselves into.

Our country—although it has been through a lot—is still very young. A lot of communities remain untapped, a lot of riches yet uncovered. There is beauty in the Philippines, therefore there is hope. I did not write this entry to talk about how I changed people’s lives, but how a certain group of people changed mine.

One day, my grandchildren will ask me to tell them my story. I’d want my story to be worth telling, so that they’d want theirs to be worth telling, as well. It’s never too early or too late to help the world become a better place. You can start small; start by internalizing the fact that we have a wealthy community, but we can do a lot more to make it even better. I never thought I’d learn so much in one summer.

Creating Meaning Through Business

by Noreen Marian Bautista

"The meaning of life is to give life meaning."
-Ken Hudgins

Last Thursday, April 19, we reconnected again with our community partners in Pampanga. They are some of the amazing women expertly working on the water hyacinth material showcased in each Kwaderno by Jacinto & Lirio journal cover.

Their careful attention to the water hyacinth craft has given them so much fulfillment in work and in life
Who would have thought a pest plant was the source of the inspiration behind this?

We conducted a visioning session for the group to map out our strategic direction together.

The session started with a meaningful sharing of the successes we are most proud of ever since we embarked on this journey. It's interesting for us to do that, because in sessions before, we would usually start talking about problems and challenges, and our next steps to address them.

Because the reality is, we have A LOT of CHALLENGES.

This social enterprise endeavor is no joke. Linking design markets and community livelihoods is like building the longest bridge in the world!

But our facilitator that day reminded us that challenges are actually consequences of previous triumphs. Facing difficulty in any endeavor is an indicator that one has surpassed a challenge before. Think about it. We are where we are now, because we hurdled many hurdles in the past.

That insight gave A LOT OF MEANING. Right then and there, our community partners, and myself as part of Jacinto&Lirio, agreed that we all came so far and we should be proud. One thing we are most proud of is how strong our relationships have become. We no longer look at each other as simply business partners. But it's more of a common respect and friendship being exchanged.

This is what gives life meaning. The relationships built with people. The solidarity created with whom you work with as you all do great work.

We still have so much to do. But we are smiling, because what we are doing is of greater purpose, and we have surpassed previous challenges that came in our way.

Special thanks to our training and development friends who helped facilitate the visioning session!

Darby Bognot of DTI Pampanga, Noreen from Jacinto&Lirio and

volunteer facilitators -Rina Sarmiento and JQ Quesada

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Clarisse for Jacinto & Lirio

Our cover girl Clarisse talks about her experience in the Philippines and with Jacinto & Lirio.

Jacinto & Lirio and Social Entrepreneurship

We are actively working with the Community Supplier Development (CSD) Model of our own company, EcoIngenuity Inc. Through this model, we seek to collaborate with partner community suppliers for the indigenous materials and strengthen their sense of entrepreneurship. By being partners in the production process, our community suppliers join us in creating eco-fashion innovations, unique to the Filipino identity. This is the heart of Jacinto & Lirio.

Advocacy

Investing in Philippine livelihoods and indigenous materials

The water hyacinth (commonly called water lily) is the most damaging aquatic plant worldwide because of its capability to reproduce at an extraordinary rate becomes a hindrance for water transport and hastens the occurrence of floods in lakeside and riverside communities.

What are we doing about it?

With the recognition of the problem, the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry has encouraged the transformation of water hyacinth to commercial value. In various places in the Phillippines, the water hyacinth stalks already have a history of handicraft production where they are woven into placemats and bags and more.

Like the people in these communities, Jacinto&Lirio knows that there is more to the water hyacinth than meets the eye. In finding ways to utilize this invasive plant, we believe that we do not only give life back to a deadened environment but we also give a livelihood to affected communities.

Our Story

Jacinto & Lirio is the flagship brand of EcoIngenuity Inc. that showcases the innovative plant leather like the water hyacinth into fashionable and functional statement bags and accessories through sustainable and eco-friendly means.

The water hyacinth has severely infested Philippine waters with its rapid rate of proliferation. It grows in mats up to 2 meters wide which can reduce light and oxygen, change water chemistry, and affect local flora and fauna. It also causes problems in marine transportation, fishing and irrigation. By clogging up waterways, it causes floods and increased pollution. Bodies of water have also become breeding grounds for mosquitoes and cemeteries for living organisms because of the still, anaerobic water.

But there was more to this pest plant that met the eye. The founders of the brand met local Filipino innovators who introduced what they called water hyacinth leather -- the plant's stalks turned into a leather-like material which inspired the creation of Jacinto&Lirio. The brand, in fact, takes its name from this plant (Jacinto&Lirio means "hyacinth and lily"). Inspired by the Filipino ingenuity, it has taken the call to showcase indigenous innovation of plant leather into unique fashion pieces while contributing to make positive sustainable impact in society.

Currently, Jacinto&Lirio is partnered with the women-empowering efforts of the Cora Cares Foundation and San Fernando Pampanga Community Assocciation. Community expansion would include other areas with wide water hyacinth proliferation. Through creating well-designed, unique and stylish bags, Jacinto&Lirio improves the lives of people from both ends of the spectrum—the communities who are empowered through meaningful work, and the people purchasing who are enriched by the fashionable products Jacinto&Lirio has created. By also contributing to the Philippines’ dynamic and vibrant fashion industry, Jacinto&Lirio will be the first of its kind to emerge—revealing the ingenuity of the Filipino people to the rest of the world.

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