- ̗̀ SJCS x Makesense ̖́-
[ part one : sense camp ]
Looking back at my first semester of IB, I can say that a good number of unforgettable memories came from attending Sensecamp 2018. See, I discovered the event through my older sister, Natalia. She had a friend who worked for Makesense, an international non-profit organization that organised the said event. Anyways, with their help, my friends and I were able to register for the event.
Truth be told, I felt a tad bit out of place because of the age ranges of the other Sensecampers. Most of them were about their late 20s to their mid 30s, whereas we, my friends and I, were all teens. I felt rather nervous at first. I was worried that our age gaps might prove a challenge when it came to talking with the other Sensecampers. I really wanted to meet new people and learn more about different cultures, especially since the demographic of the Sensecampers who attended was very diverse: French, Thailand, Indonesia, etc…
Fortunately, the other Sensecampers were more than friendly. One Sensecamper in particular, Harold, even played in the game room with us! Also, the event itself allowed for various networking opportunities through games, speed ‘dating’ and parties. I met a lot of different people: Malo, Hugo, Harold, Peachy, Pepper, Ryan, and Alex. I learned a lot about their jobs, their home countries and the advocacies they stand for. Majority of them worked for the government like Malo and Hugo. Others were affiliated with other international organisations like Ryan who was from Greenpeace. Some were just ordinary citizens that wanted to help the environment.
I also noticed that a lot of the people were entrepreneurs who had start-ups that aligned with the theme of the Sensecamp which is Sustainable Tourism. Basically, sustainable tourism is a concept of having an system for tourism that is sustainable and healthy for the environment. It focuses not just on how much tourism will earn, but the consequences of the decisions and actions to the environment.
Admittedly, I knew little about the subject. It was all foreign to me. However, the event provided numerous speakers who talked about the theme and educated me a lot about the subject. We were introduced to certain advocacies and different ways to align lifestyles to the theme of sustainability. One advocacy that struck a chord was the #DietForClimate one by Greenpeace. Moreover, the camp served vegan dishes throughout the entire duration to keep up with the theme of sustainability.
I didn’t just learn more about sustainability and the environment though. I also learned a lot about my friends. The night that the four of us spent together in the log cabin is a special night to me. I think we all became closer as friends that night and we really opened up to each other. We just kept sharing stories and making jokes. It was such a fun time and will always be a memory that I will forever cherish.
Overall, I think the Sensecamp changed me. I was never one to truly and actively advocate for something, but after this camp, I started becoming more wary of my food and consumer choices. I also started making a greater effort to save paper and conserve energy. Even my friends who didn’t attend the camp with me noticed my sudden passion for the environment.
Anyways, I’m really glad that I was able to partake in this event. I do not regret attending this one bit. The things that I learned in this camp were things I couldn’t have learned in school or in everyday life. It was such a wonderful opportunity to be surrounded by individuals who not only want to help the environment but are actually doing something about it as well. Being immersed in such a proactive environment influenced me and my friends. On our way home, we talked and we decided we wanted to apply what we learned and do something good for the environment as well.
xxx
[ part two : dietforclimate ]
Like I said earlier, the advocacy that really struck a chord in me and my friends was the #DietForClimate advocacy. We were baffled after finding out that meat consumption can actually contribute to climate change. We didn’t realise the gravity of our everyday decisions. Turns out, our mere choice of what to eat can help prevent climate change.
Moreover, the food served at the camp were all vegan, but even so, they were extremely delicious and were plated in a way that made even a veggie hater’s mouth water. I personally love vegetables so I fully appreciated every bit of the dishes. However, my friends were not as open to vegetables as me, but they still really enjoyed the dishes and were surprised that they lack the extremely obvious veggie taste.
Thus, we decided that we wanted to bring the #DietForClimate advocacy to our school. After numerous discussions, we came up with the #DietForClimate Cooking Workshop. It was an idea we were all very excited about. I reached out to Pepper Limpoco of Makesense and she connected me to Ryan Bestre of Greenpeace who then connected me to Tina Hernandez-Pedraya. Together, they helped me invite Chef Mabi David who graciously agreed to teach two vegan dishes to the students of Saint Jude Catholic School.
Honestly, the participants were all pretty shocked that the dishes tasted so good. When I was promoting the event to them, majority of them were less inclined because of the term ‘veganism.’ I think they expected salads or something. Thankfully, Chef Mabi taught us some pretty awesome dishes that we can cook in our own households. The dishes were Adobong Langka sa Gata and Tofu Teriyaki.
My heart felt very happy seeing everyone really engage themselves in the workshop. They were all enjoying themselves and some were discovering their inner chefs! The taste testing was my favourite part because everyone started congratulating each other and praising each others dishes. I’m really thankful that the event went well and I couldn’t have organised it without the help of Bianca, Ethan, Chloe, Pepper, Ryan, Tina, and Chef Mabi. Here’s to more to come!!
