BCCC Gapan Photo Blog

more graduation photos

2011-09-21T15:05:00.000+08:00

Joy

2011-09-21T15:03:00.000+08:00

joy got a scholarship to study business in Manila. This is a graduation photo

still here

2011-07-26T10:57:00.001+08:00

my camera is being used to take photos at trade fairs, so no photos to post, alas.

Music

2011-04-09T15:17:00.000+08:00

three little maids are we

2010-12-06T07:50:00.001+08:00

Baby photos

2010-12-06T07:49:00.001+08:00

Our office

2010-11-09T13:10:00.001+08:00

It's puppy time again

2010-11-09T13:05:00.000+08:00

Local small business meeting

2010-02-24T10:46:00.001+08:00

Main Street Sandal festival

2010-02-24T10:44:00.000+08:00

it gives an idea of the street vendors.

We now have opened a new Palenke in town...when I get my camera back I'll post photos.

happy Valentinte's day

2010-02-14T10:20:00.000+08:00

Trade Fair

2010-01-10T13:29:00.003+08:00

our booth is part of a tableau of several booths for the regional products that were set up in a Manila mall before Christmas.

Our booth at another tradefair

2010-01-10T13:29:00.001+08:00

Beware of the Dog

2010-01-10T13:23:00.000+08:00

Our Trade Fair Booth

2010-01-10T13:22:00.000+08:00

in the Green house

2010-01-10T13:20:00.000+08:00

greenhouse is to develop seedlings to plant for organically grown vegetables.

Ruby and friend representing local crafts

2009-09-01T13:56:00.001+08:00

From Unang Sigaw 2009

With the Governor of NE

2009-09-01T13:54:00.001+08:00

From Unang Sigaw 2009

LINEMA float

2009-09-01T13:51:00.001+08:00

Unang Sigaw ng Nueva Ecija

2009-09-01T13:48:00.001+08:00

At the Tsinalis (Sandle) festival

2009-08-26T16:42:00.002+08:00

From robin and family 2009

Queen Ruby

From robin and family 2009

More sandals

2009-07-23T08:18:00.000+08:00

Sandals

2009-07-23T08:17:00.000+08:00

many small businesses make sandals under the "one trade/one city" idea.

Inspecting our workshop

2009-07-23T08:16:00.000+08:00

Our workers make the capiz flower lamps in a bedroom where there are a lot of open windows and fans to guarantee the fumes exhaust well.

Meeting with Sect Foreign affairs

2009-07-23T08:14:00.000+08:00

YUM Waterbuffalo milk

2009-07-23T08:13:00.000+08:00

Giving a talk at the President's palace

2009-07-23T08:11:00.000+08:00

Trade Fair Cabanatuan

2009-07-06T15:37:00.001+08:00

Kitties

2009-06-10T11:46:00.000+08:00

riding the water buffalo

2009-06-10T11:44:00.000+08:00

Flores de Mayo in Cabanatuan

2009-05-30T09:40:00.000+08:00

Selling local products at a nearby trade fair

2009-05-29T11:40:00.000+08:00

Flores de Mayo queen

2009-05-29T11:38:00.000+08:00

Ruby represented McDonald's kiddy crew program

Flores de Mayo

2009-05-29T11:36:00.000+08:00

Provincal business organization

2009-05-29T11:35:00.000+08:00

the leaders after their swearing in ceremony

McDonalds

2009-05-23T09:41:00.000+08:00

McDonald Kiddy crew

2009-05-23T09:39:00.000+08:00

The local McDonalds sponsors "kiddie crews"...the school aged kids go there, attend some classes, do some crafts, and work behind the counter. The beautiful young girl is Ruby...

YUM LECHON

2009-05-02T15:46:00.000+08:00

From Fiesta 2009

Cooking in the outdoor kitchen

2009-05-02T15:45:00.000+08:00

From Fiesta 2009

Four little Kitties

2009-05-02T15:27:00.000+08:00

Capiz chandelier

2009-04-24T11:54:00.000+08:00

Trade fair in Manila

2009-04-24T11:52:00.000+08:00

Trade Fair take two

2009-04-24T11:51:00.000+08:00

Trade Fair

2009-04-24T11:46:00.000+08:00

This is our booth at the big Trade Fair in Manila

For you

2009-03-17T11:02:00.001+08:00

pottery making

2009-03-17T11:02:00.000+08:00

learning to make a pot at the local potter's house.

and the puppies eat the bread that falls from the table...

2009-03-15T19:33:00.002+08:00

or in this case, rice or bones.

George the Killer dog

2009-03-04T17:11:00.000+08:00

Valentine's day

2009-02-13T09:43:00.002+08:00

a Valentine's day party with talks by a local pastor

Capiz orchids

2009-02-05T09:35:00.000+08:00

From ORCHIDS 3 20 07

more of the hand craft items we sponsor and sell

Chocolate Hills

2009-02-04T11:51:00.002+08:00

From bohol family vacation 5-8JUN06

Ruby at the Chocolate Hills...

WIKIPEDIA article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_Hills says:

The Chocolate Hills are conical karst hills similar to those seen in the limestone regions of Slovenia and Croatia, except that the Chocolate Hills have no caves.[6] According to the karst theory, "sea level changes and uplift combined with terrestrial erosion and air exposure of biogenic reef regions have given rise to hummocky landscapes that are often impregnated with sinkholes and caves." The Chocolate Hills are considered among the striking examples of this karst topography.[16] The Bungle Bungles in the Purnululu National Park in Western Australia feature similar sedimentary formations.

Rice terraces

2009-02-01T15:31:00.000+08:00

Great Grandmother

2009-02-01T15:27:00.000+08:00

She lived to be 96...

Local products: Picture frame

2009-01-30T19:42:00.000+08:00

From ORCHIDS 3 20 07

made of capiz shells.

Jolibee and Rubi

2009-01-29T13:26:00.000+08:00

an old photo...
Jolibee is a local fast food franchise...one is down the street from us.

it's mango season!

2009-01-29T13:22:00.000+08:00

capiz flowers

2009-01-19T08:11:00.000+08:00

From 6-11-2008 part one

Puffy is back

2009-01-16T11:16:00.001+08:00

From 6-11-2008 part one

the small pet dog Puffy wandered away, and some kind folks took him in and returned him when they saw the ad on the local TV cable station with his photo...

He lives upstairs with Ruby and hr small white female dog, Angel...

Traditional house

2009-01-10T09:12:00.004+08:00

this is the house of one of our relatives.

Traditional houses usually were hardwood.The windows open with sliding windows or shutters with capiz shells to let in the light, but can be locked at night.

This one is a bit newer, with concrete at the bottom and wood up higher, and glass windows. Note the bars on the windows to keep out thieves.

And check the neat fan palm in the garden.

Getting ready for the parade

2009-01-07T19:24:00.002+08:00

This is the bands and drill teams lining up for the Three Kings Fiesta parade.

Usually they line up behnd our house and march down the next street, but since the Palenke burnt down (and the new one is not yet open) the streets near us are blocked with shops and stalls.
So they lined up next to the old Municipal Building (which is due to reopen as a hospital in the near future) and started from there.

Bougainvillea

2009-01-02T13:11:00.002+08:00

bougainvillea grows almost like a vine, on long canes.. it usually has a few "flowers" on it, ....the colours are beautiful,and there are yellow and red types, but the most common one is this orchid or mauve color....it is not winter hardy, but in Oklahoma it grew and bloomed in spring, then stopped when the hot season came, then bloomed again in October...
LINK has more information.

view up the street

2008-12-31T11:19:00.000+08:00

Ten years ago, there were still fields here, and goats and waterbuffalo would graze in the fields.
The lots however are gradually being bought and houses are being built: note the new style house, made of concrete.

Also note the fields are not far away...the town mainly has grown up the street, where the new mall and city hall have been built, along the road to Manila

our new hand plow

2008-12-30T15:27:00.000+08:00

this enables farmers to turn over and prepare the field before hand planting rice.

Playing the Piano

2008-12-29T19:02:00.001+08:00

music is popular in the Philippines, and Pinoy entertainers are popular throughout Asia.
Like many families, the children learn the piano.
Our original piano was old and termite infested, so we had to get rid of it; so now we use an electronic Piano.

Party cooking in the Phiippines

2008-12-28T14:56:00.004+08:00

most affluent Filipino houses have two kitchens, one inside for "show" with a microwave and stove, and another often outside (so it will be cool) where the cooking is actually done.

We use propane and have three burners (one countertop stove, and one heavy single burner for the largest pots). Sometimes, we get out a barbecue grill for fish etc. too...usually the shopping is two or three days before the party, then the cooking is done the day before, or early in the morning for an evening meal...

Sometimes we buy the poultry and have to kill and defeather it...that way we are sure it is fresh...

If a "lechon" (barbecue suckling pig) is planned, it is ordered from the people who do this type of cooking.

This is a local cook (in front) who does party cooking (i.e. for large numbers of people). She is being helped by our two maids, local girls from the nearby farm area.

The girls come and go...usually they have 7th grade, and are not yet ready to marry, so they get a job to save up some money...then they leave, usually after six months to a year to marry or get a better paying job in a larger town...

banana trees

2008-12-26T11:23:00.000+08:00

some grow over 20feet

The Two doctors

2008-12-25T20:03:00.000+08:00

Robin teaching tie dyeing

2008-12-22T12:58:00.002+08:00

Robin plans to give a class today in Cabanatuan on tie dyeing cloth.

This is her "practice" session here yesterday

Inspecting the new water buffalo

2008-12-19T08:16:00.002+08:00

we have bought two water buffalos to plow the organic vegetable fields. This is the female...very gentle.
we have bou

Ruby at the Manila Ocean Park

2008-12-18T15:40:00.002+08:00

Festus looks sad

2008-12-17T19:17:00.002+08:00

this is Blackie's puppy. His two siblings have gone for Christmas presents, which is why he is sad.

our front yard

2008-12-16T11:28:00.001+08:00

we had bushes and palm trees here, but the palms got so big that there was a danger from the coconuts hitting cars in the streets, so we had to cut them down...
but we did replant two palms and plan to plant some more.

Drying rice

2008-12-14T16:03:00.002+08:00

One of our workers who was drying our rice.
Here, at harvest time, you have to drive slowly on the back roads because people dry their rice in the sun, not just on highways/roads but on basketball courts at the schools etc.

If there is no road, a plastic sheet will do.
We just harvested some rice from the second harvest and were drying it in our garden on a sunny day.

Organic brown rice

2008-12-13T14:33:00.000+08:00

one of our products

The worker's daughter

2008-12-12T14:40:00.000+08:00

one of the farmers and his family helps out here...this is his younger daughter, eating while mom is making custom made boxes for our products.

greenhouse

2008-12-11T15:08:00.001+08:00

From 6-11-2008 part one

This is the greenhouse used to grow seedlings for the organic vegetables.

Meeting room

2008-12-11T14:56:00.002+08:00

From Gift bags and other bccc products

this was a meeting with officials from the Department of agriculture about promoting organic vegetable growing in our area.

The room is our meeting room; if it looks a bit fancy, it is because we also hold classes, dinners, and parties there.

Lolo is working hard

2008-12-10T16:12:00.001+08:00

This is Lolo, who is a retired physician.

From around the house

He helps supervise the farm. But the photo shows him at leisure, reading his favorite newspaper.

Gift items

2008-12-10T16:03:00.001+08:00

From Gift bags and other bccc products

these are gift bags for Christmas made for one of our customers.

Inside we have a bag of our organic brown rice.

The designs are done by Kuya Reyes.

Wecome to our world

2008-12-10T06:11:00.000+08:00

This blog is being made because I bought a new camera and want to put photos about the Philippines on line.

It also will showcase our business, Better country community corporation, a small business that was started to bring jobs to this area. So far, we sell organic rice, sponsor a training farm to show local farmers to grow organic vegetables, and are starting a business selling capiz flowers as gifts (Capiz is a local shel).