GREEN Craftivist

If you have a beautiful garden hidden inside your home, will you open it for the public to see?   Many homes in Spain especially the old ones are designed to have a patio or courtyard garden. A courtyard or patio is an open space of Roman architecture influence. It is usually located in the center of the house to allow light and air into the other rooms.  Being the "core" of the house, it serves as an area for family entertainment and relaxation where you can enjoy nature and soak up in the sun. In the olden times, a patio or courtyard was normally surrounded by high walls to ensure privacy.  It could only be accessed from inside the main house.  When the Moslems came, they modified this design by creating an entrance from the street leading to the inner courtyard. During the period of tolerance when the Moslems, Jews and Christians co-existed as a community, the patios and courtyards were built with an atmosphere of openness signa...

Surfing is the only interesting thing about Siargao, or so I thought. With my one-and-a-half-year-old Viennese grandson in tow, we flew to Butuan City to visit some amazing tourist spots in Surigao del Sur. From Butuan, we took a ferry to Siargao Island and then a short van ride to Siargao Island Villas, our home for four fun-filled days.  COASTAL GARDENING Located along the main road but a bit farther away from the vibrant shopping area, the Siargao Island Villas is a sanctuary of beautifully landscaped, colorful tropical plants that thrive healthily even with sea water just a few feet away.   The gardener informed me that rain showers come at least once a week and the sandy soil is not mixed with any other soil nor fed with fertilizers. I had some doubts, but this brought back memories of my childhood years in Lubang Island where my mother grew beautiful, healthy plants in her garden despite scanty water supply, sandy soil and the salty ai...

Is there a better way to dispose of garbage and other items we do not need any more than just unmindfully dumping them in the trash bins? Many often look upon garbage disposal as a menial task that doesn't need any thinking, creative or otherwise, and meant only to be done by helpers and cleaners. Yet our current pollution and climate concerns lead us back to the manner by which we accumulate and dispose of garbage or things we do not anymore find useful. GARBAGE DISPOSAL AT HOME LEVEL Vienna has been voted as the Best City to Live in the World for 2023. In this city, good waste management practices start in the homes.  Every house has a dedicated garbage bin for each type of waste material into which children as young as toddlers are trained to properly throw plastic wrappers or containers, paper waste, glass bottles and things that rot.   This is reinforced by an educational system that teaches love of and respect for nature and the importance of...