March 11, 2025
Tzu Chi joins “SheSustains Marketplace” for ADB’s Gender Month
By Joy Rojas
Products from Tzu Chi Philippines’ bakery, Great Love Village in Palo, Leyte, and Waste to Wonder initiative were showcased at the recent “SheSustains Marketplace,” a selling exhibition organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as part of its International Women’s Day and Gender Month celebration from March 4 to 7 at the bank’s headquarters.
Spearheaded by ADB’s Gender Equality Division, the event highlighted the work of women entrepreneurs and community artisans and their role in maintaining sustainable businesses that benefit many.
As one of 10 non-government organizations and women-owned and women-led enterprises to participate in the exhibition, Tzu Chi sold vegan baked goods like focaccia and ciabatta, and breads flavored in raisin molasses and walnut, Italian herb, lemon turmeric, lemon cranberry, and turmeric lemon pumpkin seed.
Likewise popular among shoppers were the items created by the women of Tzu Chi Palo Great Love Village in Leyte, who learned viable skills from Tzu Chi volunteers in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013. Included were tote bags in donated denim and hand-painted with uplifting messages, handy pouches accented with clean cross-stitched designs, and multi-purpose cleaner with stain- and odor-eliminating properties made from discarded fruit peels, as well as rugs handwoven from the excess material of sports socks from the foundation’s upcycling program.
Proceeds from the sale of Tzu Chi products help fund the foundation’s key missions in disaster relief, medical assistance, education, and livelihood.
(From left) Tzu Chi volunteers Cathy Nepomuceno, Melani Mapili, and Helen Lo manned Tzu Chi Philippines’ exhibit area in Day 3 of Asian Development Bank’s “SheSustains Marketplace,” a selling exhibition organized by ADB in its headquarters as part of its International Women’s Day and Gender Month celebration from March 4 to 7.
Waste to Wonder’s product line ranges from bags made with donated denim and hand-painted with uplifting messages to multi-purpose cleaners using discarded fruit peels to make stain- and odor-eliminating enzymes.
Other bestsellers were flavored vegan breads from Tzu Chi’s bakery. Shoppers were allowed to sample unusual variants like raisin molasses and walnut, Italian herb, lemon turmeric, lemon cranberry, and turmeric lemon pumpkin seed.
Clean, cross-stitched handiwork is the trademark of bags and pouches made by the women of Tzu Chi Palo Great Love Village.