His and Hers

No boundaries. No limits. F.A.R.M. fits all.

Grab a F.A.R.M. It fits you!

The F.A.R.M. Story

"My earnings from making F.A.R.M. bracelets go to my children's education. I earn a lot now compared before. When I started working for F.A.R.M., I was able to save some money. I was also able to invest in rice farming because of F.A.R.M." - Emily

"I came to Manay B when I was in 4^th year high school. My mom wanted me to stop school because my sister was attending college then and resources were not enough. My friend, Cathy, mentioned that there was somebody willing to send students to school so I grabbed the opportunity because I really did not want to give up my studies. If I stopped studying and started working, it would be hard for me to go back to school." - Grace

Award-winning writer and director Ray Defante Gibraltar documents the F.A.R.M. story in an interesting 20-minute film. Co-produced by F.A.R.M.ers Teresa Salah and Matt Ballesteros, the documentary will leave people thinking, "what have I done to help my community?"

A second preview is happening at the Buttons to Hope Meeting on February 6 at the Kopi Tiam Restaurant, Quezon City. Take part. We will see you there.

Back to sweet reality

The mother goose in mighty blue...

looking refreshed and reinvigorated, IS BACK!

You're back to sweet reality and it's time for sweet revenge. You owe us big time, Inay. Welcome back from the button of our hearts!

My Little F.A.R.M.er

He inspires me to do and write about wonderful things! I love the way he says, "These are buttons!"

Happy birthday Abram from F.A.R.M. and your fabulous mommy-F.A.R.M.er that is me :=)

Fabulous Mommy-F.A.R.M.er

As much as possible, we don't play favorites here (Favorite, adj. - getting too much exposure on the F.A.R.M. blog).

But how can we not? Our superstar F.A.R.M.s on her birthday holiday in Mexico! And lookee, she's fabulously pregnant! And looking good as ever!

Beautiful! Ok, ok, we DO play favorites. And Emily's definitely the one!

Picture Perfect!

Thank you prettylicious Jacky Joson for sending us your F.A.R.M. photos!

Yellows and browns look uber nice on you!

No lies - we lovette!!!!

Gear up for 2010!

Sorry guys Buttons to Hope isn't meeting this month. Just so many things up our sleeves lately. And the blogs are few - apologies.

But we gotta see you on February 6 for the first official meet-up this year. Save the date, please. We hope you have rested enough. Brace yourselves for the real hardwork in 2010!

Inay in America!

No, it's not true. It's not true that F.A.R.M.'s closing shop.

We may be in the midst of shortage and deep urge to F.A.R.M. again. But let's leave her alone right now, and at least for a few more weeks. Look, our Inay is having the time of her life...

Exploring America with F.A.R.M....

Sharing private joys...

Reminiscing and renewing bonds...

Let's give it to her. Let's be profusely happy for her well-deserved R & R.

Now start readying your lists. For when she comes back, it's a whole different story.

Cheers to better, refreshed F.A.R.M. in 2010!

Emily Morales F.A.R.M.s to Stardom!

Emily Britanico-Morales, a true-blue Baaoeña, is paving her way to Broadway stardom as a very stylish young celebrity. She's got talent. Class. Style.

Leave the comments to the experts. All we know is that she is the best.

On Miss Saigon performance:

“As the Vietnamese woman Kim, forsaken by her American serviceman lover, Emily Morales is an appealing dramatic powerhouse. Her voice is as intense and powerful as her acting, and she controls it well over the extremely wide range demanded by the role.”

-The Post Standard, Chuck Klaus

On The King And I performance:

“It’s impossible to overpraise Emily Morales’ lovely and lyrical Tuptim, enchanting in “I Have Dreamed” and “We Kiss in Shadow” with handsome Richard Manera as her doomed beloved.”

-Chicago Free Press, Lawrence Bommer

www.emilymorales.com

She knows fashion. And a F.A.R.M.er, she absolutely is!

F.A.R.M. in 2009

Before the Christmas season comes to an end, let us, from the BUTTON OF OUR HEARTS, thank ALL OF YOU for making F.A.R.M. shine in 2009. Thank you for buying and wearing F.A.R.M. and supporting our workers. Thank you for the raves (and occassional rants from our critics) and the encouraging words that were overflowing. Thank you for Buttons to Hope and for helping us dream and endeavor to send Baao youth to school. Thank you for religiously following the F.A.R.M. blog and anticipating new stories everyday. Thank you that we made it!

Accept these dainty little Christmas trees made of F.A.R.M. buttons. They are symbols of a very successful and fruitful year that passed.

F.A.R.M. button Christmas tree made in Baao, Camarines Sur, Philippines

F.A.R.M. button Christmas tree made in Monterey, California, USA

We hope to be bigger and better this year. And we will continue to count on YOU! Happy new year F.A.R.M.ers! Happy new year everyone!

F.A.R.M.ers in a Posh School Homecoming!

Baao's premier Catholic school St. Monica Academy held its 2009 Alumni Homecoming on 29 December 2009. If there was something new this time, it was the fact that the affair caught our attention and it is worth mentioning.

Red carpet, paparazzi walls, and the designer outfits of the hosts passed our idea of 'posh'.

What made it more stunning and interesting was - the organizers and guests that you're getting a glimpse of in this post are F.A.R.M.ers, too!

They were the best-dressed, most good-looking ones that graced the evening!

F.A.R.M.ers donned their favorite F.A.R.M. pieces.

And hit the limelight! Time and time again, F.A.R.M.ers rock!

Congratulations to Mia, Rommel, Eena, Menchu, Martha, Mariesyl, Gina, Yayet and the rest for fabulously and absolutely pulling it off! We lovett!

Taste Matters!

The holiday rush has obviously taken over our lives the past few weeks. But this post is still a juicy, good news for all of us.

The BTH meet last December 10 was a huge treat for the F.A.R.M.ers in attendance, and a heads-up for F.A.R.M.ers, believers and supporters everywhere.

It wasn't the fine Chinese resto in Eastwood and its sumptuous serving of authentic cuisine that dominated the evening. It wasn't the red and green outfits and pretty purses that stood out.

It was the unbelievable, unsolicited amount of generosity, selflessness, love, and friendship that prevailed. For a few but critical reasons.

The level of commitment and enthusiasm from F.A.R.M.ers is on a constant upward trend. Pledges of interest, monetary or otherwise, continue to pour in.

A whopping P75,000.00 ($1,600.00) additional funds came true that evening making the Buttons to Hope fund increase signicantly to P307,807.75 ($6,549.00). Whoa! 6 t0 7 scholars get their chance to be in school this June!

It is amazing how one can give up her precious shopping money for others to have better lives. How one can spend priced time and effort to work hard and make a change.

The F.A.R.M.ers had a sneak preview of the 20-minute documentary on Buttons to Hope, which was conceptualized, shot, directed and edited by F.A.R.M.er and award-winning director Ray Defante Gibraltar.

The short film showcases the social dimensions of F.A.R.M. It speaks about its objective of educating and empowering Baao's youth through Buttons to Hope. One commented, "It was like I was watching a docu on CNN. Very heartwarming. Nicely done. Really inspiring." The film will be officially launched in 2010.

Finally, the F.A.R.M.ers 'artfully recycled' old, unused belongings and shared them with one another. Nothing else would be possible if there were no love and friendship in the first place. Look what F.A.R.M. has done. Beautiful friendship among beautiful people.

Thank you to lovely sisters Sandra and Sheila Sanchez for hosting this unforgettable Christmas event. We owe you big time!

So to end, what do you think makes these wonderful people stick together and think about others' welfare? F.A.R.M., good intentions, and yes, a whole lot of taste!

Happy holidays everyone!