We rarely came across companies that put advocacy and employee empowerment at the center of their corporate mission, but Glorious Industrial and Development Corporation—GIDC, the Stevia Company—was setting the model. As the first stevia grower and manufacturer in the Philippines, GIDC harvested and marketed Sweet and Fit Stevia, the foremost stevia herbal dietary supplement registered by the Food and Drug Administration in the Philippines, as its main weapon in leading the charge against diabetes. Grown and harvested in the Philippines exclusively by GIDC, Sweet and Fit Stevia was free of calories, cholesterol, carbohydrates, and had zero glycemic index.

On a normal day, I was displeased dragging my body out of bed at four in the morning, especially after sleeping soundly in the Manor at Camp John Hay. Not that particular morning, though. The reason being the destination we were going to would give me an opportunity to literally and figuratively pause and smell the flowers. Being able to travel for the first time since the March 2020 lockdown, the trip to Northern Blossom Farm in Atok, Benguet opened a door to rekindling my love affair with traveling—with precious moments of introspection to boot—in the company of the great outdoors.

Home to a magnificent set of picturesque highland countryside, the region of the Cordillera featured an abundance of wonders. From its cool weather all year long to its majestic set of nature, fascinating culture, and mouth-watering local cuisine, an all too familiar feature of the region was gaining much-needed attention. These were the fruit and vegetable farms of Benguet and Mountain Province.