Human Powered Awesome: An environmental journalist with a sense of purpose*
By Prime Sarmiento (This blog post was written in support of Natalie Sisson’s Human Powered Awesome project**) Environmental journalism is a thankless job. In a country obsessed with politics, basketball and showbiz, reporting on “esoteric” topics like climate change, biodiversity or deforestation, is not the easiest way to persuade people to...
Ecotourism for the city gal: traveling to Puerto Princesa,Palawan
text and photos by Prime Sarmiento I am a journalist who covers environmental issues as a personal advocacy (and to this end, remains an active member oif the Philippine Network of Environmental Journalists, Inc. (PNEJ) . In my own own way, I try to be an eco-conscious consumer. I bring reusable bags to shop, I...
(Travel) Blogging is about Freedom of Expression
by Prime Sarmiento The subtitle should have read why I’m blogging to observe the International Day to End Impunity which is being held today, November 23, 2011, the second year anniversary of the still unresolved Maguindanao massacre. And while you can usually read about my journeys and adventures here, I...
Girl Power = Empowered Women (and Men too!)
by Prime Sarmiento It still amazes me sometimes that men read and “get” my blog. I mean, this blog has so much woo-woo energy, it’s enough to repel and banish the whole male blogosphere. And yet I continue to get male readers and even leave thoughtful comments in some of my blog posts....
The Gypsygals Caravan: “The Girl Effect” Edition
by Prime Sarmiento This is a slightly different version of my usual link post. Instead of compiling posts and stories for and by solo female travelers, I decided to compile links related to The Girl Effect Blogging campaign – spearheaded by Tara Mohr, writer, coach and personal growth teacher who I admire and seek...
The Power of Symbols
text by Prime Sarmiento photo by Rhaydz Barcia I spent one weekend planting trees. Ok that’s a bit of an exaggeration. What I actually did was join fellow members of the Philippine Network on Environmental Journalists, Inc. celebrate our first year anniversary by planting a sapling at a mangrove area in Bacacay...
On Postmodern Spirituality
text and photo by: Prime Sarmiento (In my previous post, I talked about the walled city of Intramuros in Manila and how it became a center of Catholicism in the Philippines. I then reflected on the fact that such faith, with its heavy emphasis on “guilt”, hurt my personal spiritual practice. In this second...
The Girl Effect: How we can do small things to change the world
posted by: Prime Sarmiento I don’t remember their names. But I remember how I met them. That was about eight years ago, the first time I traveled to Ubud, Bali. I just picked up photography as a hobby. So there I was, lugging around my secondhand manual SLR camera, doing jalan jalan around the village...
The Albay Experience: Lessons on Climate Change Journalism
text and photos by Prime Sarmiento How can a disaster-prone province become one of the most liveable areas in the Philippines? How can a province renown as site of devastating floods and volcanic eruptions be a global model for climate change adaptation? I was asking myself these questions while in a press conference with Albay...