PISTANG TOMAS: KULTURA'T KABUHAYAN NG PAMAYANAN, PAGYAMANIN AT PANGALAGAAN

On February 12-15, 2018, The University of Santo Tomas Simbahayan Community Development Office welcomed the different partner communities in the Pistang Tomas trade fair that is celebrated yearly at the UST Quadricentennial Park. It is said that it aims to promote self-responsibility through sustainable livelihood and development.

Honestly, at first, I was not truly aware about Pistang Tomas and its goals and happenings until our professor in the subject TNCT (Trends, Networks and Critical thinking) told us that there is an event that is week long and he wanted us to visit the bazaars and buy at least three items that are sold. I also saw the parade of each communities that was held because they passed in front of our building and my classmate and I were exactly outside, so talk about perfect timing. There were communities from different places in the Philippines like Batangas, Bulacan, Baguio etc. And each communities were in charge or they were the ones who made the products that they were selling.  It was quite an amazing experience for me because some of the items that they were selling are super affordable and some were even trendy and in.

I bought three items that I liked. But one of the items is a food because for me, food is life. Kidding aside, the items that I bought are the things that made me think will be a trend in the future.

The first item that I will be sharing is a bracelet. I actually bought two bracelets (no regrets) because I am really fond of accessories. I actually wanted to buy a ring because I saw a classmate who bought it but then when I came to that stall, the design that I wanted was not there anymore. So, I just bought a bracelet and it looks like this.

There were actually a lot of various accessories that they were selling in that stall. There were necklaces, rings, keychains, bracelets etc. But what really caught my eye is this beaded bracelet mostly because of its color and quality. Pink is my favorite color and the quality is nice unlike any other bracelets. And when I saw this, it brought nostalgia in my system because I remember my childhood. I bought this for only 35 pesos and it is super worth it! Then I asked the seller a little bit of information about the products that she was selling. Then she said that most of it were handmade. The name of the community or the stall where I bought this is COWHED (Cooperative of Women in Health and Development) from T’boli tribe lake sebu, South Cotabato. The stall consisted of native designs of the said products and it truly shows the culture of an indigenous Filipino. So all I can say is that the products that they were selling are worth your money because the quality is nice plus the designs are somewhat unique and I see this in being a trend soon because it is fashion friendly.

Then finally we’re on to the next item that I bought! It is a sweet corn cornick. It is definitely one of my favorite foods or snack and maybe that’s why I could not resist buying it when I saw it. But too bad I was not able to take a picture of it because I immediately opened and ate it already. I just captured the whole stall and here it is. 

As you can see in the picture, most of the items that were sold are foods. It has sapin-sapin, brownies, chicharon etc. It is mostly containing of famous snacks that filipinos are fond of eating as merienda or sometimes ‘pangpaalis gutom’. I only bought the sweet corn for 30 pesos! And I can’t believe that I did not bring that much money because I was supposed to buy another one. But I also am quite relieved since I am starting to save up for future purposes. The community’s name in where I bought it is Ministry of Urban Poor Diocese of Caloocan. Then of course I asked the seller again as of where the foods came from and a little bit of background. But then she said that it came from Bulacan and maybe they just made use of the buy and sell method of entrepreneurship. But then again, I had no regrets in buying it since it is super affordable and it tastes just as what I expected it to be.

And lastly, the third product that I bought is also a bracelet just like what I stated earlier. If the first bracelet that I bought is beaded, this one is kind of unique because it consisted of different designs but with a one goal: To end or stop human trafficking. After looking in different stalls, this stall was the one that had many people in it. Most of the customers who are buying the product were girls based on what I can recall. When I saw that there were many people, I got curious and went there together with my classmates. Then when I saw the things that they were selling, it has a theme of a stoplight. Red for stop human trafficking, Yellow for be aware of its effects and Green for go and do something. And here is how it looks like. 

It is not only bracelets that they were selling but it also has earrings and necklaces. But the most sold product is the bracelet. This is somewhat the stall that is relating to our generation nowadays. Since as we all know, human trafficking is prone in different parts of the world. And this community which is named She works, Inc. has somewhat spread awareness to some students in the University of Santo Tomas. The bracelet costs 150 pesos. And for me, the product is worth the price since it will somehow spread awareness and I felt like buying it because for the women who are most likely victims of Human trafficking.

So overall, I had fun in roaming around the different stalls in the Quadricentennial Park and bought various products not only because it is a requirement but in order for me to somewhat help the different communities as well. I am looking forward in the Pistang Tomas next year and I might  as well buy different products again.