I didn\’t know our helpers actually planted the seeds– and now we have a tall sunflower plant in bloom! Amazing…
The head is not nearly as big as the original (see below pic), but it\’s still a baby plant, about three months old, so who knows how much more it will grow… 🙂
I started investing in Ayala stocks recently, so I went through the rest of the President\’s Report with special interest, but it\’s a great read nonetheless. If anything, it offers reassurance to those of us who have invested in Nuvali– whether directly or by sharing in the collective vision for the place– that we have invested in something that\’s part of a wider and just as impressive development umbrella.
I was particularly amazed at the simultaneous mixed-use projects going on all over Metro Manila:
Here are two upcoming raw food gatherings, great opportunities for you to meet, greet, and mingle with raw foodists and enthusiasts:
RAW EVENT#1: FLOW:SurfYogaSamba Goes Raw
a surf yoga samba and raw food weekend retreat in La Union
August 27-29, 2011
Here\’s the raw menu for the weekend. Just reading it makes me want to head over to La Union on Friday!
From organizer Monica Manzano, herself a raw foodist:
We\’re going the extra mile for health conscious people! This special Flow retreat is complemented with delicious and healthy raw vegan gourmet foods catered by Bali-certified raw food chef, Asha Peri of Dahon Kusina to help nourish your unique journey to self-discovery.
Package Rate: 10,350 php
Inclusions:
1 Vinyasa and 1 Yin Yoga session with Monica E. Manzano
2 Surf lessons at the San Juan Surf School of Luke landrigan
2 Samba lessons with Escola de Samba de Manila
Roundtrip transfers
3D/2N aircon accommodation
Raw Food meals and snacks by Asha Peri
Tote bag with freebies from our sponsors: ParaKito, Mamo Yoga and travel, Yoga+ at the Fort, I Go Beyond Yoga, Strip Manila, Browhaus Manila, Moringana & Rudy Project Philippines
PLUS! Introduction to ACRO YOGA for all participants in a yoga fusion class with Yoga+ and Beyond Yoga 🙂
RAW EVENT#2: The Lighter Side of Raw: Chi & Qi Energy Foods
Dahon Kusina\’s Raw Food Workshops in Pasig (Part 3 of 10)
September 3-4, 2011
I\’ve written about Asha\’s raw advocacy many times, and if you\’re moving beyond \”just curious\”, joining an actual workshop is the best way to proceed.
Greetings from Dahon Kusina!
We\’re having our 3rd weekend workshop on September 3-4. Please call Yen at 9160391 to register. Feel free to pass on to those who you think may be interested in raw food preparation:)
Do you seek lightness of spirit?
Plant a seed in your heart now.
Love raw and live raw.
Some interesting points from the the Xavier Nuvali brochure:
Xavier School Nuvali will have 25% of its students on scholarship. Programs will be designed \”to enable the presence of these scholars to have a transforming influence on the culture of the school as a whole.\”
XS Nuvali will be a co-divisional school. The campus will accept both boys and girls, but they will be educated separately.
Focus on learning Chinese as a foreign language
Flexible curriculum provides various enrichment and remedial courses depending on the capacity and interest of each student
envisioned as an International Baccalaureate (IB) World School
will adopt the Singapore method and curriculum in Science and Math, with a thrust on problem-solving and inquiry to promote critical thinking
envisioned to be a digital school, with proper IT infrastructure and equipment and 1-to-1 computer-based instruction
facilities (first phase): one school building and gym
future developments: buildings for Primary School, Middle School, and High School; library building, auditorium, administration building, provision for residences and dormitories
I don\’t have children to go school-hunting for (not yet!), but reading about these plans makes me want to be part of this promising community of teachers, parents and students at the heart of Nuvali. A school is a cornerstone in any neighborhood and I have high hopes for the energy that Xavier Nuvali will bring into the Nuvali community as a whole. As their brochure reads, \”The journey begins in 2012!\”
Development#1: Ayala is planning to build a hotel in Nuvali under its boutique hotel brand, Kukun.
I did a quick search (skyscrapercity.com never fails) and found out Kukun\’s first hotel is slated to open in Bonifacio Global City in Q2 of 2012. Sites for other Kukun hotels in the pipeline (five in total for 2011): Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Quezon City and Alabang.
Another hotel in Nuvali is also planned inside the Republic Wakepark:
Development #2: Ayala is building an events place next to the lake and commercial district.
Set to open in 2012 — the Events Place is a 2,500 square meter space that\’s meant to provide a venue for a wider range of group activities in Nuvali. Maybe it will be the next best thing to a theater or cinema! What\’s a concert venue equivalent with that size?
On the map you can also see the commercial district called the Lakeside Evozone (lots in orange, aqua, light green and yellow). Further east, new lots will be opened come September (28 new lots in total). Contact me directly at johanna@metrorealty.ph or 0920-9624116 if you would like updates on these commercial lots.
All in all, I think this whole area– the \”entrance\” to Nuvali– is becoming really interesting. I always see people walking leisurely around the lake, riding the water taxis (I have yet to do this! Last I heard it costs P30 for a ride one-way), or just picnicking on the grass. It\’s a lovely sight and I would definitely love to see more foot traffic in this part of Nuvali.
On a recent visit to Nuvali, I was surprised to be asked to surrender my license at the gate towards Nuvali Central, the area of Xavier School, Avida Settings & Estate, Treveia and Elaro.
I usually just smile and tell the guards I\’m a lot owner and they let me through without further ado, but that was the first time they told me I needed to get a Nuvali Gate Pass.
As a future resident, I\’m glad they\’re finally putting tighter security in place, but I also wonder how they\’re going to keep this up without inconveniencing or turning away visitors once the Republic Wakepark opens this October. I can already imagine the logistical nightmare for the guards!
A mixed-use township with industrial, commercial and residential components is set to rise in Cebu City, expected to roll out starting 2013
About 10 hectares have been built with ready-to-use factory facilities for light industries
Other expected locators: factories, high-rise condominiums, business process outsourcing (BPO) offices, schools, government offices, convention facilities and shopping areas
The area to be developed is the 300-hectare South Road Properties (SRP), a reclaimed area close to Cebu City’s central business district and accessible from the main island via four access points
A six-lane coastal road runs the length of the estate and SRP will be part of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) network, expected to roll out in 2014
A 60-hectare water resource within SRP will be developed via joint venture with Cebu-based Pilipinas Water Resources Inc.
Last year, SM Prime holdings signed a P2.7-billion deal to buy a 30.4-hectare property inside SRP.
Filinvest also bought a 50.6-hectare area and entered into a joint venture agreement with the city government covering part of this asset.
The most exciting part: the 300-hectare South Road Properties (SRP) is owned and being developed by the Cebu City government.
Why is this good news?
My dad always tells me that the Philippine government is poor because (among many other reasons) it doesn\’t own land. I think it\’s fantastic that this huge project in Cebu is owned by the government, and being used in a collaborative progressive way, also by government.
Great perspective on the coastal city lifestyle envisioned in the SRP from this video of Citta di Mare, literally \”City by the Sea\”, Fil-Invest\’s mixed-use development:
More from Inquirer:
Planning for SRP started back in 1992 with a P12-billion loan from the Japanese government.
According to the city government website, Cebu City is ranked eighth among the top 10 Asian Cities of the Future on a list compiled by the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) magazine of the Financial Times Group.
Cebu City is also fourth on the list of 10 most cost-effective cities, 7th in best quality of life, and is second only to Singapore in development and promotion.
This is fantastic!
I would love to visit Cebu and see this for myself!
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Cayetano W. Paderanga Jr. commended the Cebu City government for undertaking such development on its own.
Paderanga said that he is encouraging other local government units to push similar projects since they know best what kind of developments would have the best impact on their constituents in terms of economic and social opportunities.
“Not everything has to go through the national government,” Paderanga said.
In a country where land development usually falls on the shoulders of private initiatives, hats off, earnestly, to the Cebu City local government. I would love to see the same proactive leadership from the people in the cities I call \”home\” now: Quezon City, Tagaytay, and soon-to-be Laguna.
You can already make out the loop for the \”lake\”– I\’m skeptical it will finish in two months (I hope I\’m wrong!), but my brother thinks it\’s possible.
Couldn\’t stop myself from taking pics of these cows to the right of the wakepark…
We now know who\’s first in line to try the cable skis! 🙂
This is the mound of mud we climbed to get this view:
Be sure to wear good shoes if you plan on doing what we did on a rainy day!
I\’m no economist, and I would love for someone to go in-depth about the US debt crisis and how it affects the rest of the world, especially the Philippines.
I do remember being told years ago that the US had (has) the world\’s highest debt:
Watch 3:50 onwards if you have limited time– it simplifies what happens to the rest of the world when the US can\’t pay up.
Global Economic Collapse.
2012 = environmental and economic global disaster?
Assuming the arguments in the video are valid, how do we prepare for this?
My immediate answer: self-sustain! Simplify! Build a lifestyle that is as off-the-grid as possible: we source our needs locally, contribute (i.e. work) locally, travel and interact locally. It can be as local as a single household, a small community, or as large-scale as a city or country– whatever works. I vote for building a closed loop system as much as possible, with limited– if not zero– waste, where we or whoever is part of the system can exist without external help. It doesn\’t mean we\’re closed off to the rest of the world, and it certainly doesn\’t have to be extremist. We have to find a workable set-up that lets the gift of our generation, which is our hyper-connectedness via the internet, cellphones, etc, be used more effectively. How do we harness the large-scale exchange of ideas and make all this shared genius work for us? Simple answer (does it always have to be complicated?): we look at what\’s worked elsewhere, adapt and build a system that works for us. Slowly, quickly, small-scale or large-scale– how ever it happens for us.
Is this my vision for Nuvali?
Given the attention Nuvali is rousing, and the response it\’s getting, I hope so. I hope it can deliver on its sustainability promise. It\’s as scale as scale can be in pushing for a greener lifestyle for Filipinos, which at the end of the day, requires a real paring down and a re-connection with what\’s already within reach (i.e. local)– our local pool of money, property, talent, ideas.
My dad just wrote a great summary of the new developments south of Metro Manila (will share this later) and how these private initiatives from major real estate developers are creating a space for something new to emerge:
Altogether, the rawlands covering these developments exceed 5,000 hectares, an area bigger that Manila, and Makati combined, and it is developing rapidly.
It can be the new Philippine mega-city that will make real for Filipinos all the amazing insights on city-building Glaeser shares in his amazing book, Triumph of the City. It\’s an exciting time to be in the South, and really, it\’s up to us–investors, residents, management/developer, local officials and all fans of Nuvali– to make the most of this chance we\’re being given to do something right.
My brother Pete and I went around Nuvali today just to check out what\’s new — Venare is really looking good!
That\’s the main gate for Phase 1 under construction, with the beginnings of the Green Zone already showing at the back.
Here\’s a closer pic of the main gate. It\’s a four-lane entrance, with two lanes already started.
I took another shot of the Green Zone last Saturday, from the road leading to Avida Village, and I was surprised to notice trees jutting out of the hills:
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