SEED, which stands for School for Experiential & Entrepreneurial Development, is a radical disruption of conventional education. It seeks not only to develop social enterprises but also cultivate a generation of social entrepreneurs and break the barriers of poverty. For its young and bright students, it is the beginning of a dramatic journey out of poverty for some of the most marginalized Filipinos in the rural areas of the country.
Launched in 2014, at The Farm Village University in Bulacan, SEED provides an education-based solution to rural development and is anchored on the Gawad Kalinga philosophy of Bayanihan (collective heroism) and Walang Iwanan (no one left behind).
Kimberly Evallar
Part of the first batch to graduate from SEED, Kimberly is the youngest team leader at the GK Enchanted Farm. Currently, she is the Agri-business head, leading cassava production and working with almost 50 farmers around Bulacan.
She also owns a coffee enterprise called Kape Natin (Our Coffee), promoting the local coffee of Bukidnon, Sagada, Batangas, and Benguet.
John Paul Jose
John Paul is a member of the 3rd batch of SEED and comes from Aritao, Nueva Vizcaya. It was there that he was introduced to Gawad Kalinga when his family was awarded a house through the foundation and sweat equity.
As a member of an indigenous tribe, his overflowing confidence and enthusiasm to grow has led him to become the Partnership Coordinator of the SEED school. He manages partnership relations while helping generate resources for the school. "I am into friend raising, because more than monetary support, at the end of the day, I want more and more people to be one with us in this mission of ending poverty," says John Paul.
Aside from this, both Kimberly and John Paul have been awarded a 6-week scholarship in May to one of the top business schools in France, the HEC.
Rinalyn Pagao
After she graduated from SEED in 2016, she was awarded with a 4-year Business Management Course in ESSEC, another top business school in France.
Taking on the role of a social enabler, Rinalyn moves on from SEED and takes her dream of finishing a degree to the international stage, always speaking from the heart and ready to inspire others like her.
SEED Sumilao
Wanting to expand its reach to more poverty-stricken areas in the Philippines, SEED together with its partners, inaugurated its second campus in Sumilao, Bukidnon led by Mark Rebucan and SEED Graduates: Hanan Hassan, Giselle Corpuz, & Fitzgerald Valderama.
In its pilot year, 22 students enrolled with SEED Sumilao and conducted agricultural trainings in various barangays in Sumilao.
What makes SEED different is its student program. As a registered educational institution under TESDA, it is licensed to develop and offer the Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship. This program equips students with competencies to create social businesses that help communities and rural areas develop through job and wealth creation.
There are over 15 proposed projects from the graduating students for this school year, all centered on agri-business and social entrepreneurship.
SEED also recently launched its latest course in Organic Agriculture Production NCII, with an amazing 100% passing rate in its first batch of scholars. This program revitalizes local agricultural art while showcasing young Filipino talent.
As community of young farmers, SEED students are utilizing the power of creativity in agriculture to tell the stories that need to be told.