Philippine-Canada Diasporic Sustainable Entanglements

Diasporic Sustainable Entanglements:
Philippine-Canadian Entrepreneurs Craft Altruistic Transnational Enterprises

The experiences of small-to-medium size Philippine-Canadian entrepreneurs are part of a broader international migration pattern that has characterized the Philippine social and economic order since the 1970s when government policy encouraged Philippine out-migration. Research on Philippine migrants has primarily investigated men’s work as labourers in natural resource industries and women’s work as domestic or health care workers. These studies address the regular remittances that migrants send to the Philippines, the deskilling of Philippine migrants’ labour and professions, and issues of assimilation. In these studies, Philippine migrants’ potential to achieve social and economic mobility in Canada, for example, is perceived as rather grim. My research on smaller-scale Filipino-Canadian enterprises demonstrates however, that many migrants, historically associated with displacement and marginality, embrace alternative activities that simultaneously enable business viability while creating ontological space for a sustainable socioeconomic sphere.

I engage this issue by analyzing the everyday commerce and relations based on trust of Philippine-Canadian businesses that offer prepared foods, dry goods, and communication services between the Philippines and Philippine communities in Toronto. These enterprises include smaller-size Filipino-Canadian neighborhood convenience stores and prepared-food outlets. I argue that by personally nurturing multiple socioeconomic connections between consumers and the Philippines, these merchants dispel any dominance of a singular capitalist business practice that privileges profit maximization. Instead, these Filipino-Canadian businesses informalize formal trade by wrapping their commodity transactions in participatory personalized shopping experiences. They provide customers with credit, sell home-made Filipino foods that community members deliver daily, sell seasonal vegetables delivered from community gardeners, provide in-store seating for informal gatherings, and facilitate transnational connections (e.g., remittances, health services) to enhance community well-being. Seeking to appeal to second generation Philippine-Canadians while maintaining their base in the immigrant population these merchants choose which mainstream practices to maintain and which to let go. Since the COVID-19 pandemic of mid-2020, in particular, businesses’ altruistic practices have proven to be key to meeting the shifting needs of their customers and to maintaining client loyalty. By privileging sustainable business practices, these Filipino-Canadian food provisioning entrepreneurs have moved their on-the-edge enterprise activities to more visible positions such that their experiences can inform fruitful policy formation for those seeking a range of viable and alternative employment options.

 

This project is supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Partnership Development Grant (2021-2024), entitled: Resilient Urban Communities & Local Food Systems after COVID-19: Developing Knowledge Partnerships Beyond the Pandemic.

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Photo Captions: All photos by B. Lynne Milgram.

Figure 1 (Banner). A display of Philippine imported foods at a supermarket, Toronto, 2021.

Figure 2. A neighbourhood Philippine-Canadian convenience store, Toronto, 2019.

Figure 3. Desserts are displayed at a Philippine prepared food store, Toronto, 2021.

Figure 4. A woman sends remittance funds back to the Philippines, Toronto, 2019.

Figure 5. Customers shop for food at a Philippine prepared food store, Toronto, 2019.

Figure 6. A selection of Philippine “street food” is displayed in a supermarket, Toronto, 2021.

 

A display of Philippine imported foods at a supermarket, Toronto, 2021.
A neighbourhood Philippine-Canadian convenience store, Toronto, 2019.
Desserts are displayed at a Philippine prepared food store, Toronto, 2021.
A woman sends remittance funds back to the Philippines, Toronto, 2019.
 Customers shop for food at a Philippine prepared food store, Toronto, 2019.
A selection of Philippine “street food” is displayed in a supermarket, Toronto, 2021.
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - 2:45pm

Forest Therapy at High Park

Wednesday, October 24, 2018 - 1:00pm to 4:00pm

This three-hour guided activity and discussion, led by Carolynne Crawley, will focus on breaking down colonial ways of thinking that separate people from the their natural surroundings, and building responsible and reciprocal relations with the land. Crawley will integrate methods from the Japanese practice of Shinrin Yoku, or forest bathing, with traditional Indigenous knowledge to consider our relations with all beings, and connect with the land through all of our senses.

Carolynne Crawley is a Mi'kmaw woman with African and Celtic ancestry and a forest therapy trainer and mentor. She works as Indigenous Food Access Manager at Foodshare Toronto and is involved in environmental justice and food security. Crawley is interested in sharing her knowledge of traditional skills such as harvesting foods and medicines and has organized a three-month cross-cultural youth program, Teachings from the Land, that focuses on food justice and relationship with self, others and the land, as well as a province-wide Indigenous Food Sovereignty Gathering.

Please wear weather-appropriate clothing, sturdy footwear, and bring water and a snack. This is a low-energy activity, so check the weather and dress so that you will be able to keep warm while walking slowly and standing outdoors. We will meet at the north entrance to High Park, on the south-side of Bloor street, opposite High Park subway station.

Please confirm attendance by emailing amorrell@faculty.ocadu.ca.

Unfortunately this event is not wheelchair accessible.

This activity is part of Decolonizing the Land, curriculum development project led by Professor Amish Morrell and supported by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. This initiative aims to explore ways of integrating land-based knowledge into artistic, pedagogical and curatorial practice, for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and faculty.

Venue & Address: 
High Park North Entrance
Email: 
amorrell@faculty.ocadu.ca
Cost: 
FREE