I’ve been a fan of the Flow Retreats events for a while now, mainly as someone on the outside looking in. It’s rare that I get too much time to myself these days so without the time to take an actual retreat I was happy to participate in one of their events one way or the other.

Mana Bites decided to join the event as a merchant (and that’s not something we do often) because seeing photos of the place in the past, it seemed just like something we had to do. About two years ago doing bazaars a part of my every weekend for another small business we put up named Tili’s Sate and the strain of doing bazaars and having to carry all the equipment in and out was just imprinted on me. I was happy that Mana Bites survived a mainly online. I’ll reserve more details about my baby business in a separate post but if you’re reading this and desperately searching for a link to order our healthy snacks just click here. <3

So with the usual craziness of a long bazaar day – this one spanning a full even hours at a venue 1.5 hours away from Manila I was surprised to find my sleepless self somehow relaxed after it all! It was exciting to talk to people that were interested in mindful living as a whole and familiar with the products as well. Let’s go through what the day looked like in this beautiful setting.

The Farm Shed

I think this place was just amazing. At the entrance you walk down to see a big structure made of what looked like rusted corrugated sheet iron (yero) which sat beside a darling coffee shop – where wi-fi was extremely slow – but then again maybe that’s what made the place so relaxing (No messed up signals interfering with everyone’s brain waves? Who knows?)

What we did know was that we just entered some kind of void. I would sometimes leave the booth to go and see what was going on outside and I discovered there was a little farm with animals and a carabao that was pulling visitors as his workout for the day. The weather was pleasant – a little hot in the morning but quite breezy inside the shed.

Everything was even better at sunset. It got a little cooler as the sun started to fade and the light was enchanting. It was twinkling through the trees in the garden and casting a gentle smile on those practicing yoga outside. It might have been my zombie-mode self talking but I was perfectly content watching it peer through the door from our booth inside.

My now favorite Ice Cream <3

The pathway to the Farm Shed

Outside Activity area overlooking farm

The Farm area

Flow in the Farm

As you enter the Farm Shed you see a room full of well-curated kiosks. Apart from the super awesome snacks at Mana Bites (Ha!) there were tons of things to see. You could hoard some essential oils from DoTerra  get your cold-pressed juices from Sexy Beast. Not too many things cloud your mind, just a couple of choice offerings to consider. My favorite discovery was Holy Carabao’s coconut ice cream which tasted so so fresh. There were also a whole list of great activities to do throughout the day.

Our booth

The inside of the Farm Shed

Crystal Healing Workshop Set-up

The Company

I was so grateful to have two parents that were really supportive of all my weird little adventures in life and naturally they came with me to the farm. My dad grew up on a farm so it was a welcome experience for him and a day out of the city for both of them. It was great to see my (senior) parents attend workshops on manifesting their dreams (Thanks Imee!) and go on carabao rides.

I was also really thankful to have my OG bazaar buddy and friend Tili come and help me out the whole day. She even slept over to help us with preparations. As one customer after another came to ask about our products I found that it was so energizing to engage with each one. I guess it’s really the company that you keep (and some that you meet!) that make or break the day. I was happy to be surrounded by so much love and support from family, as well as spirit and inspiration from the passionate entrepreneurs I got to meet!

Even if you missed this event, I do hope to see you at the next one! However your week is going, I hope you find some time to rest and relax and maybe inject some zen into your work routine just like I (accidentally) did here.

Signed,
The Island Elephant