PADMA EARTH
INTENTIONAL DINING—
TO REMEMBER OUR
SENSE OF ONENESS
Bagong Buhay:
Regenerative Kamayan Feast
Regenerative Kamayan Feast
Kuya Lord, Farmfluence, Sari-Sari
Food by Kuya Lord
In the spirit of Undas, the Philippines’ version of Dia de Los Muertos, the Filipino American community in LA came together and celebrated life and death through a regenerative kamayan feast by Kuya Lord, one of LA Times’ Best New Restaurants of 2023.
Kamayan is a traditional Filipino way of eating where food is eaten by hands with no plates and utensils–creating a more playful and intimate connection with our food.
The kamayan’s ingredients, from the rare asian vegetables to the lucenachon, was sourced by Farmfluence with the highest intentionality with local regenerative farms like Sow A Heart.
Our special guest, Farmer Osmar of Sow A Heart, dined in kamayan with guests and shared a wealth of wisdom about the felt difference of regenerative farmed-foods.
This kamayan highlights the power of our collective daily food choices that builds a world where we put life and people at the center, while honoring ancestral roots.
Presented with:
Kuya Lord
Kuya Lord is a restaurant by Chef Lord Maynard Llera featuring regional Filipino dishes. Kuya Lord has been recognized as one of 2023’s best new restaurants in LA by Bon Appetit, LA Times, Eater, and Time Out.
Farmfluence
Farmfluence is bridging the gap between consumers and our local regenerative farmers through a content studio and sourcing the highest quality local regenerative produce.
Sari-Sari
Sari-Sari supports and amplifies creatives and innovators from the Philippine diaspora, through exploratory content, a Filipinx and BIPOC marketplace, and community cultivation projects.
Special thanks to our partners: Our Place, Maaari, Commons, Sanzo
Photos by Sam Hunter
Regenerative Agriculture, Ancestral Food Culture, Farmer to Table
Kamayan is a traditional Filipino way of eating where food is eaten by hands with no plates and utensils–creating a more playful and intimate connection with our food.
The kamayan’s ingredients, from the rare asian vegetables to the lucenachon, was sourced by Farmfluence with the highest intentionality with local regenerative farms like Sow A Heart.
Our special guest, Farmer Osmar of Sow A Heart, dined in kamayan with guests and shared a wealth of wisdom about the felt difference of regenerative farmed-foods.
This kamayan highlights the power of our collective daily food choices that builds a world where we put life and people at the center, while honoring ancestral roots.
Presented with:
Kuya Lord
Kuya Lord is a restaurant by Chef Lord Maynard Llera featuring regional Filipino dishes. Kuya Lord has been recognized as one of 2023’s best new restaurants in LA by Bon Appetit, LA Times, Eater, and Time Out.
Farmfluence
Farmfluence is bridging the gap between consumers and our local regenerative farmers through a content studio and sourcing the highest quality local regenerative produce.
Sari-Sari
Sari-Sari supports and amplifies creatives and innovators from the Philippine diaspora, through exploratory content, a Filipinx and BIPOC marketplace, and community cultivation projects.
Special thanks to our partners: Our Place, Maaari, Commons, Sanzo
Photos by Sam Hunter
Regenerative Agriculture, Ancestral Food Culture, Farmer to Table
Songs of Earth: Cycle of Life
Botanical Sound, Sasha Emoniee
Food by Chef Sasha Emoniee
The first of the dining series, Songs of Earth is an interactive dining experience inviting guests to feel and experience food and community through sound.
Each course is live-scored by Botanical Sound with the ingredients on each plate. A collaborative musical experience, guests are encouraged to play and make music with their food.
We designed an experimental grazing table where guests got to build ‘healthy soil’ – the foundation of our food’s life. On Palestinian bread, guests piled on an olive & herb crumble as "barren soil", fermented mushroom as "compost", sprouted microgreens as “greens”, and dehydrated vegetables as "mulch" topped with nettle & nasturtium pesto and cultured butter. The last step was to plant “seeds bombs” through seeded goat cheese balls, mimicing the activist act of planting seed bombs into urban waysides and abandoned lots to grow flowers and natives.
The 5-course menu is intentionally designed to experience our food’s spiral life journey: from seed, to sprout, to bloom, to decay, and back to rebirth.
A night of experiencing our food as it moves through its cycles and hearing the frequencies where we meet them with ours. It’s in these intersections that we hope to close the separation between plants and humans. And realize that we can connect beyond usual senses and language.
Presented with:
Botanical Sound
Botanical Sound is a sensory immersive project by bio-composer and artist, Casey Barth. By collaborating with plants to create ambient soundscapes, Botanical Sound explores our relationship with Nature, plant-consciousness, and community.
Sasha Emoniee
Sasha Emoniee is a holistic cook, herbalist, and urban gardener who honors ancestral foods and ways of living in modern settings in efforts to connect us back to the land, lineage, and one another.
Photos by Carly Hildebrant
Growing Food, Deep Ecology, Experimental Art, Plant Consciousness
Each course is live-scored by Botanical Sound with the ingredients on each plate. A collaborative musical experience, guests are encouraged to play and make music with their food.
We designed an experimental grazing table where guests got to build ‘healthy soil’ – the foundation of our food’s life. On Palestinian bread, guests piled on an olive & herb crumble as "barren soil", fermented mushroom as "compost", sprouted microgreens as “greens”, and dehydrated vegetables as "mulch" topped with nettle & nasturtium pesto and cultured butter. The last step was to plant “seeds bombs” through seeded goat cheese balls, mimicing the activist act of planting seed bombs into urban waysides and abandoned lots to grow flowers and natives.
The 5-course menu is intentionally designed to experience our food’s spiral life journey: from seed, to sprout, to bloom, to decay, and back to rebirth.
A night of experiencing our food as it moves through its cycles and hearing the frequencies where we meet them with ours. It’s in these intersections that we hope to close the separation between plants and humans. And realize that we can connect beyond usual senses and language.
Presented with:
Botanical Sound
Botanical Sound is a sensory immersive project by bio-composer and artist, Casey Barth. By collaborating with plants to create ambient soundscapes, Botanical Sound explores our relationship with Nature, plant-consciousness, and community.
Sasha Emoniee
Sasha Emoniee is a holistic cook, herbalist, and urban gardener who honors ancestral foods and ways of living in modern settings in efforts to connect us back to the land, lineage, and one another.
Photos by Carly Hildebrant
Growing Food, Deep Ecology, Experimental Art, Plant Consciousness
Seeds of a New Economy
Commons, Camila Creates, Usal
Food by Chef Camila Casanas
For farmers, each start of a season is a momentous rebirth–a new chapter to plant seeds with caring wishful whispers of growth and abundance.
We brought the LA climate community together to envision and plant actionable seeds of daily practices that build a more harmonious, equitable, and sustainable economy.
Presented with:
Commons
A platform for people to find actionable guidance for sustainable living along with the inspiration and abundance of a climate-driven community.
Camila Creates
Chef Camila Casanas is a holistic private chef and herbalist based in Los Angeles. Infused with care and creativity in equal measure, Camila's food is heritage driven, seasonally selected, and impeccably sourced.
Usal Project
A Los Angeles based community providing experiences & goods for the modern nature enthusiast.
Photos by Stephane Wafer
Sustainability, Climate Action,
Green Economy
We brought the LA climate community together to envision and plant actionable seeds of daily practices that build a more harmonious, equitable, and sustainable economy.
Presented with:
Commons
A platform for people to find actionable guidance for sustainable living along with the inspiration and abundance of a climate-driven community.
Camila Creates
Chef Camila Casanas is a holistic private chef and herbalist based in Los Angeles. Infused with care and creativity in equal measure, Camila's food is heritage driven, seasonally selected, and impeccably sourced.
Usal Project
A Los Angeles based community providing experiences & goods for the modern nature enthusiast.
Photos by Stephane Wafer
Sustainability, Climate Action,
Green Economy
Honorable Harvest
Grow Good, Usal
Food by Biri Bibi
What does reciprocity between humans and the natural world look like? The Honorable Harvest reminds us to view our land and its gifts as kin rather than mere resources. What if we fill our baskets with only what is needed, share what we can share, and give something back in return?
Inspired from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’—we explored what kinship means with the plants and food we eat daily.
And through a playful sensory experience, felt and tasted kinship through the lens of maize in its indigenous essence. Known by the peoples who first grew it as “The Bringer of Life” and “The Mother of All Things.”
Presented with:
Grow Good
A non-profit ecologically integrated farm growing food that directly feeds the adjacent Bell Shelter residents towards health, healing and connection.
Biri Bibi
Chef Sarah Alikhan is an LA native, cooking homemade Hyderabadi food with a Californian diasporic lens.
Photos by Jeremy Aquino & Sam Hunter
Indigenous Ecology, California Diaspora,
Equitable Food Systems
Inspired from Robin Wall Kimmerer’s ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’—we explored what kinship means with the plants and food we eat daily.
And through a playful sensory experience, felt and tasted kinship through the lens of maize in its indigenous essence. Known by the peoples who first grew it as “The Bringer of Life” and “The Mother of All Things.”
Presented with:
Grow Good
A non-profit ecologically integrated farm growing food that directly feeds the adjacent Bell Shelter residents towards health, healing and connection.
Biri Bibi
Chef Sarah Alikhan is an LA native, cooking homemade Hyderabadi food with a Californian diasporic lens.
Photos by Jeremy Aquino & Sam Hunter
Indigenous Ecology, California Diaspora,
Equitable Food Systems
Summer Abundance
Compton Community Garden, Usal
Food by Chef Sasha Emoniee
A celebration and deeper appreciation of the alchemy of how food grows from seed to plate, knowing our food growers by name, and growing awareness about equitable food systems. The first of Padma gatherings – dinner guests, farmers, and chefs came together to imagine a garden and community grounded in care.
Presented with:
Compton Community Garden
A communal effort to directly address ecological & social inequalities in Compton & beyond.
Sasha Emoniee
Chef Sasha Emoniee is a cook, herbalist, and urban gardener who honors ancestral foods and ways of living in modern settings in efforts to connect us back to the land, lineage, and one another.
Usal Project
A Los Angeles based community providing experiences & goods for the modern nature enthusiast.
Photos by Lucette Romy & Gemma Warren
Growing Food, Urban Agriculture
Equitable Food Systems
Presented with:
Compton Community Garden
A communal effort to directly address ecological & social inequalities in Compton & beyond.
Sasha Emoniee
Chef Sasha Emoniee is a cook, herbalist, and urban gardener who honors ancestral foods and ways of living in modern settings in efforts to connect us back to the land, lineage, and one another.
Usal Project
A Los Angeles based community providing experiences & goods for the modern nature enthusiast.
Photos by Lucette Romy & Gemma Warren
Growing Food, Urban Agriculture
Equitable Food Systems