Editors’ Note: The concept of Blue Zones was popularized by Dan Buettner, an explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist, and New York Times best selling author. These are places in the world identified as having the healthiest and longest-living communities. Author Tony Meloto writes about how he is transforming Paraiso Village Farm in Batangas into a Blue Zone. During the summit, Batangas State University signed a MOA with Paraiso to study longevity and improve vitality among the elderly. We think this initiative can be done in the Bicol Region as well – one community at a time.

Is BLUE ZONE possible in the Philippines?

The azure sky over Paraiso Village Farm (San Jose, Batangas) on January 20, 2024 welcomed over 500 curious participants to the first BLUE ZONE SUMMIT in the Philippines to try to answer this question. 

What was clear from the beginning is that many want to learn how to live happier and longer lives. 

Happy people live longer. 

A fresh ambiance of positive energy was palpable everywhere, from the garden of blue blooms and long life farm greens, the lively old-world tunes from the Rondalla, to the welcome spread of nilagang purple kamote and saba banana, suman malagkit and steaming turmeric tea and barako coffee greeting guests as they happily came in through the Blue Canopy walk. 

Many came to pray, play and party to experience for themselves Paraiso’s simple formula for longevity. 

BLUE ZONE is about Spirituality.

The Summit started with a call to the Almighty for the gift of faith that gives and lengthens life. 

Faith-based communities “have lower cardiovascular diseases, less stress, depression, suicide and a stronger immune system,” per Dan Buettner in his study of longevity in the BLUE ZONE  areas of the world: Sardinia, Italy; Ikaria, Greece;  Nicoya, Costa Rica; Loma Linda, California; and  Okinawa, Japan. And lately, Singapore. 

BLUE ZONE is about Solidarity. 

It is about unconditional love that binds families through the daily challenges of life. It is about nurturing communities around us, without leaving the weak behind, to delight in cherished friendships that add laughter to our years and years to our laughter. 

Ayala and Bel Air ladies and the indigent elderly from Payatas and several towns of Batangas, many from Gawad Kalinga communities, breathed the same refreshing air of goodwill and hope. 

Together they enjoyed good food that tasted good, that do not raise blood sugar and bad cholesterol. It was a culinary delight of freshly harvested farm-to-table dishes without dangerous chemical enhancements.

My Blue Eagle friends with the heart of gold who helped me care for the elderly at the height of the Covid Pandemic came. 

They have gained the freedom and the wisdom with the years to fly without leaving the weak winged behind, to be men for others by thinking less for self so there will be enough for all. 

They came to the Summit to feast on the same healthy buffet and to sing and dance to the same beat from the Spirit of ’67 and Body and Soul bands and the sprightly elderly ladies from our farm  communities. Long Life in the Paraiso BLUE ZONE is the natural Social Equalizer where no one is left behind to be sad and lonely. 

BLUE ZONE is about Generosity. 

It was inspiring to see Brent students practice their Project Goodwill vending vegetables to fundraise for the less privileged, eating with Lolas and Lolos and curiously absorbing what it means to live life with a purpose.

BLUE ZONE is about Family.

It was a deeply moving moment for me at the Summit to hear my 18-year-old granddaughter Ariel sing a hauntingly beautiful song  that reflected the purity of her heart and the clarity of her mind.  She goes regularly to feed the children in a slum community in Nuvali. She would leave me in July to go to College in California after graduating from the British School of Manila. But she will be back because the Philippines is her home wherever she may roam to gain more knowledge that will deepen her Spirituality and expand her Humanity. 

At 74, I am motivated to live longer as a grandfather to see my twelve grandchildren continue whatever legacy of goodness my wife Lyn and I leave behind. 

BLUE ZONE is about Purpose. 

The Summit captivated our audience in our jam-packed sessions on Wellness and Long Life with an array  of top-notch speakers who walk their talk and enjoy life to the fullest doing good to others.   

Former Tourism Secretary Mina Gabor still blazes at 86, running the International School for Sustainable Tourism. 

Two Ateneo classmates – former Health Secretary Manolet Dayrit and coffee entrepreneur Leo De Leon – both able, nimble and humble at 74 are credible models of longevity with quality of life.

Batangas State University Dr. Tirso Ronquillo spoke about the reality that BLUE ZONE is not about the elderly only. In his insightful session “Paano si Junior Maging Senior – before it’s too late”, he emphasized the need to re-engineer the lifestyle of the young who are getting heart attacks and other serious health issues in their thirties and forties. To put his words into action, he signed with Paraiso a Memorandum of Agreement on⁷ the study of longevity and to help make Paraiso the first BLUE ZONE Farm in the country with the support of science and system. 

My neighbor and friend Raul Falcon spoke about his wise decision to retire in the Philippines after three decades as an Expat CEO for Procter & Gamble in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. Home is where the heart is. To him, our heart is the seat of our BLUE ZONE. 

Two Singaporean business leaders – Dr John Ng and Ed Ng – are proof of concept why Singapore is a BLUE ZONE area. Singaporeans find happiness in a stressful environment engineered for success despite its lack of natural and human resources with the right balance of economy, family, community, and ministry as top priorities. 

Dr Vermen Verallo, still sizzling at 85, spoke as my personal angel and healer. She took me off steroids and dangerous drugs and healed me of my psychosis that came with my psoriasis and old age. 

Healing for me came with the realization that I am not too old to dream again. It came with the passion to live and forgive, to love and give, to plant more goodness to harvest happiness for myself and others.  My dream today is to make Paraiso the first BLUE ZONE FARM in the Philippines.

BLUE ZONE in Paraiso is simple and doable: 

• drive daily and play mahjong weekly to keep my mind alert and my senses sharp; 
• walk in the farm daily with fresh oxygenated air from the Bamboo Forest and early morning sunlight; 
• get a good eight hours of sleep daily; 
• drink eight glasses of water throughout the day, early morning barako coffee and turmeric tea, and apple cider vinegar water at night; 
• eat simple farm food free from MSG, transfat and limit intake of processed meat and soda; 
• avoid meaningless arguments and stay away from toxic situations and people that cause stress;  drink good wine in moderation. 

At the Summit, unlimited red and white flowed freely, courtesy of Novellino owner Nonoy Quimbo personally advocating wine as the drink for long life. 

Last year, 200 Senior Citizens who came to Paraiso regularly committed to stay healthy and not die on us until the end of 2023. One of them, Nanay Ising at 84, did not keep her promise and left us in November.  But her neighbor told us the last year that she came to Paraiso weekly to play bingo was the happiest year of her life. 

My personal take-away from the Summit is simple: never give up on ourselves and those we love. 

Throughout our long life, we do a lot of good and make a lot of mistakes. The ultimate truth that we can embrace as we age is clear: imperfect as we are, we have a Father with the perfect love that will correct our mistakes, forgive our sins, heal our hurts and wipe away our tears. 

The succulent roast calf given by an anonymous donor from Sta Teresita was a symbolic return-to-the Father metaphor. 

The best preparation to be a BLUE ZONE is to be ready anytime our Father takes us home. 

As long as we are still breathing, we will give our all to make Paraiso a BLUE ZONE FARM and a template to breathe more life to more communities in our country. 

At the very least, we will happily die trying. 

About the author

ANTONIO “TONY” MELOTO is the founder of Gawad Kalinga, a poverty alleviation movement. He was named 2006 “Filipino of the Year” by the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Born in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, he took his senior high school year at De Anza High School in Richmond, California as an American Field Service scholar. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics degree from Ateneo de Manila University and was a full academic scholar. He took a job as a purchasing manager for Procter and Gamble. Meloto became an active member of Couples for Christ in 1985 and rose to leadership, playing a key role in establishing CFC Family Ministries in 1993. In 1995 he began a youth development program for juvenile delinquents in Caloocan. The program evolved into Gawad Kalinga, now a global movement for building sustainable communities within poverty-stricken areas. In 2006 he was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership.