Solane launches the AlabKalinga Community Kitchen on June 28, a free cooking initiative that brings together more than 70 households for a shared afternoon of food, safety training, and practical support. Named for the Filipino spirit of bayanihan, the program pairs hands-on LPG education with the kind of neighborly exchange that rising costs have made harder to come by.
Safety, affordability, and convenience
The Community Kitchen is not a one-off cooking demo. Marcus Dubria, Plant Manager of Solane’s Leganes Plant, leads an educational talk on the benefits and proper use of LPG, followed by a safety session from the Bureau of Fire Protection covering emergency response and safe handling practices. Participants get to see, firsthand, how LPG shortens cooking time and simplifies meal prep for busy households.
For many attendees, the bigger takeaway is affordability. One participant shares that she had wanted to switch to LPG for a while but held off over cost. Through the program, she learns about Solane’s 1.4kg cylinder, a smaller-format option built for households that need flexibility without the bigger upfront spend. It reframes LPG for her, she says: not a luxury, but a manageable investment in her family’s daily convenience.
Community empowerment
Cooking is the entry point, but the day is really about connection. Neighbors trade recipes, sample each other’s dishes, and catch up in the kind of unstructured way that community events rarely leave room for anymore.
Pia Isabelle Bernabe, Senior Brand Manager of Solane, frames the initiative as something that reaches past the kitchen.
“When families feel safe and empowered in their everyday lives, they can focus on what matters most: caring for one another and building a better future together,” she says.
The program also brings in Home Essence, Masflex, Hanabishi, WOW Pasta, Le Minerale, and Mega Sardines, each contributing to loot bags and raffle prizes that give households something to bring home beyond a full stomach.
It is a collaboration built on shared values rather than shared shelf space, and it shows in how the day is structured: education first, generosity woven through it.
The program comes amid rising household costs in the Philippines, with cooking fuel among the expenses families often reduce. AlabKalinga addresses this through Solane’s 1.4kg LPG cylinder, an option designed for smaller households, alongside safety training on proper LPG handling conducted by the Bureau of Fire Protection.
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