These past few months we’ve spent quarantined at home has led to most, if not all, of us to pursue hobbies old and new to keep ourselves positive and productive amid a complete change in our daily routines. This Filipina pilot, in particular, sought the comfort of producing a YouTube vlog about something she was passionate about to cope with her livelihood being put on hold.
Samantha Bachini-Chanco, the 27-year-old content creator behind new YouTube channel “Sam’s Halaman” (“Sam’s Plants”), is among those whose work was affected by the current health crisis. As a pilot of one of the leading airlines in the Philippines, she suddenly found herself with so much free time on her hands which she decided to spend nurturing her green thumb.
One thing led to another and, from making fun recordings of her plant haul on Instagram, Samantha is now creating weekly content about plant care tips for beginners, home remedies for plant pests, and more.
“My journey in becoming a plant parent escalated quite quickly. Although I have always admired people’s plant posts and their cozy “zen zones” as I’d call it, I always took a step back because of my job and because I wasn’t sure about how I would care for them if I was always away, where I’d be placing them, and how I’d make them look nice inside my home,” Samantha shared with When In Manila.
“Late last year, I decided to buy only 2 plants and those were: Snake Plant & Marble Queen Pothos, just to add a bit of balance in our living room. And then after that when I saw how beautiful it was, I bought some more and, as of today, my collection has grown to 106 plants. What started as a decoration piece in our house became something I was really passionate and cared a lot about.”
“My favorite thing about vlogging is just being myself, I like how I am comfortable and very casual in doing this,” she continued. “Prior to vlogging, most of my friends ask me about plant stuff, like which plant is good for this certain spot, which plant is easy care, how to re-pot, etc., and now that I’ve started this Youtube channel (and also my Instagram account mainly for my plant collection), I get so many questions everyday, and try to answer them the best way I know/can.”
She added: “The best thing is that I make more friends, the plant community grows even bigger, and I help them with their minor plant-troubles, as how the others in the community helped me through my journey as well.”
Although she only started her channel less than a month ago, she has received an overwhelming amount of love and support not only from those closest to her but also from people she’s never met.
“Never in my wildest dreams, did I imagine doing this and talking in front of a camera about my newfound love for plants, but somehow I feel really happy that I am able to inspire other people in starting their collection,” she said. “I have received a lot of messages telling me how watching my vlogs made them want to start their own plant-parenting journey and I love that because I want to share how collecting plants has positively affected my life.”
When asked how creating her vlog has given her solace from the difficult circumstances at the moment, she shared that it has fortunately become an avenue for her to bring positivity into her life and the lives of others when they need it the most.
“I believe in these trying times, we need to look at life from a positive angle. This crisis has affected so many lives and I must admit, it has been really emotionally, and mentally draining to watch about how greatly it has spread all over the world, and I believe that by doing these feel-good, light and fun vlogs about my plants, at least I am able to help people in diverting their attention away from all the negativity,” she said.
“Most plant sellers are small sellers too, and we are able to greatly help them as this trend is rapidly rising, I love seeing how busy our usual sellers are because business has been good for them since a lot of people want to start their plant collections too.”
(ALSO READ: 8 House Plants Perfect for First Time Plant Parents)
You can find Samantha on her Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.
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