From Glasshouse Rizal to Finca: Kim's Ongoing Story of Building Community Spaces

The very first workshop I attended in Davao was at Glasshouse Rizal in July 2023. At the time, I was looking for something to keep me occupied as most of my friends were busy with their own lives. Since then, I’ve found a space where I can be myself and meet interesting people with similar passions.

The café feels ideally suited to quiet introspection and to connecting with strangers over shared loves. I’m grateful to Kim for taking the time to meet with me and a few friends to talk about the ethos behind Glasshouse.

At 22, while quietly trying to figure out what she actually wanted, the opportunity for Glasshouse came along. A small rental space in the Oboza compound as a sub-lessor of Claude’s. It came from a desire to explore something more. Not to return to an overachieving version of herself, but to build something that didn’t require anyone else’s permission.

Imagine giving an idealistic 22 year-old free rein over a blank canvas. A coffee shop filled with books and gatherings in line with her own interests where the community gathered on its own. As Kim puts it, “The space was so small. We literally would only have friends attend the shows. It was a comfortable bubble in which the community meant mostly people you already knew.”

Kim shares on those last few days at Glasshouse Aeon, “The last few events at Glasshouse Aeon were mostly friends that came to us to say we’d like to hold an event here. After it closed, I missed the energy of being around people who wanted to learn, so I was inspired to create Tasting Colors.”

In Davao, community doesn’t necessarily mean people already know one another. But it often involves coming together with others who care about the same things. This is why Glasshouse feels like home, and what inspired the next chapter.

Finca is Kim’s newest café, but just like Glasshouse, it started as a blank canvas. The word itself just means “estate” in Spanish. It’s deliberately empty of meaning, waiting for the community to give it one.

Kim doesn’t see competition when other cafés open around her. If anything, she wishes more businesses were built from self‑knowledge. Because when you know who you are, you’ll know what kind of space you want to offer others.

Finca is meant to be a place where seeds are planted, ideas grow and coffee is just the medium. The goal is still the same. A space that people can feel ownership over, something that eventually becomes theirs. That’s what Glasshouse Rizal is. That’s what Finca is becoming.