Home Gardens in Barangay San Luis

Home gardens around the world are now recognized to improve the quality of life for urban dwellers. They promote food security by providing a year-round supply of nutritious food for the family. They complement family income with harvests which can be sold to neighbors or be brought to the market. They provide pleasant surroundings and contribute to greening up the neighborhood.

In Barangay San Luis, Baguio city, home gardens optimize the skill and traditional knowledge of indigenous migrants from interior villages of Mt. Province. For them, it is second nature to maintain a home garden, and those who do not are considered lazy. Gerry Cacho of ORNUS, alliance of urban poor organizations in Baguio,  shares the following:

Common Plants. Among the San Luis home gardens, it is common to find sayote, camote, gabi, and legumes like itab and patani. Sayote and camote shoots are readily available for a nutritious meal. While the root crops of camote and gabi provide healthy, filling snacks for growing children. Several varieties of camote and gabi are maintained: some for their leaves, some for their edible roots, and all useful for particular needs of the family.

Home gardeners also grow a few medicinal plants like lemon grass and ginger to maintain the health needs of the family. Fruit trees like dayap, avocado, guava and bananas are also part of the garden, when the necessary space is available.

Animal Raising. Animals are part of the home garden. Pigs, dogs and chickens are raised to support the practice of traditional rituals related to sickness, death and weddings in the city. Some practices require specific features such as a black pig or a native chicken, thus encouraging families to raise their own animals. Pigs are kept in pens, and are fed produce from the garden and organic wastes from the community and beyond. While chickens are allowed to roam freely, helping themselves to goodies in the garden.

Seed Exchange. First generation migrants carried their traditional seeds to the city, and propagated these in their home gardens in San Luis. They also carried with them their traditional practice of seed saving and exchange, sharing their seeds with neighbors, friends and relatives. This practice has maintained some varieties through the years to the present third generation of migrant families. Some varieties though have been lost, and some gardeners resort to buying commercial seeds in the market.

Children help out. Children are encouraged to maintain their own gardens and raise their own animals. They are allowed to sell their produce, and use the cash for their own needs. However, many children are losing interest in gardening, and are lured to other income-generating activities such as selling plastic bags or fruits in the market or sidewalks of Baguio. These activities are preferred because they are easier and money comes everyday, unlike gardening which requires patience and waiting for months before harvest.

Steps Forward. The community organization recently made an appraisal of their home gardens, and brainstormed on ways to strengthen the traditional practice. As a result, families are gaining inspiration and strength in improving their gardens and setting up new ones for new crops and vegetables, which will help them cope with the food crisis.

The San Luis home gardens are presently invisible to city planners and environmentalists, but surely enhance the city's ecology and increase biodiversity by converting empty lots and unused spaces to green patches which attract beneficial insects and birds.

Agbiag!