Earthworms eat their garbage

Jun and Christopher show off their vermicomposting site.

Organic wombok has replaced ornamentals at Good Shepherd.

Sister Guada of the Religious of the Good Shepherd (RGS) in Baguio City is happy these days. Their long-standing problem of a growing compost mountain, whose smell used to reach the quarters of the sisters, has now been solved.

Good Shepherd is famous for its Mountain Maid brand of ube jam, adobo peanuts, strawberry products, and cookies and such, which visitors line up for. Truckloads of ube, peanuts, strawberries and other produce, are processed into yummy goodies, proceeds of which go into an educational support program. Meanwhile, their composting efforts were not able to keep pace with the volumes of wastes produced.

Jun and Christopher of RGS attended the Vermicomposting training conducted by Tebtebba and Traditional Knowledge Network in June 2009. They received 4 kilos of earthworms in their starter kits. They made their first vermibeds, and started feeding them their accumulated organic wastes. Their earthworms thrived, multiplied and produced vermicompost, which they applied in their gardens.

Their initial success encouraged them to make more vermibeds and transform their previously ornamental gardens into vegetable gardens. Their wombok, pechay, and brocolli are thriving. RGS employees now have access to a supply of organic vegetables for their health and wellbeing. Now, their next step is to introduce vermiculture to their farmer-suppliers of strawberries, to encourage organic farming among them.

Now, RGS effectively manages its wastes, and their experience has made them into staunch advocates of vermicomposting for solid waste management and organic farming. They will soon host the next training on vermi-based technologies for organic farms.

If you go buy a bottle of their ube jam, visit their gardens and vermibeds for lessons in vermicomposting and nutrient cycling.#

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!

Certified Organic by Mother Petra

Mother Petra needs no certification from the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP), and has no plans of going through the lengthy and expensive process of getting one. She has been practicing traditional organic agriculture her whole life, and has put to good use the practical traditional knowledge (TK) she learned in her hometown Mainit, Mountain Province (named after its hot springs) and also from her visits to demonstration farms of the Montanosa Research and Development Center (MRDC).

Ten hours away from Baguio city is Mother Petra's farm in Maligaya, Nueva Vizcaya Her crop is rice, and she has succeeded in convincing her neighbors that farmers do not need to buy chemical inputs to have a good harvest. Such a radical idea, but proven right by many seasons of bountiful harvests that continue to improve as years pass.

Instead of chemical fertilizers, Mother Petra scatters taep or rice husk after planting. She goes to the rice mill to ask for or buy so many cavans of taep to fill a kuliglig (tractor), and she applies 10 - 15 cavans per hectare each season. It if food for the bisukol (edible snails living in the rice paddies), and when it rots, it is organic fertilizer. Applying the rice husk is laborious, and it helps if there is a wind which can carry it further. Only thing is, her face gets covered with the rice husk powder which makes her look like al-alya! But no problem. What is important is that her land continues to get more fertile, her expenses are low, and she has a stock of organic rice, which she shares with her fortunate family and friends. 

Mother Petra is now 76, still going strong, as she makes her rounds to visit her children and grandchildren to give them their supply of organic rice, in Baguio, Bontoc, and Metro Manila. Asked about her secret to good health, she answered: Eat organic, work, and when you are tired, rest. Words of wisdom which I should pay heed to...