“Do not think about me. Go do what you have to do. I would be happier to see your plans moving on without hitch than be the reason it is going to be stalled.” My Mom told me as she insisted that I attend my meeting with the Philippine Bamboo Foundation which I was contemplating of canceling knowing how ill she was and fully aware of the little time left of my vacation that I could spend with her.
I went to the meeting as she insisted. It was a meeting worth the time spent. We discussed how the Layog Country Farm (LCF) and the Philippine Bamboo Foundation (PBF) could forge a partnership in promoting bamboo production in the locality with LCF initiating the lead.
My Mom anxiously waited to know the result of the meeting and asked me about it as soon as I was home. We talked lengthily about the results of the meeting and how the bamboo project could serve the interest of the farm in so many ways especially on erosion control which has been a major problem in the farm area.
Mom was also happy when I informed her that we will make sure that the local”anes” bamboo growing in our area will be well taken cared of. She encouraged me to go for it and expressed her hope she would still be able to see it fully take off. That was the last serious talk I had with her . As fate had it, she would not be physically around to see the bamboo project realized as she had wished.
In her memory, we are naming the project, Lola Julia’s Bamboo Garden. It would not just be a bamboo plantation. We would like to turn it into a bamboo park where people could see various varieties of bamboo some people may not have ever seen. It is some kind of an educational garden too for people who may be interested in bamboos. But more than that, It could be a place where people could go wind up and have some fun.
There is currently lots of work going on to get the bamboo garden be ready for the planned inauguration next year. We hope to do that July 2016 if everything goes as planned.
It is a work in progress garden. It was fueled by my mother’s encouragement and wish. Built through the support of so many kind people and by God’s Grace, it is going to be one beautiful bamboo garden.
Nice tribute to your Mom.
Yes indeed. It is a pleasure to create the bamboo garden to honor her and she really deserves it.My mother has always been there serving as my farm mentor. Reopening the farm after it has been abandoned for decades is not an easy job. There were times really when I felt like just quitting. Luckily I have my motherwho always tell me never to give up on my dreams of developing the farm. I remember her saying “pray and the Lord will give you the strength and patience to achieve your goals.”
Agyod ay panglaglagipan tako isnan nankapoan.
Wen, mayat abe ay iinmprove tako ta waday mantauli an di annak ya apo ay bisitaen. The place should continue to be operated as a family farm also for the younger generation.
I am happy that there are serious and committed people who are interested on bamboo production because what will you harvest if you will not plant? Congratulations for starting a big action!
Thank you Ma’am Fatima for the kind words. Yes,we are very serious about this project and we start it by first saving our native local bamboos called “anes” which is growing at our farm. We wish to be a demo farm for this with the hope that it will inspire also the local farmers around us. Our dream is to be able to produce also enough that it can be a source of local employment in the future aside from focusing on the role of bamboos too in solving some of our major environmental problems. You are most welcome to visit us at the farm in the future.
A special tribute to your mother! But why bamboo garden?
I have particularly chosen to start a bamboo garden in honor of my mother because the bamboo project was the last serious discussion I had with my mother some weeks before she died. She is very much engaged about how we would prevent erosion which is happening on our farm almost every rainy season. We both have been talking about planting bamboos as preventive measures to erosion.