INDIGENEOUS ORGANIC FARM IN THE PHILIPPINES
regenerative organic agriculture
Rattan Fruit(Littuko) as “Pasalubong”
We have just harvested seedless rattan fruit(Littuko) from the farm the day before I travelled to Baguio to visit relatives and friends and I thought of bringing these rattan fruits as special pasalubong.
Giving pasalubong is a cultural Filipino tradition of travellers bringing gifts from their destination to friends and family back home. The gesture of handing out pasalubong emphasizes the gladness at reuniting with friends and one’s loved ones but it is also a sign of thoughtfulness.(pasalubong)
The first person I visited upon arriving the city was my friend Professor Lulu Fang-asan. Unluckily I did not catch her at her office at Baguio State University since she was out. That was the consequence of not making an appointment. My plan of surprising her did not work out well. Anyway, I left my gift to a lady who was at the office and requested her to hand it over to Lulu when she arrives. I have not heard from Lulu for a while but I suppose she enjoyed eating the littuko. Why? Because this is what I found in her timeline. When I saw the photo I knew she liked her pasalubong but at the same time, the photo she posted in her timeline was also a free advertisement for the sweet seedless rattan fruit (littuko) of Layog Country Farm.
Imperfection
I am proud and happier now when I learned to accept myself as I am and stopped striving to be perfect. It does not matter anymore what anyone thinks about me. It is a good feeling to be free from other people’s expectations! Now I am winning back my self confidence and it feels fantastic to simply be the best version of myself.
Hope
Where flowers bloom
so does hope
– Lady Bird Johnson
Even at my darkest moments, a little ray of hope is enough to help me take one step forward.
Peace of Mind
I don’t have to search for peace somewhere else because I know I can find peace deep within me …
Flowers and friends
Sometimes I ask myself this question. How many friends do I need? What about you? Have you ever wondered how many friends do you need too? Please share what you have in mind.
Volunteer Reviews and Comments from the Visitors
Your Feedback: The Farm’s Signpost
The road to successful advocacy work is not easy to navigate. You may be sure you are on the right track and have clear plans on where you want to go and how to get there but you can never be sure which way to turn when the track you are taking starts to diverge nor how far or near you are to your destination. You need a map and signposts to help you make sure you are taking the right turns and headed to your planned destination and heading there on time.
Feedbacks or comments from people who have gone through the Layog Country Farm encounter serve as the farm’s map and signposts. It is how the people behind the farm’s operations would have an idea if indeed its advocacy for a sustainable and ecologically conscious farm system is sinking into the thinking of those who have entered and exited the farm’s gates and whether it has influenced them to be more critical and be more ecologically conscious of their lifestyle
To be more specific on how the feedbacks are helpful to the farm, here are three ways how:
- It helps to put the farm on track – the only possible way the people running the farm would know if they are running the farm in a way they expect those who would experience the farm not only to enjoy but learn from the experience would be to hear what those who went through the experience themselves have to say. It is through their feedbacks that the farm management would know whether they are doing the things they do fine or are amiss. The feedbacks are important tools to help keep them manage and keep the farm in sync with what
- It is motivational – Nothing inspires people to do better in their work than to hear others tell them they are doing a fantastic job. The people running the farm are no different.
- It provides an opportunity for learning – there is much wisdom to gain from people’s comments and feedback. It provides seeds of ideas on how to do things better. The farm encounters are a learning experience for everyone, the farm management included.
So feedbacks are not just feedbacks. They serve important purposes. So the people behind the Layog Country Farm would like to say “Thank you for all your comments and feedbacks. Keep it coming.”
Layog Country Farm is the perfect farm to get your hands dirty and your sweat glands busy while learning about the indigenous way of sustainable farming. Be ready to climb up and down to the different parts of the farm — up to pull out weeds from the coffee plants, down to the cottages for lunch, up to gather/harvest vegetables, then down to do the vermicomposting. But you’ll work at your own pace, no pressure at all. I was actually looking forward to helping with the clean-up of the mudslides caused by the typhoon when I was there but it was probably for the best that we left that job to the experts. 🙂
