Friday, June 22, 2012

Natural Farming Training in Davao

Since I arrived two years ago (Wow has it been that long already?) I founded a conservation organization that does work in an area I've come to love. I live by the beach and everyday I witness a spectacular sunset, a flock of egrets flying from their roost at dawn and coming back before the sun sets, bats feeding on fruit trees at night, and every month the evening shadows made by the intense glow of the full moon. Being at the perimeter of a protected natural park I see more wildlife in my garden, and in my house, than anywhere else before. But the real adventure is in hiking up the mountains to see hornbills, snakes, unusual wild plants, fresh water turtles, forest crabs, yes crabs! And many other hidden creatures whose chirps and cries I can only hear and haven't seen. I am, oddly, very comfortable in this rural and wild place. Although, I've always enjoyed spending some time in the wilderness I've never actually thought of living in a remote area. Remote may be too strong to describe where I live. It is rural with almost none of the city conveniences, but it is only a forty minute drive to one very small city and a twenty minute drive to a small town. I love being here so much that I have been under negotiations to purchase a plot of land to finally have a proper farm. After the fiasco a couple of years back, which ended up with a failed farm, I am more confident now that things will turn out better. For one thing, the training for natural farming is now widely available and has been proven to work in many areas of the Philippines. Unlike a couple of years ago when I hired the only person that had the skills needed to establish a natural farm. Unfortunately, he was selfish with that knowledge and only pretended to want to help when in fact he just took the money and didn't deliver his end of the deal. The trainers for natural farming now-a-days have made it their advocacy and is eager to train as many farmers and would-be-farmers. The cost of training itself is quite affordable and the benefits are enormous. But let's not get ahead of ourselves! I will soon be blogging about it all.

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