Still Waiting

Sigh. Everything moves at a snails pace around here. I've learned to take it easy, but can't help the occasional frustration. I'm still waiting for the necessary papers I need to start the process of procuring the farmland I negotiated for.

Here is the beautiful piece of land that is worth the wait. Although, I can't say how much longer my coffee seedlings can wait.

Indigenous Microorganisms in Natural Farming (IMO)

I found these videos on YouTube and can say they basically describe the formulas I learned to make at the Natural Farming seminar I attended with some negligible differences.

How to capture, cultivate, preserve, and use IMO.

IMO 1 - 5

Lactic Acid Bacteria (LABS)

Natural Farming Training Seminar

A truly wonderful 4-day training on how to grow crops, fruit trees, and livestock without any chemical pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics and hormones. More than that it teaches you how to enjoy farming,be self-reliant,respect life, and lead a healthy happy life. When I started this blog about 10 years ago this was the vision I had when I hired a consultant to turn my 2000 sqm property in Antipolo into an organic farm. Unfortunately, this person was unscrupulous and I had to give up the dream. I tried to do it on my own but my only resources were books on Permaculture and Organic Farming, all from a northern perspective. It was very difficult to apply to a tropical climate and looking for alternatives was even more daunting and time consuming. One would have to be educated in botany, entomology, soil science, ecology, etc, etc. Or at the very least have a degree in agriculture. I decided instead to pursue environmental studies and environmental conservation is the work I do now. In the process I have come back to farming in one of my foundation's projects. Conventional agriculture is one of the greatest foes of wildlife habitat and causes massive environmental degradation. It is also not very lucrative for the farm worker who stays poor and lives on a hand-to-mouth existence. Something has to be done to change this. Afterall, where would we be without farmers, or the environment for that matter? The farmer's status in society has gone way down since the Green Revolution. It's no longer a job anyone aspires to, but is undertaken out of necessity. Farm owners, on the other hand, are lucrative and wealthy. It has become a business like any other that has taken the processes of nature and the wellbeing of people out of the equation. Conventional farm owners, to put it simply, have only one thing in mind and that is to make a profit, which unfailingly leads to cutting corners. Thus, nutrition and flavor of the produce was placed on the wayside as well as kindness to living things, self-reliance, and pride in one's work. There is no virtue in conventional agriculture.

One thing to keep in mind, Natural Farming is not for the lazy. The 4-day training was intense. In the end I came out armed with the philosophical and practical knowledge I need to start farming the proper way. I went with two of my staff. Mario was with me from the beginning in Antipolo, a farmer from Negros who will come with me to Antique. Noriel works for me in CAPE Foundation, Inc. and will eventually be training other farmers. Natural Farming is different from organic farming in that it uses the Korean method of applying the principles of nature in controlling the outcome of one's produce. The use of indigenous microorganisms in making fertilizers and inducing growth is the main component of Korean Natural Farming, a method of farming developed in the 1960's by Cho Han-kyu. Today, this method of farming has centers in Japan, China,Thailand, Malaysia (center of NF in SEA), Philippines, Vietnam, and Mongolia. Now just imagine that this farming method has been in existence before the present widespread conventional agriculture that was initiated and touted as the Green Revolution by the USA. In fact, traditional farming in many parts of the world has been lost and replaced by the pervasive monoculture farming method which relies on buying farming inputs and depending on technology provided by these corporations. To earn a decent profit from it would need to be done on a large scale. The bigger the farm, the better. Because of the sheer size of conventional farms, having machinery is necessary, which means being reliant on fossil fuels. As a matter-of-fact, conventional farming is completely relient on fossil fuels. You can imagine how much capital you'd need to start a conventional farm. You would think that this would be a lucrative business because of its pervasiveness and the simple fact that you have a ready market. Yet, do you know of a rich farmer in the US or anywhere in the world? I haven't heard of a farmer making the Forbes 500. Yet, the corporations that sell farming inputs, farm machinery and farm produce litter the Fortune 500 list. In the Philippines, government seats are filled with agricultural landowners.

An alternative, or rather, going back to traditional methods of farming and ridding ourselves of the type of farming that is destructive to nature and our wellbeing is necessary if we are to achieve food security and environmental sustainability.

Mutants On Your Plate by Alan C. Robles
An article that explains the nature of GMO and its effects on health and the environment.

Why Are Filipino Hungry? by Ernesto N. Ordoñez
A comprehensive look at the causes of hunger in the Philippines.

Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in the Philippines
A paper on the multiple effects of inappropriate use of antibiotics. The section of antibiotic use in agriculture and aquaculture is relevant to this post.


Antibiotic Sourced from Mushroom to Boost Livestock
An interesting paper on using Clitopilus passeckerianus in fermented juices.

How Sustainable is Organic Agriculture in the Philippines?

Philippine Organic Agriculture Information Network

Andry Lim, Natural Farming Advocate

Growing crops and raising livestock without the use of synthetic chemicals is humane, healthy for people, environmentally-friendly, and cost-effective. I would be hard pressed to imagine anything negative about this system of farming, on the contrary it is a viable alternative to conventional farming, which is destroying our natural areas and polluting our waters. Conventional farming is also highly dependent on fossil fuels, which is a major driver of Climate Change. I've heard much about Andry Lim and even spoke to him on the phone before I decided to take his seminar in Natural Farming, which is principally a system of farming called Integrated Farming. Many people have benefited from his expertise and many more will. The next seminar is on July 23-28 in Davao.

Natural Farming Transforms a Formerly Run-Down Farm

Natural Farming with Andry Lim

Another farm I know of which holds seminars in Natural Farming is the Costales Nature Farms.

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.