The joy of growing vegetables, raising hogs for own food and livelihood

                                         
By: Annabelle Libao

To grow vegetables and raise hogs for home consumption or as a source of income are fundamental pleasures and skills so many of us are missing nowadays. Refreshed with bright ideas for a healthy well-being and living, 48 participants of Agriculture/ Agri- livestock Skills Training received certificates last May 17, 2015 after attending the four-week course at Migrants Empowerment Resource Centre (MERC), Hong Kong.

The course was conducted last  March 08 - April 19. The participants learned the different methods of Natural Farming, Poultry Production, Mushroom Culture and Aquaculture (tilapia) under the able tutelage of Rose Perido. Rose has been sharing her knowledge and experiences in farming for more than 10 years.

“Malapit sa puso ko ang usaping pangkabuhayan at pagsasaka” says Honorable Consul Charles Macaspac who was the guest of honor, and whose grandfather and father-in-law have served in the agricultural sector for so many years.  Supportive Kathy de Guzman, Director of Wimler Foundation, encouraged everyone to keep learning as tools for better options in the future.

Most of the participants came from farming families and some have already ventured into agri-projects back in their respective hometowns.

Alvir Catacutan and his family from Misamis Oriental are currently engaged in banana production in their eight hectares farmland. “The recent typhoons have affected our 1,700 trees but they are now recovering and producing good monthly harvest,” he said.

Wilma Padura who hails from Passi City happily shared how she started planting 500 cacao trees and a fish pond project for her group. “Although the cost of labor and capital are quite high, the return is also high about 40 percent," Padura said.

Venus Agustin joyfully cited the risks, challenges and success of their two-year-old fish farm in Mallig, Isabela. Lots of potentials and inspiring stories were shared during the training.

Most of the participants were energized after the training to engage more in agriculture, hog raising and aqua culture when they go home to their respective hometowns.

Nothing tastes like food you just harvested yourself from your own farm, back yard or containers. It is the joy we feel when we taste the beans that we grew or meat from the hogs we raised with guaranteed benefits for a good health that most of us choose to go back to basic - the natural organic way of growing foods.

Learn with us!

This Agriculture / Agri-livestock Skills Training is organized by Wimler Foundation Hong Kong in cooperation with Isabela Federation, MERC and Prime Credit.

To register, please send message to 5373 6298. Thank you.