My Cabiokid Permaculture Experience

* It's just been 4 days since I came back from Cabiokid for a weeklong permaculture training course at Cabiao, Nueva Ecija. To be part of a training course like this, where you get your feet wet and your hands dirty, was one of my goals for 2014. 

* My classmates were awesome. We were diverse--culturally and linguistically--with delegates from Belgium, Toronto, Isabela, Bicol, Oroquieta, Quezon, Boracay, Negros Occidental, and Laguna. The experience reminded me of the summer youth camps I used to attend when I was in high school. And of course, you had to be really interested in permaculture to even Google the phrase "permaculture in the Philippines." I knew I was in good company from the very first day.

Photo by Gwyneth Williams 

* The first two days were pretty hardcore. The morning and afternoon sessions were 2 to 3 hour-long lectures on permaculture theories and concepts. Then in the evening we would watch documentaries. The first two were pretty depressing, I must admit. But the third movie, Dirt, was a pretty uplifting one. Our teachers, Bert Peeters, Tholits, and Luz were easy to get along with and they were very down-to-earth. Days 3 to 4 were spent on the field while the last two days were dedicated to drawing and presenting our final project outputs.

* I really still can't figure out how I would put into writing my 7-day experience in this amazing place. Looking at the photos alone is already overwhelming. When I was there, I was texting my friends telling them that they should take the course next year and experience Cabiokid for themselves.

* We did a lot of drawing activities. I liked that even though I had the drawing skills of a preschooler. It really challenged me to come up with different designs in such a short time.

* When I came back, I couldn't stop talking about permaculture. I've been blabbering about permaculture for four days now. I really hope I can get more opportunities to share this unusually simple framework for sustainable development to other people.

* Tomorrow, I'll be at Kainos Farm to share my experience to our farmers. Probably I'll redesign the whole farm again. Who knows?

* I have a 4-phase project plan for my permaculture design for Daang Kalabaw Community Garden. Phase 1 starts this Sunday. I'm sooo excited!