Visiting the EcoHouse in Marikina

Yesterday, we visited the Philippine Permaculture Association's (PPA) main office in Marikina. Also known as the "EcoHouse", the 250 square-meter residential lot is the home of permaculture teacher, Bert Peeters, and some of the PPA staff. It was the first time for some team members to see a fully-functioning permaculture design in an urban setting, complete with solar panels, compost toilets, rainwater catchment, a garden, among many other permaculture design components. The team had the opportunity to talk and have lunch with the PPA board and staff. 

We will be back to fully study the site in mid-September. 

Watch the video here:

First Meeting with New Team Members

Today we had our first meeting with our new team members, Dada Mercado (BS Agriculture, '16) and Ara Bagunu (BS Biology, '16). They will serve as field enumerators for the entire duration of the study. Their main task is to survey and document (field notes, photo/video, geotag) system components for each of the 20 participating permaculture sites.

The study sites have yet to be finalized. So far only three have confirmed their participation via e-mail (Tara Farms in Laguna, Alpas Resort in Antique, and Layog Country Farm in Mt. Province).

We will check out study potential study sites in Marikina and Nueva Ecija on July 29-30. Our trip is made possible thanks to your kind donations at GoGetFunding.com.

Phase 1 Update: Who is Practicing Permaculture?

Who is practicing permaculture in the Philippines? That's our main question for Phase 1 of the research. Online surveys, referrals, Google and Facebook searches, and public database searches have revealed 170 permaculture designers (see graph) in the past 2 months--mostly in Cebu and Metro Manila. Do they really practice permaculture? And if they do, are they having success with their designs? Are they helping the environment? Are they positive influencers in the community? And are they food secure? Those questions are reserved for Phase 2. Our analysis of the Philippine permaculture movement in Phase 1 will reveal where information on permaculture is coming from and who is teaching it. What kind of people are more willing to adapt the practice? Who is willing to make a paradigm shift? And is it possible for permaculture design principles to penetrate mainstream thinking? Follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/permacultureresearchph) and learn more about our research on this website.
#PermacultureResearchPH

Phase 1 Update

Made this initial Philippine permaculture network map (total of 147 practitioners; including 7 unidentified locations) using the NatGeo Mapmaker.  So far, Cebu has the most number of practitioners with 25 followed by Metro Manila with 16. Still waiting for another database to begin the social network analysis. Also need to purchase GIS software to create the final map.