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| Photo by Jabez Flores (Shot by DJI Ryze Tello) |
After 11 days of rest (we had to reschedule a couple of our trips due to Typhoon Ompong), the PRPH team was on the road once again, this time travelling to a start-up permaculture farm in San Manuel, Isabela. Joining us for this trip is Erickson Tabayag, a birder and graduate student from SESAM, UPLB.
Lorenza's Garden & Food Forest Farm is a unique study site for the research because work in the farm just began this year (2018). Compared to the first four sites we visited, this is a very young design with small projects peppered here and there--a vegetable garden, a peanut patch, a small house, a nursery, etc. Though the obvious advantage of this place is its location: upland with a nice view of a lake; a thick forest edge protecting the perimeter of the property; a small creek trickling below; and and a rich biodiversity of plants and animals (Erickson was able to ID at least 10 endemic species of birds during our first day in the farm). And the farm is conveniently in the middle of a sloping forest clearing!
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| Blue-headed Fantail (Rhipidura cyaniceps) spotted in the farm. Photo by Erickson Tabayag |
Enrico Navea, a graduate of the basic and advanced Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course at Cabiokid Foundation (2017), is the designer of the property. The overall theme of the design is DIY EVERYTHING! From their house to the garden to the food they eat, the plan was to really do everything by hand and learn as many skills as possible (as evidenced by his NC-II in Organic Agriculture and Food Processing to go along with his PDC certificates).
We finished early with our data gathering so we volunteered to help with some chores around the farm. We mulched some raised beds using bamboo leaves and cogon and also constructed a berm made out of branches and banana trunks. Enrico also asked us to plant tree seedlings before we left as part of his advocacy to reforest the entire property. He named each seedling after each PRPH team member!
We would like to extend our thanks to Enrico for sharing his life in the farm with us! For the full story, you have to wait for the vlog in 2019! But we will post original and exclusive content on our Facebook and Instagram pages every now and then. Please follow us at @permacultureresearchph.
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| Enrico showing the team around the farm as Jabez does his vlog while Brian shoots his documentary film. |
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