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| Aerial view of the FMDS Perma GARDEN (Photo credit: PRPH) |
Los Banos, Laguna
This was a big week for permaculture as several permaculture-related events were held at the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) from March 21 to 22 as part of UPOU's celebration of International Women's Month and the International Day of Forests.
Permaculture Systems Design Thinking (PSDT) course
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| The PSDT course and FMDS Perma GARDEN was introduced by UPOU senior lecturer and course coordinator, Dr. Jabez Flores (Photo credit: UPOU Official Facebook Page) |
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| The special event was attended by Jake Bautista III, Executive Director of the Philippine Permaculture Association, and its staff (Photo credit: PRPH) |
After several years in development, the Philippine Permaculture Association's proposal to offer a permaculture course in an academic setting has finally come to fruition! Launched last Tuesday, March 21, the 16-week PSDT course is part of the Faculty of Management and Development Studies' (FMDS) Continuing Education Program which is popular for its short courses on environment, health, and entrepreneurship. The course just opened this week, if you are interested you can still enroll by contacting FMDS at fmds-cep@upou.edu.ph or calling them at (049) 536-6010. You can view the course outline here.
FMDS Perma GARDEN
Along with the course, the FMDS Perma GARDEN, which is an acronym for Growing Appreciation toward Resilience, Development, Entrepreneurship, and Nutrition, was also launched that day. The garden is an initiative of the FMDS Dean, Dr. Joane Serrano, to provide the university faculty and staff with fresh organic food and also educate the community about how permaculture can help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, especially SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
The garden was designed by Dr. Flores together with expert gardener Maryjane Reondanga of UPOU. FMDS added some cool features to the garden by adding QR codes containing information for every plant which visitors can access using the free on-campus Wi-Fi. They also added a virtual tour here.
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| The event was attended by UPOU faculty and staff, past and present university officials, high school and elementary students, women's groups, and local officials. The event was highlighted by the harvesting of vegetables around the garden (Photo credit: PRPH) |
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| After the launch, native trees were planted around the UPOU campus by university officials, faculty, and staff. The activity was organized by FMDS with guidance from Forester Karl Villegas (Photo credit: UPOU Official Facebook Page) |
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| The mural for the garden was painted by young artists, Mac Kevin Baula and Edhelysa Necesito (Photo Credit: Dr. Rina Tan de Luna) |
A Brief Introduction to Permaculture
The launch of these initiatives was followed by a 30-minute lecture on permaculture by Dr. Flores to high school and elementary students and their teachers to explain the science behind permaculture design. The garden is open to the public and we will be happy to show you around when you visit.
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| Dr. Flores explaining permaculture to a young audience (Photo credit: Nenieveh Glinoga) |
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| Participants of the Introduction to Permaculture lecture (Photo credit: Nenieveh Glinoga) |
Advancing Gender Equality, Sustainability, and Inclusive Society: Role of Permaculture, Community Forest Development, and Native Trees as Sustainable Based Livelihoods in the Philippines
In the afternoon, Ms. Nenieveh "Weng" Glinoga, a permaculture designer and nurse, was one of the three speakers invited to talk about the role of permaculture in a sustainable livelihood. For long-time readers of this blog and followers of PRPH, you might recognize Ms. Glinoga from our vlog series. She was the first permaculture designer we visited during our nationwide study on permaculture back in 2018. You can watch the full seminar here.
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| Dr. Joane Serrano and Dr. Finaflor Taylan awards the certificates to guests speakers (L-R), For. Karl Villegas, Ms. Nenieveh Glinoga, and Ms. Nida Collado via Zoom (Photo credit: PRPH) |
Open Talk: IP Women in Permaculture and Health
The next day, March 22, Ms. Glinoga was once again onstage for an episode of Open Talk. Hosted by Ms. Neena Ebron and moderated by Dr. Flores, Ms. Glinoga shared her experiences on growing up with a Manobo father and then leaving home to study and work as a paramedic nurse. She then shared how he transitioned from being a health professional and eventually a farmer and permaculture designer. You can watch the full episode of the talk show here.
Visit the Glinoga Integrated Farm FB page
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| The Open Talk episode was broadcasted live via UPOU Networks and was attended onsite by students, faculty, and staff (Photo credit: Nenieveh Glinoga) |
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