Backyard farming is one way by which Goducate believes that communities in poor villages can help themselves. What they grow can provide nutrition for the family, and what they save by not having to buy vegetables and fruit can go towards other family needs. Some households started a communal farm in Tranca, a village in Laguna, Philippines, towards the end of last year. Inspired by the progress that the communal farm is making, one family whose house abuts on to a piece of abandoned land needed little urging from me to cultivate that plot two and half months ago.
They prepared the beds, and Goducate provided them seeds from the Goducate Model Farm. When I visited them recently, I was happy to see different kinds of vegetables growing well. Tatay [“father”] Benny, head of the family said, “Every two days we are able to harvest okra [lady’s fingers] from our vegetable garden enough to feed my family with fresh vegetables. Our backyard garden gives us fresh vegetables and we are able to share with our neighbors. It makes them happy and we are also happy that we become a help to them”.
Other vegetables growing in the backyard are squash, potatoes, eggplants [brinjals, aubergines], cucumbers, string beans, moringa, and ginger. The fruit trees include papaya, banana, and guava. And Tatay Benny is planning to plant even more varieties to maximize the space he has.
