farm – Page 3 – Goducate … Go And Educate!

2010-10-012010-09-30

Goducate Training Center, Iloilo, Philippines must help itself (2)

Goducate’s main training center in Iloilo, Philippines, where most of Goducate’s future community workers will be trained is fast taking shape.

The main objective of this Training Center is to produce workers who can educate Asia’s needy people to help themselves – especially in livelihood skills. As most of Asia’s poor live in rural areas, our trainees will spend much time learning modern, sustainable farming methods at the center. Of course, other livelihood skills (eg. literacy and numeracy teaching, computer skills, English for employment, engine repairs) will also be taught.

To ensure that the center will be financially sustainable in the long term, the center will also have revenue-generating projects. To take advantage of its proximity to Iloilio City and its pristine natural surrounding, eco-tourism and recreational activities are being planned.

This rice field will soon be a recreational lake

As soon as the rice is harvested, the present area where we are experimenting with hybrid rice will be converted into a recreational lake with boating, recreational fishing and other recreational water activities. The hybrid rice will henceforth be planted in collaborators’ farms around the center.

Over the recreational lake we plan to have zip-lines, which will be the first in the province. There will also be horse-riding around the center and horse-carriage rides for families.

We also plan to have a restaurant serving food grown in the center – organic vegetables from our gardens, poultry, pork and mutton from our farm, fish caught from our lake, and fruits from our fruit trees.

We hope that the center will produce enough food for our trainees and our restaurants and that the revenue from these activities will pay for the upkeep of the center.

If Goducate Training Center does not help itself, then how can it train workers to help others help themselves?

2010-09-292010-09-30

Goducate Training Center, Iloilo, Philippines must help itself!

The Goducate Training Center in Iloilo, Philippines is being developed presently. So far the following has been done: the perimeter fence around the 11.2 hectares of land, the irrigation lake and canals, deep wells, roads, plant-nursery, green-house, vermi-culture beds, activity fields, clearing of land, terracing of slopes, planting of hybrid rice, vegetables and fruit-trees. The multi-purpose hall is fast taking shape and should be ready by November (if rains do not overly hinder construction).

Hopefully, we will take in our first “pilot” batch of trainees in November/December to “stress test” the facilities.

The true challenge of all charities is sustainability. Many charitable projects fail because they are not self-sustaining – especially after the founder of the charity passes on, when donor-fatigue sets in, or when the foreigners hand over the project to locals.

As Goducate aims to help Asians help themselves by training workers who will learn how to help themselves, Goducate Training Center also aims to be self-sustaining in a few years time.

Goducate trainees at our Training Center will be eating the food that they grow – and in the process learn to be competent, practical agriculturalists. As most of Asia’s poor live in rural communities, Goducate’s future workers will be able to grow most of their own food and help the communities they serve to grow their own food too.

However, just growing food to feed the trainees is insufficient because it is expensive to maintain the center. If funds are not raised for maintenance of the center, it will eventually run down and be derelict.

As the center is located in a nice, natural surroundings with rolling hills and valleys and is only 40 minutes from Iloilo City, plans are being made to turn part of it into a recreational, eco-tourism park. The revenue from eco-tourism activities will help to pay for the on-going maintenance of the center. I will describe some of the proposed activities in my next blog.

Goducate aims to make its Training Center help itself!

2010-09-062010-09-13

Laguna Model Farm Takes Steps to Start Demo

The model farm in Laguna, Philippines was a month-old operation when I visited it with the directors of Goducate in August. Its purpose is to demonstrate to the poor to produce vegetables for their own consumption. The first thought that came to mind, as I listened to the Goducate farm worker who showed me around, was that this place is a living lab. I noticed that each vegetable plot and tray of earthworms in the vermi-composting project has been tagged and labeled with information. The purpose for doing this is to improve the production yields at the farm.

The farm is now looking at ways to improve the yields of organic fertilizers by experimenting with cow manure, decaying vegetables and banana stalks, or as a blended mixture, in the vermi-composting project. Vegetables such as pek chye, long beans, okra (also known as lady’s fingers) have been planted. It will take a few weeks more for the harvest. I was told that a friend of Goducate, who is a plant pathologist, had also recommended that lemon grass – a natural pest repellant – be planted along the perimeter of the vegetable plots. Mini controlled experiments will also be carried out to determine the optimal amount of organic fertilizer to be used on each kind of vegetable. Also, the vegetables will be living proof of the organic fertilizer’s benefits to buyers.

The launch of these livelihood projects at the model farm is encouraging. To me, the demonstration of what works is important as it will benefit the poor when they produce vegetables in their own backyard. In my limited understanding, I believe the poor would often like to see results quicker than the rich because survival can often be a daily challenge. So, there is simply no room for them to take on what-does-not work. And this is why the demonstration of what works at the farm becomes important.

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