Tour of Luzon: From Down South to Up North in 4 Days (Part 2 - Bolinao)

What to do when you're out cold all day due to painkillers so that you're wide awake all night?  Write the long-overdue Part 2.

Coordinating a trip among very busy individuals can be very challenging.  And this is how I ended up with a roadtrip marathon weekend.  After our glorious off-the-grid 3-day vacation in Calaguas, I had to make a pit stop at Bolinao, Pangasinan (oh, only about 650 km away from Calaguas.  Thankfully, my sister came along as my alternate driver) to meet Fr. Jun Ranera, RCJ. a priest friend who manages a thriving organic farm.  The farm is meant to be a learning site for organic farming, create livelihood for the local community and potentially help other farming communities around the country.  

It has to be said.  That EDSA bit right before NLEX entrance was nightmarish (and that is an understatement!), but, once we reached the expressway, it was smooth sailing all the way.  I enjoyed traversing the long strip of road flanked by the Sierra Madre mountain ranges on one side and rows of farm fields on the other. The mountain ranges were a sight to behold, standing out from a background of blue sky and wispy white clouds. And I thought to myself, this would have been even more beautiful had the mountains not been barren from too much logging. I also noticed untended farm lands and thought it a pity that we import food products when we can produce them here.

Photo By: Inadoodles

The Rogate Oasis Organic Farm (ROOF) in Bolinao, Pangasinan, houses a range of fruit and nut trees, vegetables, edible flowers, rice fields, a diverse set of organic farm animals ... and VermiWorms. They are also prepping their old wells for organic fish farming! (All photos below by Inadoodles.  And don't mind the squash.  Apparently, it doesn't want to be squashed in between the tomatoes and the cashews.)

Over a delicious lunch of Tinolang Manok, Inihaw na Bangus and Pinakbet, Fr. Jun talked to us about the joys and challenges of starting up an organic farm and a learning site at that. There is still much work to be done, but the land is promising and the endeavor, a passion worth pursuing (if not a must).  One small step at a time. These are what I learned:

• It takes time to rehabilitate or cleanse a land that previously used chemical fertilizers.  But it can be done; is worth the investment; and the right thing to do --- not just for the consumer's health, but for the environment.
• The farm is a mini ecosystem.  There are no wastes. (1) Plants and fruits (even fruit peelings) not fit for selling are fed to the animals. (2) Rainwater is collected in the wells and used to irrigate the farm lands. (3) Fallen leaves, rotting fruits and other organic wastes are composted. (4) VermiWorms are used for composting and the end-product, vermicast, is a nutrient-rich material that promotes plant growth.
• Traditional farmers think organic farming is more time-consuming with little yield. Thus, they opt for chemical fertilizers.
• We have a dwindling community of farmers with an average age of 50+.  With the next generations opting for "better" careers, the country will have no farmers to tend the fields in less than 10 years.
• Farmers do not earn much, losing out on the traders who have direct contact with customers and consumers.
• Farmers, generally, still employ traditional manual techniques.

The trip, for me, was both enlightening and troubling. 

• Farmers are a critical segment of our society.  Afterall, without them, we will go hungry. But we take them for granted; in some cases, even look down on them.
• The current trade structure or practices leave very little profit margin for farmers.  How is it that the ones who worked hardest, toiling the fields, benefit the least?
• There is great advancement in farming technology (techniques and equipment) that either have not reached our farmers or they can't afford. (Shout out to my nephew, Ernest Asence, who tirelessly travels the country to provide training to farming communities).
• Organic farming is healthier and environment-friendly.  How do we encourage farmers to invest and adopt these methodologies, while enabling a better profit margin for them?
• If our farmers stop producing, we will have to import food. While it might not necessarily be more expensive, it will definitely mean more carbon footprint.  

As we left the farm, I committed to more proactively and consciously support our farmers, not just in terms of fresh produce and meats/fish, but also in terms of local products that use local materials.  Supporting local products do not only help our economy but our environment as well.  Buy Local!  Buy Pinoy!