Seed School Success and Adventures in Sagada

Nov 20, 2016 | Activities, Seed School

Image above: Bill and Belle right before leaving Sagada on Friday. With our wonderful hosts Steve and Siegrid.

It is hard to believe that after well over a year of planning and preparations our much anticipated 3-Day Seed School and Farmer Capacity Building Seminar is over and our guest facilitators are off to their next destinations! I cannot begin to express my deep gratitude to Bill McDorman and Belle Starr of the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, and Heather DeLong from DeLaney Community Farm at Denver Urban Gardens for jumping head first into this adventure and sharing their knowledge, love, and heart with our farmers and all they encountered during their time in the Philippines. You each made the 3 day seminar the great success that it was by adapting your curriculum to our local context, helping each participant realize they are a critical part of a global movement, and most importantly sharing your heart and knowledge with all you encountered during your time here.

The largest success of the seminar was the fact that it was like nothing any of us had ever done before (facilitators and farmers alike). To have a room full of 50 farmers that traveled from 6 different Provinces in the Philippines (many required 2 days of travel to reach the venue in Baguio City) and create a space for farmers to learn not only from our guest facilitators but also from each other was incredibly powerful! While their challenges might be different in their respective communities as the seminar unfolded it was clear that all of the farmers have something to learn and teach each other. Friends of ENCA Farm is very excited to continue this momentum starting with our core Seed Savers from Benguet Province to step up and become trainers as we continue to work with our new found collaborators across the country. That is the true success of this work when it is fully taught and run by the farmers that are actively restoring seed saving to their communities. Each participant left the seminar with hands on knowledge of how to save seeds, a new found connection to the global landscape of seed saving, we held an impromptu seed swap where farmers got to exchange seeds amongst themselves, and each participant left with a tangible plan of how they will implement their new found seed saving knowledge at their farms and within their communities. We have ignited a powerful group of dedicated farmers and community leaders that I have no doubt will change their communities for the better with each seed they sow, save, and share!

We have spent that last three days in Sagada one of my beloved pockets of the world. High up in the mountains about 6 hours north of Baguio City nestled amongst pine forest and limestone cliffs sits this beautiful mountain town. While each time I return the startling influx of domestic tourism is visible with new hotels popping up everywhere, I so am thankful to have wonderful local friends to stay with and experience the “real Sagada” through. Siegird, my dear friend and talented local potter and her husband Steve (former Peace Corps) always open their home to me and our guest felt the same hospitality. We went on an epic 5-hour hike up Mt. Ampacao two days ago. As we climbed up steep road and trail it was worth each step to reach the top where there was wide-open grassland and amazing views of neighboring villages and mountains complete with a delightful breeze. This was the perfect place to end our impactful time together to hike, reflect, and eat delicious food and homemade bread that is ever abundant at Siegird’s since her mother runs a bakery out of the house.

I am looking forward to spending a few more solo days here in Sagada to continue to reflect, plan, and prepare for all the follow up work we have with the farmers from the seminar and planning for 2017. We will be finalizing our Seed Library Space and small office at the Municipal Hall in Tublay next week when they officially open the new food-processing terminal in town.

Once again I would like to send a huge thank you to our guest facilitators and The Posner Center for International Development, International Collaboration Fund Grant that made this program possible. We have launched a dynamic community changing movement with 50 farmers and are incredibly excited to watch the seeds we have germinated grow in the coming months and year!

 

 

 

We Need This Work Now More Than Ever: Successful Day 1 of Seed School

Nov 10, 2016 | Seed School

Image above: Participants dissect seeds

I have had the distinct honor of working and living with Filipinos for over a decade. Each time I return to my adopted homeland my connections and the great need for our collective work gain further strength and momentum. In light of the shock that rippled throughout the world on Tuesday I know now more than ever how critically important this work is and am incredibly honored to have the ability to channel my tears, frustration, and most importantly passions into something so productive in this time of confusion and uncertainty.

Today was the first day of our 3-Day Seed Saving and Farmer Capacity Building Seminar in Baguio City. As the seminar room filled with 50 farmers and participants representing 6 different Provinces throughout the country, my heart was filled with joy and excitement for all that lies ahead for this collective of farmers. Many of the participants traveled multiple days to attend this training but still arrived with smiles on their faces and eagerness to absorb the information. While each of the participants may come from different regions and produce many varieties of vegetables and rice we are all united in the fundamental understanding that the ability to build sustainable communities starts with each of us!! Not with government (local or foreign) and not with East-West Seeds the largest seed dealer in the Philippines continuing to promote hybrid seeds that leave farmers dependent on purchasing seeds after each planting. But this room full of farmers, waking up to the reality that they can grow their own seeds to sustain their families, communities and the world!!

Today more than ever I am re-empowered to continue this good work and honored to be here putting my energy and love into something so meaningful during this seemingly precarious moment in time. These dedicated farmers are the best example of working to build and be the change we want to see in the world. Wendell Berry once said, “ The threat to precious things will be our advantage. It clarifies our duty.” This is the time that we live in and Friends of ENCA Farm is energized with our new clarified duty and desire to empower Filipino Farmers to Seed and Farmer Up!!

 

 

Successful Planting of the First “Seed School” In Tublay

Dec 4, 2015 | Seed School

Yesterday, over 70 farmers and community members from both Tublay and La Trinidad gathered for Seed School at the Municipal Hall in Tublay. As the room filled with eager and energetic farmers I was overwhelmed with excitement for the launch of this important program.

I attended a similar one-day Seed School in Denver in August, facilitated by our new friends and partners from The Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance (RMSA). While there is far too much information regarding the history and great importance of seeds to share in just one day, RMSA has developed incredible curriculum over the years that they shared with me to adapt to the Philippine farming audience. I am forever grateful to Bill and Belle from RMSA for sharing this knowledge and helping make yesterday’s program a great success. Our big vision is for RMSA to come to the Philippines next fall to conduct more in-depth follow up seed programming with the farmers.

During the program farmers learned the history of seeds, why they are critically important to local bio-diversity preservation, all participants learned to save wet tomato seeds and got to take them home, and they also learned the basics of saving biennial crops (these crops such as carrots and cabbage take two years to flower and produce seeds). While only a handful of farmers said they are currently saving seeds, they all expressed and remember a time not long ago, when their grandparents saved seeds. This means that this indigenous practice is not completely lost and can be restored with the enthusiasm and hard work of these dedicated farmers.

Thanks to the great talent and passion of my host cousin, Chef Aguinaya Cloche (or as we call her Dimples) all participants enjoyed a delicious homemade local organic meal. The menu included: malunggay (local super food plant) pesto pasta, veggie burgers (made w/ tofu and banana blossom), spinach pie, rosemary roasted chicken, eggplant rolls, and a fresh green salad with sprouts and radishes. Farmers here work incredibly hard to produce these amazing veggies but they rarely get to see the diverse ways they can be prepared. It was wonderful to see their smiling faces as they enjoyed this unique, healthy, and amazing meal prepared with love!

After lunch we did small group breakout sessions where participants shared their ideas for future training’s including: bee keeping, mushroom propagation, advanced seed saving in the fields. Farmers also shared the seeds they would like to see available locally and Friends of ENCA Farm will help make this a reality. I was most inspired to see the rooms excitement about starting a local organic seed bank, in fact one group shared that their vision is to see farmers in each Barangay of Tublay producing their own seeds and saving them at the centralized community seed bank. Indeed yesterday was the start to see this big vision become a reality!

In the coming months, we will be conducting follow up meetings with farmers that said they want to be apart of the organic seed trial program. Friends of ENCA Farm will distribute organic seeds to the farmers that meet our requirements, and conduct field trials with these initial seeds to monitor their success and challenges. I am incredibly excited to have planted this first seed in Tublay and look forward to watching it germinate and grow over the course of the coming year! I am honored to work with such a passionate community of farmers all actively working to make this world a better and healthier place starting with each seed they sow!