Conservation Farming Demonstration Farm Established in Bana

Conservation Farming Demonstration Farm Established in Bana

Thanks to digital technology, Mme Oussematou is able to keep us updated on developments in establishing a Demonstration Farm in Bana.  One of our last stops at Bana in December was at the hillside acreage designated by the traditional Chief here, King Happi Sikam, to be used for this conservation agriculture farm project. This large plot (estimated to be 14 hectares more or less) when we  first saw it was overgrown with bush.  At the bottom of the hillside is a beautiful river with a much smaller more level area.
Pictures taken November 25th, 2012


Mme. Oussematou Outlining the Area For the Demonstration Farm



 

Looking Down To The River From The Bridge

Walking Up the Hill:  Demonstration Farm Land is to the Left

Allan, Mme Oussematou and with the Engineer Behind (Demo Farmland to Right)

 

The Hillside (Lots of Work to Clear This!)
 

 

 

What Do You Think The Yield Will Be?

As we climbed the road up the hill alongside the designated land, we saw some small plots of beans and corn suffering from nutrient deficiencies.  



Traditional Methods - Corn Not Looking Good!
 

Beans

Beans-These Legumes Are Showing A Crop Of Beans Using Traditional Agricultural Practices

A group of enthusiastic, hard working people began land clearing.  These pictures were sent to us, taken Jan 13, 2012.  Joseph Tafrey, a dedicated agriculturist and farm leader from Befang  travelled by bus from Befang to Bamenda 6 hours, then a five hour trip by car to Bana to encourage and help this farm group get the demonstration plot going is pictured here surveying the progress.  Land clearing showing the mulch in rows, an important Conservation Farming concept in action.   Note that at this point, the mulch is very dry. 





Joseph Tafrey Farm Organization Leader on Left

Mulch in Rows

 

Using only cutlass, hoe, mallet and chisel, the hard work of splitting rock to form rock walls on the steep hillside to prevent erosion proceeded. Pictures taken May 5th, 2013.



Rocks Are Split and Arranged Across the Hillside

 

 



All Work Is Manually Done!



Holes filled with Fowl Droppings and Earth

Seeds being planted:  White yam, sweet yam, cassava, gwa, dashine or Tanya, One point of concern raised during the workshops was that a number of important traditional crops have disappeared in the Bana area: gwa and peanuts being two examples. 

White yam also seed of a product which is disappearing called  'gwa'

On June 17th, 2013 Mme Oussematou wrote:  'I was in Bana last Friday and Saturday, I convinced the team to start mulching to kill the grass and to reduce erosion and to keep humidity in the farm for  the plants to grow healthy. In fact there was lot of grass in the entrance along the road and I paid some holiday makers to clear the grass. At the moment I arrived in Bana with Nobert we realised that the grass was getting dried and we decided to collect them and make mulch. My sister arrived day before from Douala and we jointed and worked hard to do what you will see in the various pictures. It was so new for our new member Richard who was taught mulch cannot be done during raining season and that we should wait for dry season. I insisted even though he is a trained agricultural technician. Every body is happy. Now they will continue to cut grass and we extend to cover the whole farm if we can.'

 

 

 

Gathering Mulch.
 

A Well Deserved Break!



 Arranging Mulch

 

Tanya or Dashine (Healthy Plants!)

 



 

School Involvement:  Conservation Farming School Project

Several years ago, a school plot was abandon because of infertile soil.

This school plot has been revitalized under the leadership of an energetic school principal who took the Conservation Farming Workshop.

 

March 6th, 2013

Oussematou wrote:

They are using the technics of Conservation Farming to cultivate cabbage, Irish potatoes , corn. Mme Mbuy has also involve teachers who are presently doing it in their farm. My next visit in Bana will target them for visit. You see how cabbages are doing well with no chemical fertiliser.

 



ERL FRANCISCO BAKERY of Poblacion Ferrol, Tablas Island, Philippines is operated by Edmira Francisco who is the daughter of Myrna, one of the workshop participants. Ms. Francisco is passionate about her business and appears to be doing her best to make it a success. The bakery is one of two in Poblacion and only has been operating since late last year (October 2012). From what she said, there is more than enough business for the two bakeries, though she was quick to point out that the real problem for marketing any product in Ferrol is the lack of jobs and incomes for families to make any but the most basic of food purchases. She too, in the same way as does Pinky, sells an array of baked pastry type products and prices these in 5 pp lots. This is price promotion based on necessity. It promotes the sale of product in the lowest priced lot possible (so as to meet the need of those many consumers locally with the lowest incomes).

The display case sells out each day.

 

There is an excellent glass faced display case and counter for the display of baked goods. Rolls and buns appear to dominate sales along with 5 pp plastic bag lots of small pastries.

The business signage here is especially good for Poblacion and in fact is a bit exceptional by its mere existence. So as well is the neat little brand/logo with the rolling pin sandwiched between two slices of bread (or two half buns). There is a problem however with the ink jet printed paper which appears to smudge on contact with other materials. However, it’s a small problem that can be easily corrected with a little effort.

Rolling Pin Sandwich Logo

 

Francisco has introduced a special paper bag into which is placed hot bread, thereby eliminating the condensation problems associated with the use of plastic bags for hot bread.

Making paper bags for hot bread.

 



Manual mixing trough and cutting table for dough.

Bamboo proofing racks.

The array of bakery equipment is quite good, at least for this area. This includes the wringer washer type of machine for kneading dough, a slicing machine (appears not to be functional yet and is the reason why full bread loaves have not yet been introduced to the product outlay), a wood/charcoal fired baking oven with propane option, a stainless tub for manual dough mixing and some upright basic shelving made out of small bamboo poles for cooling product taken from the oven. All in all, it’s quite a rudimentary facility, basic but functional and suitable for expansion if and when conditions warrant.

 

Oven uses propane or charcoal but charcoal is much cheaper.

 



Francisco family work together to operate the bakery.

Labor is not a problem. Apart from one of six or seven workers, all are immediate Francisco family members. But employment is employment and seven jobs all under one roof in this hard pressed community are significant.

Machine for kneading dough.
 

One major problem that I observed is in the area of occupational health and safety. This issue is one of worker safety in handling the preparation of dough by hand in the mixing/kneading machine. We observed the machine operating with the worker’s hands and fingers vulnerable at any moment to being drawn into the opposing (steel) rollers. There are no safety guards on the machine and if there was to be an accident, the operator or someone else would have to reach over to the lower part of the machine to shut it off. Not good! The problem needs to be addressed. A machinist specialist needs to be brought in and a way figured out to install a safety guard or mechanism to prevent an accident of this sort.

 

A big procurement problem for Ms. Francisco is the need to travel every day to Odiongan to source the ingredients she needs for that day’s production. This is due to her limited financial resources with which to finance the cost of larger volume lots of materials inputs. In other words she is unable to secure a line of credit from an appropriate financial institution.  This appears to be a pervasive problem throughout Tablas given that we heard last year about similar problems for small business people in San Andres.

Edmira worked for five years as a nanny in Singapore.  During this time she saved money to set up this bakery to employ her family.  Visit Edmira and her family live on utube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuSqgLe878c&list=UUKLdLUrOXVJPkIJuTTJxaAQ

 

 

Pinky's Sari Sari Store in Ferrol:

One of the highlights of our time in Ferrol was our visits to small cottage scale businesses: participants in our workshops.  These visits show the ingenuity and creativeness of women with limited resources forging ahead to make the lives of their families.  We thank Allan for his comments on each (SWOT analysis, Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats).

Pinky standing in front of her Sari Sari store in Ferrol

 

 Pinky operates a very attractive stand-alone Nipa palm Sari Sari store selling a variety of food staples in Poblacion Ferrol. Her product array includes vegetables, some of which she grows in a small garden situated right on the family property, eggs sourced from her small flock of chickens (hens and roosters free ranging right on the property), a number of prepared hot foods for direct sale.

Pinky's small productive garden. (Corn, Tanya, beans shown here)

Though most of the garden area at the moment seems between crops, we did see climbing (string or pole) beans, corn,  eggplant, banana, sugar cane, some lovely orchids (she says ornamental plants and flowers are her hobby), tamarind.

 

 

Pinky prepares a vegetarian dish using yesterday's vegetables.

 

 As family income around here is so limited and Pinky is able to afford to procure larger supplies of certain items like cooking oil in 4 liter containers, she breaks down goods like these into smaller lots (not only 1 liter bottles, but also into small plastic bags holding about ¼ cup of oil and with the mouth of the bag tied off) that are sold of course for lesser amounts of money at a time.

Four liters is too costly for a family in Ferrol.

 

Oil and shrimp broken down into affordable quantities.

 

 

 Other items in her product array include fresh fish (unrefrigerated), dried fish and  a dried fish product (appearance of tiny shrimp kind of ground up or finely diced) also in the small plastic bags probably selling for 5 pp each.

Dried salted fish

 

 Bread from one (or both ) of the two Poblacion bakeries is handled here as is also packaged noodles from Odiongan.

Bakery products attractively displayed above vegetables.

 

Fresh noodles from Odiongan.

 

There is an attractive glass faced product display case which appears to be used mainly for holding the prepared ready to eat food/meal items. This food is prepared in the very rudimentary kitchen area which is pretty much part of this more or less open area store. Cats, dogs and chickens are free range throughout. Smoke from the bamboo enclosed (3 sides) kitchen area wafts throughout.

 



Pinky is an established business woman at Ferrol. She also buys and sells at the weekly market in Odiongan. Under local conditions and the constraints that exist in this environment I would say that she is doing quite well, though by our standards, very modestly. As a result, probably she has helped to lift her family up economically (income-wise) from where it would be otherwise. The family home is on the same lot in Poblacion as the store. The structure is of medium size and constructed of concrete and cement block and appears to be of good quality for Poblacion.

Pinky selling fresh fruit, vegetables and fish.

 

 

We congratulate Pinky! (Lydia, Pinky, Maricris and Allan)

Visit Pinky live on utube: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoRGida8eEU&list=UUKLdLUrOXVJPkIJuTTJxaAQ&index=1



Women Working To Better Their Lives and the  Lives of Others

One cannot help but marvel at the ways some women help to better the lives of other women in their communities.  Here are a few examples of several such women we met during February 2013 while doing volunteer work in Ferrol Municipality on Tablas Island/Romblon Province in the Philippines.  Each  story is unique and we hope conveys the admiration that we feel for the resourcefulness and support that these women give to each other, their families and their communities.  We certainly were very much inspired by their ready willingness to share with us. Perhaps they can be an inspiration to you as well.  

Maricris –Vice President of Tablas Women Livelihood Association (TAWLA)                                                                 

 Through our workshops, it was Maricris who took care of the day to day details, including things like participant registration each day, ensuring placement of tables and chairs, and even staying with us to ensure that we had transport back to Bonsoran/Binucot Beach that evening when our transport/driver didn’t appear.  Maricris has recently completed her Rudolf Steiner/ Waldorf Teacher training given by a Waldorf educator from Germany.  She took the role of a true teacher in tabulating daily attendance and organizing other details essential for each day’s program to run well.    

 Maricris is a skilled weaver and operates a small sari sari store.  Her husband is a carpenter and her son is a commercial artist.  Her son helped us by doing excellent calligraphy work for the graduating certificates, completing each name to perfection.  As well, he surprised us by hand painting an original beach scene on one of his mother’s hand woven baskets.  This has great potential for tourist sales with original designs for resorts, beaches and other features of Tablas Island.

Maricris also arranged several  field visits over a number of days for us to see a few of the participants at work in their home settings.  She travels by motorbike taxi, jeepney or sometimes rides her husband’s bicycle.  During our workshop series,  Maricel ‘s uncle died and most of her extended family went to Manila for the funeral. This left her with additional responsibilities to care for and feed a bed ridden uncle at home. But she still managed  to ensure that the workshops went well.  Hers is a strong family showing many talents. Maricris works very hard in an effort to better the lives of her family members and also the lives of others in her community. 

 

Maricel: President of TAWLA

Each workshop day we picked up Maricel and her dear little baby girl at home next to the fish farm some 4-5 km. from Ferrol Poblacion. On day one she showed us her hand woven bags made from recycled jelly powder mix bags or snack bags discarded and recycled.  Some while back a volunteer showed women in her community how to cut these bags into small strips, fold and weave them into different sized sturdy, water proofed bags. 

 

 

 

 

During our workshops, Maricel managed to learn and apply new skills, all the while giving the best of care to her little one. Even while they were so involved in the 10 workshop series, it amazed us  to see these mothers put their little ones as number one, thereby helping each other to participate equally in workshop activities.

We were fortunate to meet Maricel and her family one day while they were out for a Sunday afternoon adventure.  In the other photo she proudly displays her workshop group’s ‘golden rooster’.
 

In the photos below, Maricel  was our tour guide for the final two  of our particpant field visits: Art work from marble dust and soap making

 

Criszel:

An exceptionally talented young mother is Criszel who introduced us to her brand of innovation in the workshops.  Criszel trained as a Massage Therapist on Borocay Island. She has computer skills which she was able to use for the workshops, both on her own and in collaboration with the group in which she participated. She has great potential for independent enterprise and also for promising group work in future. She was always willing to try new techniques and new lettering.  Here are some of her creations. The first is drying on the back of the baby carriage before the stencils were removed! 

A Big Surprise for Lydia on Certificate Awards Day: Unbeknownst to Lydia, this group under Criszel’s leadership designed and painted identical t-shirts on their days off from the workshops.  In the first photo below  Criszel is first on the left and in the second one is last on the right.  One thing so pleasing to Lydia is that Criszel is on email and says she’ll be able to check it once a month and thereby keep us updated on how they are doing. During our stay in the Philippines, it is this group that was referred to the Tablas Fun Resort on a special assignment to   design and produce a promotional type t-shirts for the resort.

 

Candy:

When visiting Candy at her home on Binucot Beach Lydia felt very discouraged to see this Philippino woman with her infirm husband slumped over in a wheelchair.  Candy proudly showed us her wedding picture of her some 35 years ago when she married this man from Holland.  Over the years they’ve made a life together in this community overlooking the mangrove next to Villa Michaela’s where we stayed for the month of February.   Candy showed us the marble chip work her son had done in school, introduced us to her elderly mother living with her, her sons, her sisters and brothers and numerous other family members all living on the property.  Unique to this visit was their collection of golden roosters which, when shown to the group, produced quite a few variations of this unique Tablas Island wild rooster!   It was not until several days later did Lydia realize what may be the impact of the workshops on Candy’s life.  Almost before day one was finished, Candy said that she was so appreciative of being introduced to something for her to do at home that she enjoyed.  So it began.

 

Candy right away mobilized her resources.  She got her son to help her with lettering, computer graphics and painting techniques.  Right away she travelled by motorcycle taxi to Odiongan (nearly ¾  hour away) to buy t-shirts and paint supplies to work on her own.  She made Lydia’s day many times but the first  was when she arrived wearing an embossed t-shirt that she and her son had done of Sunset Beach.  The design was unique and the lettering even moreso.  Each day she could hardly wait to show us what their work from the previous day and evening had produced.  One day she came saying that today she couldn’t show us the latest t-shirt because her husband had refused to take it off!

 

The day following our encouragement for the participants to try and sell their t-shirts, Candy arrived at the Villa where we were staying with her sales strategy planned.  We stayed out of the way.  Michaela immediately gave Candy an idea for a design she wanted.  Candy and her son went to work, returning several days later with a couple of samples.  This time we were able to see her in action with the staff giving their input!  It surprised us a few days later to see her having butterflies while waiting to make her sales pitch Michaela. 
 

What a delight! What a thrill to see her turn from shy to enthusiastic and beaming with reluctant confidence. This is life changing for her.  As Allan says, “if we only help one it still is worthwhile.” 

When we left, we left our printer with Candy as her son has a computer.  With this she will be able to print out designs for other members of TAWLA. 

 

Cecile

Our initial contact with TAWLA was through its organizer, retired Social Worker from the University of Manila Faculty of Social Work and native of Tablas Island, Cecile.  In their family trips to the island, Cecile was noticing many unemployed but skillful women and, as she says, like any life-seasoned social worker, she has chosen to give of her time to facilitate the organization of Tablas Women Livelihood Association.   Thanks to her efforts, TAWLA now has formal legal status and shows good potential to help improve these women’s lives.

Pictured below we meet some of these women for the first time with Cecile. At this point, Cecile was realizing that the small barangay hall initially planned for our workshops was not going to be adequate for the growing group of interested women.  Some new members joining were the mothers of Cash Assistance Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) who receive PhP 1,500. monthly ($1.25/day Canadian) for the entire family (on average  7 to 10 members).

 

Cecile worked with members of the municipality’s social services team and Mayor Jason helped to arrange for a large meeting room for the workshop.

Fluent in Tagalo, the local dialect, Cecile helped to supplement Allan’s illustrated marketing presentations and workshop exercises.

Cecile works quietly behind the scenes to help better the lives of the members of TAWLA.

This is not the only social development initiative that Cecile and family members are involved in.  Cecile is Chris Bock’s Mother In Law.  Chris, who is always looking to help in very positive ways, has purchased a building that will house a Day Care/ Kindergarden Waldorf Center as well as a Tourism Training Center in which they plan to display local crafts.  We did manage to visit the building later during our stay:
 

 

Mila, School Health Nurse

Sometimes somethings are just meant to happen.  One day when Allan was at the printers, he began talking with a Mila.  It was not long before he directed her to come to the school supplies store where she found Lydia.  You can imagine the common interests these two have!  Lydia invited Mila to come and speak to the 43 women at the workshop.  The morning Mila was to come, the weather was terrible (heavy wind and rain).  Would you believe, Mila arrived, the women arrived and Lydia invited Mila to speak to the women.  First, though, we reviewed the food pyramid with the ladies and gave Mila a copy of the food models so she will be able to use them in her work.  We then talked about Food Safety, looked at videos on nasty microorganisms and Mila then talked to the young mothers about diarrehea and babies, how dangerous it is and how to treat it.  Mila spoke to the women in their dialect, Tagalo which they really appreciated. 

 

 

 Lydia and Mila exchanged email addresses.  Lydia wrote Mila, asking her to tell about her life and her work.  Here is an exert from Mila's letter to Lydia describing her life......

I got my Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Philippine Union College now called Adventist University of the Philippines at Silang Cavite.I had my training in the college where I studied, with its aim to Train for Service

We were exposed to work in the community like giving health lectures,to pregnant women,home health care,parenting and other issues pertaining healthy lifestyle,drug prevention and control, I love to talk to mothers about nutrition,

I worked as a nurse at Manila Adventist Medical Center at Pasay from 1981 to 1985, then I have a chance to work also in Saudi Arabia from 1985 to 1991 at ALbaha Hospital. During the Gulf War I decided to return home for good,

1991 month of May I started to work in the Department of Education as a School Nurse.

In school , I learned to love children,taking care not only the physical condition but treating them as a whole person, the physical, emotional,social and mental aspect.In here, I was exposed to different emotional problems of children, im so blessed I had good parents .

I also found joy visiting their homes, especially those families with sick members, I give health teachings, and much more comfort them and pray for the sick.It`s a joy serving people, I may not be that rich, when it comes to money but then, Me and my family are happy when we give our time to people who need visits and comfort.That`s all we have and be able to give our concern and compassion especially the poor ones.

I worked in Odiongan North District at Batiano,Odiongan Romblon near the Pier.

I been working with the pupils in school for at least 21 years now and I discovered a lot of problems not only physical, but emotional ,I mean children who are in a dysfunctional families,like separation of parent, alcoholic parents abusive it can be verbal and physical, Children who dont eat 3 times a day because of poverty, children who are under the care of other people because the mother went away ,Oh name it and I meet all this kind of Problems, rape and incest also,

Sometimes I have a sleepless night thingking if how can I be a good nurse to help those children, I m blessed I have my family and my children who have also a passion like me sometimes they go visit the families sing to them and pray for them .

I think I told you a lot of things mam But i was just so emotional when I talk about children.

Mam lydia I have no picture this time cause I dont Have a camera , but I will try to send you one.

Il be sending you also some of my pictures during my visitation and those children, I do my extension of duty after work in school.

 

       Thank you to Mila for sharing with us.  So appreciated!  For all of us who work or have worked with children and families, this goes right to the heart of our feelings for what is so important in life and why the work we have done and are doing is so meaningful to us.