My Father´s Farm
Decades ago, my parents bought a land of about six thousand square meters which they converted into a coconut farm with all other fruit trees. This is adjascent to the land of my grandfather who tilled the field and planted rice there every season. They didn´t need to buy rice anymore because the rice field is being planted 2 times a year and the proceeds of the harvest are being divided equally among the brother and sister of my father.
Sustainability
We have all kinds of fruit trees, there are a cou ple of mango trees, cacao, bananas avocados, chico , etc. Coconuts were planted allover and were a means receiving income to sustain the family needs and when the time came for the harvest, my father hired men especializing in harvesting tall coconut trees of about 30 meters high... the coconuts are counted before these are transported in their truck and delivered to a dealer who in return paid for the price to my father.
photo credit above and below : M. Gallardo
Some years back, my father had to make the farm as collateral for the money borrowed to be used for the expensive hospitalization of my mother, who then passed-away from her illness. The contract had been that there is no interest to be paid for the lender but he could harvest the fruits of the farm during the contract. The farm had been neglected because the money lender simply harvested the coconuts for 3 year without cleaning the premises. Now that my father regained the land back late last year, he started cleaning -up the mess.
Sustainability continued....
The farm as such is very sustainable for the needs of m father, we had various kinds of bananas that we occasionally harvest. There are camotes, a root crop and some other vegetables like tomatoes, cucumber that we plant according to the season.
Paradise
The farm is small but it is a great place for homesteading. Sometimes when we have excess fruits harvested, we bartered them with the neighbor and get some other vegetables or fruits which we do no t have... Sometimes we bartered too with fishermen and they brought in some fish freshly caught from the sea nearby. The sea is just a couple of kilometers away from the farm.
Aside from the fruit trees and coconuts .... my mother used to plant a lot of flowers surrounding the house... now there are little left since my mother is gone. Some are still around like this bougainvillea being smelled by my grandniece Seanna who at young age has faible for flowers.
Our farm is located in a cool area facing the volcano called Mt. Banahaw which is at the moment dormant. The rice field that is seen in the above image is owned by my father´s family which will soon be divided among four...namely my father and his 3 siblings.
Mt. Banahaw photo credit : M. Gallardo
Future Plans
We will soon be clearing part of the farm facing the volcano since we re planning to plant dwarf papayas which need a sunny area. Hopefully, the lock-down will soon be over. And we are crossing our fingers that the restrictions in our area will be lifted.
I will share some more about this farm... one thing is sure.. there are always lots of food that could be produced in a farm and we have healthy means of getting fresh vegetables, fruits , rice and even do barter trading with other farmers and fishermen.
Wishing you a beautiful and a healthy weekend!
