PinoyEcoFarmer

Balai Buhay is nestled on the slopes of Mt. Bulusan in the province of Sorsogon. The farm is in Baranggay San Roque just a few meters away from the chapel. There is a sloping access road from the main highway leading to the parking area. My brother told me about this place two years ago but I have not had a chance to visit it. Finally, we decided to drop by on our way back from a kayaking trip at the Bulusan Lake.

The farm doubles as a resort complete with a function hall and accommodation that can house about 40 guests. A room costs P1,000 for an overnight stay. A day tour will cost P80 per person with a complimentary drink of cold calamansi juice.

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My trips to my home province of Sorsogon will not be complete without visiting the Our Lady of Penafrancia Seminary which is my highschool alma mater. The visit this time was doubly satisfying because it gave me an opportunity to see and admire the Sustainable Agriculture Center (SAC). The SAC manages the greenhouses on the seminary grounds in front of the Home for the Clergy and the open field farm at the back part.

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Mama has always been into gardening ever since I was a young boy. It is no wonder that I have a fascination with gardening as well. I recently had a chance to see her garden again when I went home to our province in Sorsogon for a brief vacation.

There is  really nothing extraordinary about her garden but I think what is more important is that it serves the purpose of providing them with some common everyday vegetables which otherwise would have been bought from the market.

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I recently learned from a fellow blogger  and friend (www.PinoyOrganics.com) that Starbucks has been giving away their used coffee grounds as part of their recycling and reducing waste program. Starbucks dubs it as “Grounds for Your Garden”.

In the Starbucks website, they state that:

We introduced Grounds for Your Garden in 1995, which offers customers complimentary five-pound (2.27-kilogram) bags of used coffee grounds to enrich garden soil. And where commercial composting is available, many stores are able to divert other food waste and coffee grounds from the landfill as well.

I decided to get mine from a Starbucks outlet in Market2, Global City. The staff were very helpful when I inquired. They even offered to pack some more bags for me if I wanted to. I had to decline because I did not bring my car with me. I just got 4 bags which was just enough baggage for me to handle.

Some of the used grounds will go to my compost bin and the remaining will be spread on the sides of my plants at home. The instructions on how to use the discarded grounds are clearly printed on the sticker label. The aroma of the used grounds is still retained which pleasantly fills the air with coffee goodness.  I would have collected more had I known about this program before.

So for the gardeners out there go grab some free used coffee grounds from your nearest Starbucks and feed your plants with it. I wonder though if other coffee shops have a similar program of managing their used coffee grounds.

open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions Food Inc is an 2009 American documentary film directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Robert Kenner. The film examines corporate farming in the United States, concluding that the meat and vegetables produced by agribusiness have many hidden costs and are unhealthy and environmentally-harmful. The film is narrated by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser. The documentary generated extensive controversy in that it was heavily criticized by large American corporations engaged in industrial food production.

Watch this and you decide.

Check out Give Earth a Hand | Greenpeace International. A campaign for Mother Earth.

open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions Ethnobotanist James Wong shows viewers how to grow and transform common vegetables into treatments which might help ease muscle sprains and make a great addition to a low cholesterol diet. James also turns cucumbers into a soothing eye gel for sufferers to try.

open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions Most people use herbs to give food a bit of extra taste and flavour, but in this episode, ethnobotanist James Wong explores their more traditional use in helping treat a range of minor everyday ailments, from cold sores and insect bites to bad breath. Sufferers try them out to see if these natural remedies help relieve their symptoms.

James also uses peppermint to whip up a fragrant homemade body scrub.

The comics starts with questions to serve as GUIDE TO CONSCIENTIOUS FARMING:

What happens to the land?
What happens to the food it produces?
What happens to the people who eat it?
What will eventually happen to the communities?

The publication explains to farmers the Difference Between Chemical and Organic Farming, Crop Differences Between Chemical Farming and Organic Farming, Health and Social Differences, Economic Differences and the Myths and Realities of Organic Farming. This comics also serves as an educational material to promote the benefits of organic farming compared to the synthetic chemical-based farming. The publication was supported by the Australian Government (AusAID) and the Foundation for Sustainable Society Inc.

Click on Cover Page to download.

open source video, online video platform, video streaming, video solutions This documentary is an example of an inspiring environmental stewardship. We can also make this happen here in our own country for the sake of the future generations.