PinoyEcoFarmer

“The fact that I can plant a seed and it becomes a flower, share a bit of knowledge and it becomes another’s, smile at someone and receive a smile in return, are to me continual spiritual exercises”. Leo.F. Buscaglia

I was very excited and honored by the opportunity to share my knowledge on vermiculture and vermicomposting to students, teachers, parents and staff at the Bayanan Elementary School Main (BESM) in Muntinlupa City this past Saturday (January 28, 2012). The basic training was a compressed 3-hour event meant to introduce vermicomposting and set up an actual vermiculture and vermicomposting bed.

What I taught and showed them were the actual lessons that I learned in my own vermicomposting experience. The concepts were lectured in Filipino  and supplemented with research from other publications for better understanding. Among the topics covered in my presentation were definition of vermicomposting terms, considerations for the vermibed, and the advantages of vermicomposting.

Flory Tabio, the Executive Director of the Philippine Transmarine Carriers -Carlos Salinas Jr. (PTC-CSJ) Foundation – engaged in programs related to education and people empowerment; marine environmental awareness and protection; livelihood promotion; and literacy, art, music and sports development – facilitated the realization of the training as a great complement to the Foundation’s “Growing Good to Great Kids” or 3G Program that is being implemented in BESM.  The 3G Program aims to improve basic education primarily by feeding nutritious meals to severely malnourished pupils. Organic wastes from the feeding program (such as vegetable peelings and desiccated coconut) which were previously just thrown away, can now be processed by the worms as organic fertilizer (vermicast) and used in the school garden. The worms and vermicast can be eventually shared with the wider community.

It was good to know from the participants themselves that it did conform to what they expected at the onset of the training. The brief lectures and actual hands-on exercise was very helpful in making them understand what vermicomposting is all about. For some who are already into vermicomposting, it was a revalidation and improvement of their own practices. A concrete output of the training was the setup of a vermicompost bed in the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) or waste segregation area of the school.

As an eco-farming advocate, I will always gladly help spread these environmentally sound practices and make people better understand the advantages of farming the sustainable way.

Basic Vermicomposting Training. (click on title or image to download presentation)

Other Useful References:

Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture

Guide to Vermiculture and Vermicomposting

A 10-hectare organic farm in Galicia in Pidigan, Abra, has been drawing Cordillera farmers who want to learn about its sustainable and environmental farming practices.

Galicia Farms has served as a model to agriculture experts who advocate a shift back to traditional farming in this age of expensive chemical-based agriculture, said Pura Sumangil, director of Social Development Center (Sodec) of the Diocese of Bangued, which runs the farms. Sumangil said the farm has been promoting environment-friendly technology and has helped various groups in producing and marketing their products. The farm has a demonstration field and offers training on seed banking of traditional seeds, organic farming and organizational development. Sodec has been running the farm since the late 1990s after its former director, Sister Celerina Zabala, introduced organic farming in Bangued communities, Sumangil said.

“Even before the Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 (Republic Act 10068) came into the picture, the Department of Agriculture has been coming here to conduct training and lectures among farmers interested in organic farming. This farm has become their show window for the rest of the Cordillera,” she said.

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Despite the El Niño, his lowland rice crops reached harvesting stage with more filled grains and more seeds per panicle.

Bernardo Calilung, Magsasaka Siyentista of Farmers’ Information and Technology Services (FITS) Center in Tarlac City, proved that the combined application of vermicompost and vermitea can improve soil condition and agronomic performance of selected rice varieties.

Calilung’s farm in Barangay Amucao, Tarlac City was used as a Science and Technology-based farm (STBF) demonstration plot. The Tarlac College of Agriculture (TCA), Tarlac City FITS Center, Central Luzon Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (CLARRDEC), and the Philippine Coun-cil for Agriculture, Forestry and Natu-ral Resources Re-search and Development (PCARRD) assisted Calilung during the STBF implementation.

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We had our vermicomposting bin setup with the help of two friends (Xavier and Malou Peña) over the weekend. They brought a kilo of African Night Crawlers (ANC) worms and showed us how to properly prepare the bed.

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“Worm composting is a process for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. One of its advantages is that it can be done indoors and outdoors, allowing year-round composting. Worm composts can be made in containers filled with moistened bedding.”

Vermicomposting is indeed a nice way to manage our biodegradable scraps/wastes and turn them into something useful for our garden. I found this Guide to Vermiculture and Vermicomposting from the Bureau Plant Industry website which is a useful reference to get us started. The document focuses on the production of organic fertilizer through the action of earthworms. There are many other resources on vermiculture and vermicomposting including a series of brief articles posted on EntrePinoys which will further enhance our understanding. A more comprehensive reference is the Manual of On-Farm Vermicomposting and Vermiculture By Glenn Munroe. The document can also be viewed from the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada.

Other Resources You May Like:

• Start Your Own Worm Farm

The Sorsogon City Plant Nursery is just a walking distance away from our home in Sorsogon but I have yet to visit it until my recent trip home. The city nursery sits on a vacant lot at the Sts. Peter and Paul Subdivision near Gate 3.  I went there a day before going home back to Cavite.

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Vermiculture and Organic Gardening: A summer day course offered by Bantay Kalikasan Eco Academy

With the aid or earthworms, food scraps and garden wastes can be converted into valuable compost that is perfect for growing healthy organic produce. Whether you’re a budding gardener or an experienced agriculturist, this one day course will offer a wealth of knowledge and practical training that is not only good for you and your family but to NATURE too.

Where: La Mesa Ecopark, Greater Lagro, Quezon City

When: May 1, 2010, Saturday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM

Internet has surely revolutionized a lot of things. One of the many advantages it brought is that it has eased the access to information and collaboration among like-minded individuals. As farmers we can also take advantage of the internet. The information is just there for learning and discussion . It is just up to us to discern what would be the best practice that will most benefit  us and the environment.

These are some of the local groups that I recommend:

1.  Natural Farming in the Philippines

(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/natural_farming_philippines/);

Worldwide, the growing demand for safe, pesticide-free and naturally-farmed products trigger interest on natural and organic farming. Still considered as a budding sector in Philippine agriculture, nonetheless, organic food production belongs to the top ten priority sectors for revenue development in the Philippines (DTI, 2006). Thus, the Executive Order 481 aims to “promote agriculture development, conserve environmental resources and promote social equity and product access to foreign and domestic markets.”

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