Providing water harvesters in a poor community

Warmest greetings to all. We hope that you will be able to help us procure rainwater harvesters for Daisy and Janet and 5 of their neighbors in the remote village of Mahayag. Just a moment ago, Daisy and Janet was able to receive gifts of food and blanket from a very generous donor and we are aiming at providing to the family with access to water. Water is very scarce here and Daisy and Janet used to fetch water from a spring located very far from their house for drinking and cooking. This is also the case of 5 neighbors who do the same. It is usually the children bearing the hard labo

r of fetching water. Now with the Coronavirus pandemic, water is a precious commodity not only for drinking but also for general hygiene as well. The use of rainwater harvesters comprising sanitary recycled 200-liter drums will do wonders for those badly needing water. The drums will be positioned near the roof and connected with galvanized iron gutters. Help us provide them with these harvesters which can only be procured in the city. Thank you very much.

 Launching our village mushroom production project

We will establish a mushroom production facility for 15 households as their source of income and nutrition as well as a pilot for other groups to emulate. Mushroom is an alternative food with very large potential for increasing income and nutrition and it can be grown easily in small space using surplus agricultural waste such as rice straw, banana leaves and coco-coir dust. It is high in protein, amino acids, no cholesterol, no sugar and high ratio of unsaturated fats. It has tremendous ability to improve nutrition as well as provide income during this Coronavirus pandemic. The farm waste as substrate can then be recycled as organic fertilizer mix for vermi-compost.

The mushroom production and processing facility at the Mahangub Integrated Farm in Naawan Municipality and to be managed by a group of 15 households will enable them to source their nutritional needs from the harvest as well as generate income from surplus production. This is especially significant during this Coronavirus pandemic where food is scarce and malnutrition abounds.

The mushroom production facility will grow oyster mushroom as well as straw mushrooms in agricultural waste coming from farms around the area. The resulting mushrooms will then be used by the growers as their alternative source of nutrition and the surplus sold as fresh in the local market. A small portion will be value-added with the production of powdered mushrooms and dried mushrooms for condiment. The facility will produce their own spawns for their needs as well as for market to other growers and enthusiasts in the province. Production of mushroom seeds (spawns) is a big problem by would-be growers and the absence discourage them from going into the venture. We will be getting Mr. Enrico Imperio as our pro-bono resource person in the production of spawns.

 Aiming to launch a multi-purpose training center 

The project is the construction, management and sustainable operation of a training and resource center with “permaculture” as the core practice.  Permaculture is defined as, “a combination of the words permanent and agriculture, offers a unique approach to the practice of sustainable farming, ranching, gardening and living.”  “Permaculture shows how to observe the dynamics of natural ecosystems. We can apply this knowledge in designing constructed ecosystems that serve the needs of human populations without degrading our natural environment. Permaculture sites integrate plants, animals, landscapes, structures and humans into symbiotic systems where the products of one element serve the needs of another. “Once established, a permaculture system can be maintained using a minimum of materials, energy and labor. By recycling "waste" resources back into the system, it also minimizes pollution. It serves human needs efficiently by incorporating useful, high-yielding species. A permaculture system is designed to be diverse, so that even when one element fails, the system has enough stability and resilience to thrive. This gives it greater potential than a conventional system for long term economic stability.”

The training center will offer short trainings, study tours and short visits for local farmers as well as for practitioners and agri-entrepreneurs in the region. The training center will be established in a 5-hectare farm located in Tuod, Manticao, Misamis Oriental.  At present the main products of the farm are vegetables, root crops and herbs, banana and dragon-fruit. Fruit trees, bananas, coconuts, cacao, bamboo and timber trees are also intercropped in the farm

 Duck raising for poor women

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your generous support to our project promoting duck raising for disadvantaged women. The power of raising ducks is that unlike chickens, they are not easily affected by sickness and diseases. They are hardy, sturdy and can survive in difficult weather conditions such as during typhoons and heavy rains. They are also easy to raise and they can provide meat and eggs when they mature. When well-taken cared of, they are egg factories and can provide for the protein needs of the family. This reporting period we realize that we need to improve our breed by the raising of superior breeds and mixing them with our local breeds. In this way the duck bloodlines will improve. We were able to get our stocks from a nearby province and hopefully this will improve our capacity to provide livelihoods to many disadvantaged women.

 Production of high-value crops

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your generous support to our project providing livelihood and nutrition support for women. This time is precarious for poor hoseholds as climate change and the proliferation of virulent virus such as the recent Coronavirus will impact in a hard way local communities with very little coping mechanisms. This reporting period, we are able to initiate the organization of women farmers and housewives to grow and process dragon fruit plants. The plants grow very well and there are a lot of open farmlands that can be devoted to its production. The products are endless, from fresh fruits to soap, candies, jams and wine. The women's association will focus on the processing of various products for the marketand our next step will be to assist in the registering of their association so that they will have a legal personality, accessing support from partners and then start processing the products for value adding. We will provide additional updates in succeeding reports about their progress.

 Food delivery during this time of the Coronavirus pandemic

Warm greetings and thank you very much for your kindness and generosity in supporting our project providing food, livelihood and nutrition support for disadvantaged women and girls. This reporting period is particularly challenging because of the ill-effects of the Coronavirus pandemic into the lives of poor communities. We are hoping that there will finally be a solution and cure to the virus and that communities can re-start their normal lives. Thanks to donors and supporters, we are able to provide food packs to 720 women and their families in 2 villages. Aside from the food packs comprising well-loved Filipino menu, we also provided them with vegetable seeds in order for the families to start small backyard gardening activities. This is aimed at increasing their sources of nutrittious food and added income when they sell the surplus.

 Warmest greetings to all. This is the site for the Women's Action Against Climate Change Association