Participants with resource speakers
Distribution of starter kits
Three months after TAO-Pilipinas conducted its initial Community Based – Solid Waste Management Workshop (CB-SWM) on December 5-6, 2009, members of TAO-Pilipinas Staff and the training facilitators of the workshop conducted surprise visits last March, 2010 to each community to verify if the youths who participated in the workshop have started waste segregation, composting and urban gardening in their respective communities.
Lecture portion of the workshop
Diluting liquid fertilizer
Each household in the communities have already been practicing a certain degree of waste segregation. They are also in different stages in the implementation of composting and urban gardening. To reinforce what they have learned, TAO-Pilipinas organized a follow-up workshop last April 30, 2010 which focused on Sustainable Agriculture and Urban Gardening at the TAO-Pilipinas office in Diliman, Quezon City.
The workshop was attended by 32 youths from the 5 communities of Bagong Silangan, Parola, Pasay, Tanza-Masagana Area and Tangos Navotas. Workshop facilitators were Ms. Jessa Marie B. Albacea (Agri- Extension Officer – Luzon) and Ms. Marie Joy Q. Demaluan (Area Coordinator-Luzon) from the Center for Agrarian Reform & Rural Development (CARRD), an NGO centered on innovation in rural development, social entrepreneurship, policy research and advocacy.
Kangkong with brown sugar to formulate liquid fertilizer
Seed Donors
This time, twelve select older members of each community’s People’s Organization were also invited to learn with the youths, share their own gardening experiences and to lend their support and guidance to the youths when they return to their communities.
An overview of Sustainable Agriculture was given, and more detailed advice on urban gardening was taught, such as the types of soil available, its nutrient content, raw materials for composting and various characteristics of select vegetables like eggplant, sitao, okra, tomatoes and pechay. An actual demonstration on mixing a liquid fertilizer which can act as a compost enhancer was taught to the youths which they can easily replicate in their homes. Lively discussions ensued and a lot of knowledge was shared.
In the following weeks, the youths from one community will be invited to visit other communities to assist in their planting efforts.
Give2Asia Foundation is the principal donor behind this project that has allowed us to conduct these workshops and purchase garden soil which were distributed to the youths at the end of the seminar. Equally generous donations of seeds were provided by Allied Botanical Corporation, Bureau of Plant Industry and Ramgo International Corporation.
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