A series of webinars will be aired at the ATI Northern Mindanao Facebook Page. This will start on April 24, 2020 at 10:00-10:30 in the morning. This is in response to the Covid pandemic which has restricted the conduct of face-to-face trainings. Also, engaging on urban agriculture will assure food availability in the home and could also be an added income in these trying times. Planting your own veggies for family consumption assures the family that the produce is safe and organically grown, thereby making it healthy and safe.
For its initial episode, Mr. Junah Bayag, a High School teacher at Bukidnon National High School and an ATI certified Learning Site Owner will share his experiences on how he established his “Jaya Secret Garden”. His garden is located in the center of Malaybalay City, where it used to be a garbage dump. He was able to slowly convert the area by planting organically grown vegetables, raise few heads of ducks, and establish small fishponds for tilapia, few herbs and spices and even few pots of strawberries. Despite the small area, he is able to produce more than enough for his family needs thus bringing in extra income from sales of his produce. And his artistic flair is shown in how his garden was designed.
What is inspiring for Sir Junah is the involvement of the whole family in the garden. His wife, Hazel cooks mouthwatering dishes fresh from the farm. She integrates the herbs from the garden into her dishes. She serves these dishes when there are visitors and trainees in the garden. Also, she packages products like pesto sauce, lettuce ice cream and various herb juices. Daughter Jayah, 14 wakes up early to feed the fishes. She is the designated “Tour Girl” of visitors who come to the farm. She has been invited to speak on her experiences since she was 9. She is one of ATI's poster girl for young farmers. Son, Chantoy, 3 years old already knows his way around the garden, throwing lettuce leaves in the fishpond.
Future episodes will focus on technologies in producing veggies, including cooking and processing tips. Other Certified Learning Site owners and farms will be featured. This webinar series is under the Storyahay Segment brought about by ATI-RTC 10.