See the power of nature. The bliss, the blessed and the wild if not controlled- We need to manage it properly on time. We need to do coppicing of the trees (not cut but trim to a certain level). It provides shade during hot summer days but it can wreck the others during typhoon while at the same time protect the others too. See the rice fields and the plants after the sun came back they are intact, Thank God, everyone is quite alright.
I hope to be able to get that much needed fund to spring back in action and put in place all the necessary infrastructure and avoid this kind of obstacles in the very near future. Please pray for us. Thank you. :)
​

15-19 June 2015 at OJAI,  The Real Farmers!

Its nice to know you were able to sell in Feb-March: UPO "bottle gourd"- 1000, Sili "Red chili, "sambal"-200, Talong " Egg plant"bringal" 300. Please send also the picture of the harvest (Small or big quantity for our appreciation doesn't matter-Thank you)
Please identify which insects are the culprit- take a picture and you might want to vary your EM concoction.
and please increase transplanting 'Baraniw" Lemon Grass, this helps. I hope to see the Marigold soon all around the garden area as a plus. keep it up!

Exercise your lungs, climb it! test your balance and stamina and enjoy the ambiance

Our lessons could take us a long way! Keep it up, one day we could get it right. OBSERVATION- need to do this more so adjustments can be made rightly on your pest management and nutrients. 
You are doing great for the soil prepping.  
Thank you.

Its Christmas time...Hot, humid, hard! and cousins still can find FUN. Farming as a career, anyone?
Need to turn the place to become a farm, a sustainable farm. We need a charismatic driver to steer this.

As part of the International Year of the Soils and World Soil Day, Symphony of the Soil will be streamed for FREE for the week of December 5 - 12. 
Go to the Global Soil Partnership page,http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/world-soil-day/symphony-of-the-soil/en/ or Symphony of the Soil website http://www.symphonyofthesoil.com/ to watch the video for free and share! #soil#worldsoilday #saveoursoil #food #humanhealth

Thank you Lord! Were getting on bit by bit. 

Soil Prepping and Observation from the Plants. 
Lot 6 and 7, Rice and vegies- Observe the colors of the leaves (Soil Nutrients is it ok? , the soil color (enough moisture?) , weeds- being suppressed by mulching (before it seeds to regrow?,  (not pulled out?) Any stories about the first harvest if any, any sign of pests? 
The question I keep asking myself- CAN WE DO IT with current APTITUDE? and at what COST and level of SUCCESS? My gut feeling- We need more support at the FARM.
Anyone interested to become FARM WORKING PARTNER ? We have great dreams to realize, don't miss it. 
Bring your family and live there- Don't hesitate to contact us.

Putting the Sustainable farm/garden into perspective, estimated area <1 hectare.  Using integrated concept for the zones(Zone 1 to 4) with overlaps in each area. Will this be efficient in terms of number of visit per area, man hour usage and flexibility and will there be an eco systemic balance? For the cost,by the look of it will be higher for the initial out lay, but sustainability might have a better chance in the long run. Which is which? We could use this as our guide and will adjust accordingly as we do piece by piece. Good luck to all of us.!

September mourn! Strong Gale, wind swirling , water gushing, soil loosening, branches breaking, nature at its best and the angst of worries far from the farm. Keeping safe my team , e-i e-i o and all I thank you Lord.

20L x 20W x 2.5H(m), 8 frames, Air gap at least .25(m) using 25(mm) diameter GI pipe with 1 Welder + ad hoc support. Need to speed up so compost making/ soil building can be faster while typhoon season is on.  Adjustment on total quantity and braces per frame, 4 sets each (original design + adjusted) to minimize material without compromising sturdiness. Hope to see it standing by next week with adjustment on the overlap I guess and the "weather" permits.Thanks to you guys. 

Got a surprise today! Its a blessing if this is true. We often notice in our lots, soil that curls up. If you look at it you could feel something is lurking there. Put in the Ducks and walah! they are gone without knowing why and we just forgot it.

But this time around, Manong Jude and his team were able to say its a local vermicast! I hope its true then no need to buy those night crawlers. How do they survive? whats in there..? how do they look? If they are self sustained, well and good for us.. I hope the Microscope will be available soon..

Based on information available at this time, Tiki tiki sources in our place is quite expensive 25/kilo and not enough. Estimated consumption per head (pig) about 4 sacks (50kg) for  5 months. 
Lets try by planting it ourselves and do it the natural way method. It would be a good showcase if we get it right. No more Chemicide Cocktails. Lets do Bio-cide instead, IMO or EM as key to the concoctions.

How does an "organic rice taste", the feeling of it and the health benefits one may get, and fed to the live stocks too?

update as of October 3

Oct 10/ Nov27 (2014) update on the rice farm.

It has been 4 months since our farm "PDC Enthusiast" attended Mr. Geoff Lawton Onlne PDC course. 
Lets take a look if she does it right. 
Keep it up Mathel, we will need all the know how to move this dream with a concrete plan/ design as basis. Will just change or revise as we implement if necessary depending on the real situation. Cheers!   

I am motivated to continue this dream, the solution is out and for the taking. Its hard but its worthwhile. 

Update : 10 October 2013 She got it. Congratulations.
This certificate means, you are able to work as a consultant, teacher or designer and restore land to its natural abundance!

This time, we surveyed the place via the creek side (North/East Side of the property- SANGBAY route). Took some pictures of the tree roots that holds the soil/ the place intact. The rotting tree probably about 3 years old now since falling down maybe due to erosion. I am not sure when we could start working on this portion. Estimated height around 15 to 20 meters from landing. Tib beg tree ("water monitor" Family: Moraceae) just above it is quite big. This might be the right place for our water source at HILLTOP. Its quite close (about 50 meters away) to the Mango tree above Kalapaw#2. 

late posting- this is the house as of Dec2014

Future pond preparation at the rear side of the house, improving our living conditions with passive cooling all at the same time preparing the farm for planting in the next 4 months and hopefully through this, "rolling funds" can be generated that can sustain us. We will  apply rammed earth or ferrocement ,natural plastering method along the way.

As of August 1st week- We don't have enough CHB and Course Sand hence we will make use of stones and soil and cement to complete the walls- they are just scattered around-  Toilet still at 100%CHB. The rains keeps pouring and delivery is hampered due to it, the road is too slippery and funds getting low. Let's make use of the cowtractor, PASAGAD! for the cement..

What to do? Apply Natural building concept- use what is available (the stones, our current manpower,sandy soil, cement as exception which we cannot do without at the moment and  consider perma culture concept- "generate your own input by using what is available at the place- SCB for CHB="Soil Cement block" or what they call ferro-cement. We then practice semi- off grid or homesteading skills.
 

Composting (Bokashi): 3 pail (mix of cow, goat manure), 2 pail pig manure, 1/2 sack ricehull biochar, 1/2 sack rice hull, 4 sack soil, 2 sack dried leaves top with black soil found just behind and EM.1 + mulch of rice straw- as of 13thJuly- 3 days still, then turn, 7th day ready to be applied to 13 rows of raised bed. Maintenance , once a week EM.1 spraying. Hope this works.

Passive cooling Style Green house location- in the next 2 months hopefully will be already up!. Seedling, germination etc will then follow. -Companion planting, attractants, repellants,(flowers?, herbs?) I am excited...

As of August 1st week, FUNGI is appearing, however we need to raised it up further. 
16 raised beds is done on the east side and another 8 on the west side, prepped up with the organic matters and covered with 40% net to lessen the impact of heavy rains. Water Canal to avoid flooding the beds. 

The 3 LA's Chicken love the place this time under cover of the 40% net, they have to be confined soon... controlled free ranging.

Started planting to test this EARLY!.1st week August, for cover crops, nitrogen source, Tapioca (from 1 year ago harvest) Kangkong, carrot, Corn. aheee. we are excited!. Don't know what will happen, Did we understand the bio dynamics of our place or not, lets see. Hope it will not rot.. Anyway, Water canal will help to avoid flooding.  
Cant wait to have the Microscope and we might need to do soil testing if it doesn't work.

We will need to provide stable water supply/storage for watering during summer via barrel system, piped swale system (same elevation as the beaver dam), using the existing pipes or a ferrocement made tank. Which has less cost to implement? And distribute automatically to the beds easing the work. Thinking of using BIkal or Bolo bamboos as pipes(hose) for our drip watering system treated with salt solution to make it last longer or  search for the bitterest herb/plant or legume found in the property. We will need to do taxonomy. 

Will update this as it develop.
Note: EM and IMO being utilized. 
In the future, 6 months from now, see HERE the produce.

UPDATE as of October 3 : With limited resources and different priorities, tasks at hand- things are not moving as thought!. Need to beef up our support. Time to hire experienced Sustainable Agriculture farmer to help us through? Anyone interested may contact us ASAP! OJT's are easy to find but a rare to hold. 

The challenges of sustainable farming is on oneself, nothing else! If your not cut for it, but you desire it, then be your own tailor. 

Lets play the odds systematically, fixes are always available by careful and keen observation, walk it through, adjust as you act and without leaving behind the lessons from our teachers, don't forget it. Look at all four fronts and you will see. And never give up. 

18 October 2014 Wow!- despite bug down with manpower, time lines and budget, camera pics missing or whatever, lapses in communication and quick assumptions, the Plants are showing HOPE!  Soon, every perspiration, tears, fears, sighs,frustration, Expectations, down/up feelings, pains of getting through, BALAKANG and ALL = WE ALL WANT TO SUCCEED!. KEEP IT UP, TOGETHER! THIS WILL BE ONE of your MOST TREASURED STORIES to live and tell and so do I. And Thank you Lord! Please bless our work, friends helping, people around us!
Its 2.5 months to go! Keep our motivations up! WE CAN DO IT! despite the odds..

Providing a water catch basin or pond + swale/berm concept will be very good to provide us 365 days of water and probably without having a cistern to sustain the farm year round. Geomembrane ++ I guess is one other way to stabilize it quickly. Its a BIG TA$$K ahead- Imagine rice terraces - it will be a SWALE terraces & pocket of ponds with a variety of fruits trees, plants ,vetiver and bamboos on the berms supporting it and a walking trail! how good can it get?  

Water flow during typhoon 2013. This amount of water just runs through the farm outside. Wrecking havoc downstream if the water channel (creek) is full of mountain debris. (Dried Bamboos, soil, branches of trees, etc.), clearing up wastes along the channel if any. This water channel does not connect to the national irrigation canal. it ends up about 2 km away in the rice fields (sort of a lagoon).

Rear side of Kalapaw#1- future pond, water will come from swale, through a simulated river filtration (Bio sand/gravel concept) and plants and recycled again using water pump. Details still on the drawing board.

guess who is with me?  A background shot,wondering what can it become...and we just wander...

WANDER....& WONDER... what could it be...?

Bali, Bali please share your good fortune to our future! its a huge tasks ahead,....to nurture the place and make it bountiful.--. and good health for everyone to enjoy it. Thank you..

Rain rain please come again. I remember the 1st rain of May and it came! Temperature is too hot!

Tilling for the last time- soil preparation
next will be soil inoculation using EMO concoction.
Then Soil test.

Mats is now applying what he learned from ALOHA. 
Go go Mats. Need to catch up!!!

June is coming! and rain too, We need the team to follow through while your on internship...very soon..

. Acquired the seedling 3 feet high on PE bag in 2010, transplanted during the rainy season and now 2014, started bearing fruit. About less than 5 years. Not bad..
ITS GOOD!
The Grafted "carabao" Mango started bearing fruit. 2 trees out of 67 (Lots 1 to 7)), the rest have some too. Will wait for more pictures. 100 more to check..Uphill
Maybe because of EMO again? or we are just lucky or we really need it. Thank you Lord for the hands that cares and bless their dreams too.

Forest soil, inoculated with EMO concoction, Bolo or Buho bamboo enclosure with dried leaves/rice straw as mulch- to protect the soil being disturbed from the free rangers (3LA's). Chickens!