The Most Popular Island in the Philippines Can't Feed Itself Yet (Siargao)
- Hindi lang kami isang isla para sa surfing, hindi lang puro baybayin. Marami talagang kultura dito na dapat ibahagi. Ang layunin ay kung paano kami magiging isang plataporma para sa lokal na komunidad na maabot ang kanilang potensyal. Na ang Siargao ay may pangalan, may tatak, at ang mga tao ay gustong tulungan itong umunlad. - Siargao island has become a world renowned tourism hotspot and is quickly becoming one of the most visited islands in the Philippines. More importantly, it is home to some of the most warm and welcoming people on the planet who earn a living through the bounties of the land and sea and benefits of ecotourism.
Despite this, most of the food and materials that are consumed by the islands in many restaurants and hotels are still imported from Manila or nearby provinces. This is where Lokal Lab comes in. As a grassroots NGO, Lokal Lab has been working to create sustainable futures for Siargao with and for the local community. This is their story.
- I'm Analyn Dulpina, co-founder of Lokal Lab and Ihayas Farm Farm director. The main goal of Lokal Lab is to really help the community spread out the nature of farming, the nature-based farming, to make the people aware that we need to save our environment and this island to become a sustainable island in the future. - Hi, ako si Kara, isa sa mga co-founder ng Lokal Lab Siargao. Kami ay isang grassroots NGO na nagsimula noong 2017 at ang aming layunin ay hubugin ang Siargao bilang isang modelo ng sustainable na isla para sa iba pang komunidad sa Pilipinas.
Ang layunin ay kung paano kami magiging plataporma para sa lokal na komunidad upang maabot ang kanilang potensyal. Gusto naming kunin ang posisyon ng plataporma na mayroon kami, na ang Siargao ay may pangalan, may tatak, at ang mga tao ay gustong tumulong na paunlarin ito dahil gusto naming maging isang buhay na laboratoryo na nagtitipon ng iba't ibang tao mula sa iba’t ibang larangan, na lahat ay nagtutulungan para sa isang sustainable na isla. - Ako si Iris, isa sa mga tagapagtatag ng Lokal Lab. Sa kasalukuyan, nagtatrabaho rin ako bilang social enterprise director ng NGO. Ibig sabihin, pinangangasiwaan ko ang operasyon ng mga fundraising project namin na kinabibilangan ng Hub sa General Luna at Hub sa Burgos, dalawang vegetable market, ang Lokal Tabo, kung saan pumapasok ang mga social enterprise bilang fundraising project ng organisasyon. Kaya kailangan talagang makipag-ugnayan sa mga turista at iba pang negosyo.
Oo, nasa lugar mismo pero nasa kabila ng isla. - Ako si Mark Pintucan, ang executive director ng Lokal Lab. Ang Lokal Lab ay nahahati sa tatlong pangunahing programa. Una, ang core community building kung saan tinutukoy namin ang komunidad na aming tinatrabaho, pangunahin ay ang mga lokal ng Siargao.
Kasama rin ang Tropical Academy na isang capacity-building tool ng organisasyon, na naglalayong tukuyin ang mga pangangailangan ng isla at bigyan ito ng sustainable na bersyon. Halimbawa, ang pagtatanim na akma sa kalikasan, ang pagtatayo ng mga istrukturang matibay sa pagbabago ng klima, at ang pagsasanay sa tamang pangangasiwa ng basura at lokal na sourcing sa industriya ng hospitality. - Isa sa mga dahilan kung bakit kami umiiral ay dahil natatakot kami na ang progreso sa Siargao ay magiging katulad ng sa Boracay o Bali, kung saan mabilis ang pag-unlad na ang mga magsasaka ay nagsisimulang ibenta ang kanilang lupa sa mga resort o na ang mga lokal, marami sa mga kabuhayan dito ay inaangkat mula sa ibang isla at hindi namin iyon gusto para sa Siargao. Swerte kami na mayroon kaming ganitong naratibo, na nagsisimula pa lang kami na hubugin ito sa paraang ito pa rin ang isla ng mga taga-Siargao at kailangan mong respetuhin ang kanilang kultura. Hindi ito tulad ng ibang isla kung saan magtatayo ka ng mga gusali ayon sa gusto mo.
Dapat igalang ang kultura at ito ang gusto naming panatilihin sa isla. - I'm not a farmer; I'm a nurse by profession. I worked in Manila and applied to go abroad, but I wasn't fortunate enough to make it, so I came back here to Siargao. It was just by chance, and that's where it started— I looked for my father's land, which we hadn't seen for a very long time.
Since I was born, I hadn't seen it. When I came back here to a barangay in Burgos and saw the people and the land, that’s when I started planting. I thought about how I could help my relatives. Today is Monday, so it's our delivery day to General Luna.
This is also where our satellite farmers come to deliver their vegetables. They bring their produce here for consolidation, and this is also where we do the packaging. Here is Kuya, our farmer from Barangay Tambacan, bringing vegetables for packing. - What did sir you bring today? - Romaine lettuce.
- Morning. Good morning! Marajaw Karajaw! - Marajaw Karajaw! - That's local. That's local for Surigaonon. For Siargao, that's, you know, that's the local "good morning" here, "Marajaw Karajaw."
You know, that would be the thing. I'm not that authentic, guys. You know, it's just what they say here. So it's not like I say it all the time, but you know, when people come and visit, you got to throw it down, you know? Hi, guys! So my name's Andrew, Andrew Malarkey.
I am the...I guess, a managing chef partner here at Wild. So this is a very big family and it's much more than just Wild. With the whole project that we have here, there's a lot of heart in it. And with what we have to grow, you know, it's many steps and many, many, many, many things to finish. Yet it is a labor of love and it's something that we really feel strongly about, that we want to help build and grow.
We have our accommodations that we're going to be completing in the back. So that's going to be the Ronin. So it's Wild at the Ronin. And we figured if we're going to build, let's build up. And we're not short of ambition and kind of craziness. So we like to, you know, with my business partner Jove, he likes to get a little crazy with his ideas.
So that's where we've come up with this. And it's, again, it just grows naturally and organically. And I think that's one of the, you know, one of the foundations and one of the big facets of building, I don't know... What I like to do when I build a restaurant or a business is really, it's got to be lived in.
You have to be able to feel it. You have to have some soul in it. And when it starts off, it starts off quite blank, but through the emotions and the experiences that you put in, then that really helps build the place. These are some of the items that I was able to get yesterday when I visited Lokal Hub.
So I went yesterday afternoon to see what they had, to get some fresh stuff, and see what inspiration I can get from it. Lokal Hub is the GL arm of Lokal Labs, which they have up north in Burgos, and they get from their farm, Ihayas Farm in San Isidro. So Ihayas Farm grows all the stuff and then it gets distributed through the hubs, and that is direct from the farmers already.
It's really important for the restaurant owners to have a relationship with the farms because through that, number one, corporate responsibility. You know, we get to help build the communities that are around us. And it's, you know, empowering them to build their own industries and not having to put so much emphasis on leaving their hometowns. You know what I mean? They get to stay here and they get to develop and actually build something great that's very community-forward. So I use a lot of sitaw. We're going to be playing with gabi, you know what I mean? I use kalabasa, talong, you know, a lot of the local stuff because this is the best conditions to grow it.
It grows fast, it grows good. You get it in its prime state, and it's readily available all the time. - Nandito kami sa Tropical Academy. Nagsimula kami nito mga dalawang taon na ang nakalilipas. At isa sa mga layunin namin sa Lokal ay magtayo ng paaralan para sa mga komunidad sa isla.
Noong nagsisimula pa lang kami noong 2017, ang pangarap namin ay lumikha ng isang lugar kung saan tunay naming mapapalakas ang lokal na komunidad, at naisip namin na magagawa ito sa pamamagitan ng edukasyon at bokasyonal na pagsasanay. Kaya nandito kami ngayon sa classroom structure ng Tropical Academy. Ang talagang gusto namin, si Mark, ang isa pa naming co-founder, at isang arkitekto, ay magkaroon ng isang open-air na classroom kung saan mararamdaman mong konektado ka sa kalikasan. Nakipag-partner kami sa TESDA at ATI para makapagtayo ng bokasyonal na paaralan. Nagsimula kami sa pagtuturo ng pagsasaka, at sa hinaharap ay karpinterya, culinary, at iba pang kurso sa kasanayan na kailangan ng lokal na komunidad.
Mahalaga ito lalo na ngayon na ang mga kabataang magsasaka, lalo na sa isang komunidad na isla katulad ng Siargao, ay umaalis na sa pagsasaka at lumilipat sa turismo. Ang Lokal ay may tatlong programa. Una, ang community building na kinabibilangan ng FarmNet, mga artisan, at Coco Lab na gumagamit ng coconut waste para sa iba’t ibang produkto. Pangalawa, ang Lokal social enterprises, na kasama ang Hub at dalawang snack bars sa General Luna at Burgos. At ang Lokal Tabo na sakop ng ganitong mga proyekto.
Dahil protektadong lugar ang Siargao, kailangan naming makilahok sa mga pag-uusap para maging boses ng komunidad na madalas ay hindi naririnig. - We have a group here called the Caridad Weavers' Association with 42 members. We started with only 18 members, then Lokal Lab added more by calling a meeting to see who could weave. But really, everyone knows how to weave— all the elders, young men, and women, as they inherited the skill from their parents.
We tie these to make mats. I hope people realize that making these is hard; it’s not easy. This is what they are used to doing. The elders, especially, have always done this and don’t want to change their work. Sometimes, only a few tourists buy these mats, for some, these are new to them. But some Tagalog people buy them and are amazed that they are made here in Siargao.
- Nang itayo namin ang demo farm, gusto naming ipakita sa mga magsasaka kung ano ang hitsura ng isang regenerative farm na kumikita at maaaring maging independent. Nagbibigay kami ng klase patungkol sa seed saving at paggawa ng compost. Gusto naming ipakita na kaya nilang maging independent at hindi kailangan umasa sa mga libreng binhi o pataba mula sa DA (Department of Agriculture). At sa buong isla, mayroon kaming iba't ibang farm sites at satellite farms. Sa mga satellite farms na ito, ang mga tagapagsanay na tinuturuan namin ay nagtuturo sa kanilang sariling komunidad, at pagkatapos ay ang komunidad ay gumagawa ng sarili nilang community farms. Nagtatrabaho kami para maging isang food-secure na isla.
Kararating lang ng isang satellite farmer na nagdadala ng kanilang mga produkto dito. At ang buong ideya ng pagsisimula namin ng Lokal Tabo ay dahil dati, ang mga magsasaka ay wala pang merkado para sa kanilang mga ani. Nag-'suroy-suroy' sila, kung tawagin, kung saan nagiikot-ikot lang sila gamit ang kanilang mga bisikleta para maghanap ng makabibili ng kanilang mga ani.
Sa merkado, nalaman naming ang mga ani ay nagmumula pa sa Davao at Baguio. Marami namang bukid dito. - Hello! My name is Jolina Mecate. So I'm one of the farm leads of Ihayas Farm. The reason I went into agriculture is that my parents are farmers.
Ever since my grandmother's time, we have been farmers. - Mahalaga na may boses ang mga magsasaka sa pagpapresyo ng kanilang ani. Marami pa rin sa kanila ang nananatiling nasa ilalim ng poverty line.
- How's life, sir? - By God's mercy, He has blessed me with a healthy body. I've managed to survive family problems. Back before this Lokal Lab, I used to go all the way to Surigao to deliver these vegetables. Now, around Siargao, there are people who buy a kilo or two. It depends; like now, I have regular customers.
It's better because they buy everything I have in bulk, and I deliver it all. - For the farm gate price, the farmer decides the farm gate price through monthly meetings. So for example, we do have a monthly meeting with the artisans and the satellite farmers, the community farmers. So every monthly meeting, if they think that the cost of their production is really high, that the farm gate cannot compensate that production, so 50% of the farmers should vote that we need to increase the farm gate price. - Ang gusto kong gawin ay lumikha ng negosyong may layuning magdala ng mabuting epekto— gamitin ang turismo bilang puwersa ng kabutihan at gawin ang Siargao bilang isang potensyal na self-sufficient na isla, na posibleng maging modelo para sa iba pang isla sa Pilipinas at sa buong mundo.
- Gusto kong maging pangmatagalan ang Lokal Lab sa pagiging self-sufficient o sustainable na NGO. - Sa isla kung saan nagsimula ang Lokal, nalaman namin na 97% ng mga kalakal ay ini-import. Ngayon, nasa 80-90% na ito. Mataas pa rin iyon para sa isang isla, ngunit nais naming ipakita ay ang pagkakaroon ng food security kung saan kaya mong magtanim ng mga produktong matatagpuan dito sa isla, matugunan ang mga pangangailangan, at pababain ang bilang na iyon upang matulungan ang mga lokal na mangingisda at magsasaka. Ang susi sa progreso ay kooperasyon, kabilang ang pakikipagtulungan sa gobyerno.
Dahil sa huli, pare-pareho ang layunin— ang iangat ang mga taga-Siargao. Ang tanong ay paano magtutulungan para sa isang layunin. - Actually, I think it was just destiny.
Agriculture was truly my destiny because my parents are farmers, though they didn't want me to pursue it. They would say farming is just planting and pulling out weeds. And they wanted me to become a teacher because the salary is higher. I told them I would fight for this, even with my family, because they really didn’t approve.
I see that most farmers are elderly now. I wanted this path to lead me because of that. It seems like the youth today don’t have a heart for agriculture. It touched my heart more, so I said I would finish studying agriculture and push for it in the future.
I want the youth to see the importance of agriculture for us. From what I see, the Philippines struggles to bring back the time when it wasn't just the elders leading in agriculture but the youth as well. As they say, we (youth) are the hope of the nation.
I want that hope to be in agriculture.
2024-11-20 22:32
