David.whiting@colostate.edu
Our sympathy and prayers go out to the victims of the
typhoon in the Philippines. It is hard
to comprehend the destruction and loss of life this past week.
The past couple of weeks, I’ve been in conversation about
gardening in the Philippines and the concept has really captured by
imagination. Let me share the focus of
the discussion. Your input on the topic
would be greatly appreciated.
I was contacted by a financial advisor who represents a
foundation trying to deal with the extreme poverty in the Philippines. He was seeking input on the potential for
gardening to help build the lives of the poor and reduce the extreme poverty. In the Philippines, there is a significant
population who basically has nothing. They
live off the land and scrounge through the trash to survive. Home may be nothing more than a couple of
sheets of plywood and sheet metal, under a tree, to provide some shelter from the
tropical rains. (Not much protection
from a typhoon.) Jobs simply do not
exist for some of the population.
So, the concept is for the foundation to purchase farmland,
allowing families to settle there growing crops and living off the land. I was called for a reality check on the concept. If land was provided, could squatters living
off the land make a decent life for their family?
Not being gardener themselves, the financial advisors
thinking about this idea really did not know what questions to ask when they
visit the area at the end of this month.
So I helped them framed a list of questions to ask about the soil, the
climate, and crops that could be grown.
The area is rich in agriculture production. Local gardening includes warm season crops,
like corn and tomatoes, and many tropical vegetables, like Calabasa (squash),
Gabi (Taro), and Kamtoe (Sweet Potatoes).
A second part of this discussion centers on human
development. The growth in self-esteem
being able to grow the produce to feed your family.
So I ask you the
question, if land was provided, could squatters living off the land make a decent
life for their family? What would you
advise the foundation considering this question?
