THE EDUCATIONAL SUSTAINABLE (NATURAL) FARMING AND PROFIT CENTER PROJECT consists to create an agricultural boarding school in natural farming for young disadvantaged adults. They will receive practical and theoretical courses in fruits, vegetables, forage and animals farming management, processing and marketing during one year. This particular school will be integrated in the national educational system of the Philippines (TESDA).
Another aspect of the project is it will be self-financed three years after the beginning of the production.
Focus on the main aspects of the project:
- Social aspect :
The beneficiaries are disadvantaged teenagers, young adults from Virlanie foundation Inc. and from the City of Sagay, and even young farmers in difficulties recommended by NISARD (Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture & Rural Development Foundation, Inc.). The educational natural farming project may also offer an appropriate structure to accompany the teenagers to consolidate their self-confidence as well as developing their autonomy and initiatives aiming to their social and professional integration.
This social goal could be summarized in one central idea: Make the youth autonomous and responsible citizens and give them sufficient skills to have a job to earn decently their life. This project, as an integrated educational program, will help ensure that no children or youth will be in streets of city making begging and mendicancy as a way of living.
Through education young adults will get a formation. The target of the school is first of all to give them access to the labor world. The final objective is to form young people in farm manager and not in farm worker.
- Educational aspect :
The students will learn how to make a feasibility study, and how to produce, how to process and how to sell numerous of products. That is the basic trilogy. All the products, animal and vegetal, will be labeled “organic products” because of sustainable (natural) farming.
With other words, the orientation of the educational project is the presentation and practical realization of numerous quality examples of production among which the students can choose one or many to start their own unit production.
At the end of the school year the best students will receive a diploma nationwide recognized. Our goal is also to help them to create their own “profit center”. For that we need the cooperation of agricultural administrations and private owners of large farms.
- Environmental aspect:
The fundamentals of sustainable natural farming are: proper crop rotation, legume usage, companion planting, insect habitat, microbial management, cover cropping, green fertilizers, minimal tillage, mulching, animal integration and composting. Moreover, of course, no chemicals!
This modern technique based on the use of microorganisms is particularly adapted to the rehabilitation of lands spoiled by chemicals, former monoculture lands or new upland area with lower fertility. It is also well adapted to the climatic and economic reality of tropical areas. In this project, the sustainable farming is more a way to succeed the global project and respect environment than a philosophy. It is the common denominator of all the vegetal or animal productions. It is also the way to maximize the land (increasing of fertility, intercropping…), to increase biodiversity and finally enjoy farming.
Daniel Collot – Project manager of the school farm
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