I'd like to take you on a virtual farm tour of Felicidad Orchard & Garden Organics Farm in Gensan! Captain James Reamon has a wealth of experiences in aviation (former commercial pilot), technological inventions (inventor and winner of numerous awards here and abroad for 6 products) and farming (organic) so if you have time to spare, I suggest you spend a few days here to immerse yourself in agriculture and to chillax at the same time =) This farm, not only is a pioneer of vermiculture in Mindanao, it is also the first to be accredited as a Farm Tourism Site by the Department of Tourism in Soccsksargen (SOX Region 12) and a School for Practical Agriculture accredited by the Agricultural Training Institute of the Department of Agriculture. Mr. Reamon is also the president of the SOX Farm Tourism Association! When you go here, you'll see and hear technology-based natural farming - science in convergence with agriculture and tourism! Imagine the DOST, DA and DOT all working together with farmers living in a region filled with culture, bountiful harvest of fruits and natural resources ;)
I treasure our conversations with farmer entrepreneurs most when I go on organic agriculture trips. You'll get a glimpse of their passion and willingness to share everything they have learned with other people and its different applications in a broad range of topics from their failures to successes. Since the captain is also well-travelled, I found that he incorporated what he found around the world in his farm as well so there is much to see! The farm is also named after the captain's mother Felicidad and joy, which was exactly how I felt during my short time here.
The farm has new and modest accommodation for those who want to visit. They can accommodate around 70 people with their cottages (double deck beds and single beds) and air-conditioned rooms like where we stayed below. Toilet and shower are basic also with no hot water (which is common in farms here).
They recently won an edible landscaping contest so they showed us what's left a few months after and what plants you can grow together. They are experimenting with a compact aquaponics design as well (plants and hito), maybe good for anti-dengue.
Here they use stones and pebbles as sediment filters.
It's best to tour around like this when the sun is not too hot hehe.
They put up the tanglad (lemongrass) wall.
It was my first time to see amaranth (kulitis) that he said was good for detox blended raw or in soup.
Do you see an asparagus shoot? Hehe.
Then they put shallots, green onions and parsley. They also have a pond with lotus. Did you know that lotus seeds are delicious! Read more below.
They planted patola or sponge gourd (good for panghilod or loofah) and they have these upo from Vietnam (which they are just drying and making into salakot!).
They are also trying to grow these vanila vines and hoping to produce pods.
They have tall okra plants and stingless bees also! All of these are in one big square!
There's galanggal (Thai ginger) and turmeric red and yellow underground
placed next to uraru (arrow root) which is popularly made into flour or cookies.
You can eat the tarragon (body relaxant), chives (with steamed fish) but probably do not let the kids go near these chilis. I heard one is enough and can be very hot or irritate your skin easily.
To complete the garden, they said the landscape must be multi-sensory! Aside from taste and smell, you can also hear the chimes they put when the wind blows ;)
Just outside the restaurant, you can find the palarong pambata area and the Gizelle Windmill. They use 3 out of 6 of their inventions in the farm.
The Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow Plant from Brazil is also there with 3 colors at once (purple with white, lavender and white)!
There is a DIY sundial next to the Lady of the Night plant that emitted a strong smell (night-blooming jasmine) come sundown.
I was even interested in this mechanical chair he built (he likes welding!) that can change direction haha.
There are other options for sitting like massaging your feet at the same time.
This is called the therapy floor and "didighay ka" after (burp a lot).
There is an advanced portion with sharper rocks (seriously). If in bloom, you'll see the beautiful jade vine around here as well. Maybe you can ask about the braveheart, too.
These are the water lilies in pink and white! I was amazed when they said the flowers would close soon due to the time of day and momentarily confused of the difference between lilies and lotuses.
Next up are the edible shrubs with the mulberries,
(sweeter ones are black, unripe may cause "stomach problems and hallucinations"),
figs (good for digestion, don't eat too much),
and the peanut butter tree (native to South America)!
I was told to look for a delicate soft red one and this is the last one the birds haven't got to yet! It's like a cross between a mushy sweet potato and unsweetened peanut butter.
Have you seen a firecracker plant native to Mexico and Guatemala?
The owners searched all over the country to grow their banana collection (with indigenous banana varieties to the Philippines)! They have the cardava, saba types, monkey banana (saging matsing), murado gloria (red), senorita of Davao called amas and one that grows fruits all the way to the floor. I believe there's one called praying banana, which you have to cook whole then after cooking, you can successfully separate them to eat.
They said the "munso" is the best and they have it here but seasonal (sad face).
Just look at their lettuce! You can make the plant healthy with no greenhouse. You can put vermicast, add vermitea (one of their inventions is the Rex Compost Tea Brewer to make vermitea!) and add salvinia.
He has water plants like azolla, duckweed and salvinia nearby to use all around the farm. Cheap feeds for ducks and pigs!
He talks about the salvinia that grows vertical and continues to grow unlike the azolla and duckweed that dies if crowded.
He uses the water hyacinth that filters inorganics with its roots and what he feeds his pigs.
These are the chicken pens
and he told us about training them not to peck the eggs by placing a lot of pingpong balls.
Once the chickens get tired, they will have a higher mortality rate for the eggs.
Do you know how to tell abaca from a banana tree? Haha.
We followed the path to the Itik Pinas and Vermiculture beds. Check out my post here in detail to learn how to make vermicast the Felicidad Orchard way, plant black rice and their Itik Pinas project!
The Agricultural Training institute (ATI) also assisted them for the Swine project.
The pigs don't take a bath and feed on green plants like water hyacinth, duckweed (which is 35% protein) and salvinia.
The abaca resembles a banana plant. It has a narrower built. The leaves are "hindi pantay" and are erect.
Ever seen such a big papaya tree? The fruit is not as good and fed to the piggies also.
I loved these sweet kamias and I could nibble on these all day haha. They said it tastes like balimbing and has no dagta.
They began picking duhat (mapakla...)
and Longkong lanzones.
We also passed by their bamboo collection! Can you tell the variety used by Jackie Chan to climb up? I heard they have it here. Haha.
"Notice the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind." - Bruce Lee
It takes 4 months to plant and harvest black rice.
They cover the rice fields with water plants also. Mr. Reamon says they are great biomass, even water hyacinth, which is considered a nuisance and highly problematic invasive fresh water plant. He was trying to tell us how to differentiate azolla, duck weed and salvinia here.
This is the Hawaiian Noni Fruit or apatot. I think they boil this and use this as detox but might need to be careful before ingesting this.
This was the first time I ate lotus seeds! It's very laborious to peel but fun to eat.
You get large green mature lotus seed pods like these then pop out the "eyes".
Open them up to reveal white flesh.
Remove the green bitter sprout inside and just eat the white stuff! It's nutty and yummy!
He said the torch ginger can be eaten as salad too.
And have you tried cooking with the aromatic curry leaves?
I heard walk ins can do a salad tour at P150. I liked the dishes and meryendas that Mrs. Reamon served for us. Here's a glimpse! There's DIY tarragon, ternatea, mint and stevia tea,
biko,
salad with mango dressing,
tinola soup and my fav squash soup,
lots of pato and hito, mixed veggies,
their black rice,
rich leche flan made from itik eggs!,
their pandan-lemongrass-blue-ternate-calamansi juice
itlog na maalat, eggs from their chickens,
and other homemade goodies like burong mangga, and bagoong! Remember: No Farmer, No Food.
That's it for the tour, folks! I hope you could consider SOCCSKSARGEN (Region 12 - SOX, South Cotabato-North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and Gensan) as one of your next destinations.
For more info on the sites we visited and if you're interested in Philippine agriculture, farm visits and organic farming, check out the ATI, E-Extension and Department of Agriculture websites.
For their Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram, you can check out @atiinteractive.
ATI also has a list of all accredited farms that are Learning Sites (LS), Extension Service Providers (ESP) and Schools for Practical Agriculture (SPA). Click here. These are the hotlines of ATI Main if you want to be in touch and ask for the farm contacts - 0920-9462474 or 929-8541 (government office hours). It is better to call their regional offices (info available at the ATI website) also as they are the ones coordinating with the farmers.
Details:
Felicidad Orchard and Garden Organics Farm
Conel-Olympog Road, Purok 9B, Brgy. Katangawan, General Santos City, South Cotabato (opposite Syngenta Seeds Research Facility)
Open Mondays to Sundays 8am to 4pm
Check Out My Other Posts:
Visiting South Cotabato's Sunflower Field at Blooming Petals Agri-Tourism Park
How to Make Vermicast, Simple Vermicomposting Tips, Itik Pinas Housing and Planting Rice at Felicidad Organic Farm in Mindanao
Around the World with Felicidad Orchard & Garden Organics Farm - Agri Tourism and Innovations in GenSan!
How to Make Vermicast, Simple Vermicomposting Tips, Itik Pinas Housing and Planting Rice at Felicidad Organic Farm in Mindanao
Around the World with Felicidad Orchard & Garden Organics Farm - Agri Tourism and Innovations in GenSan!
