Organic Farm for Medicinal Herbs Philippines - The Garden of Life in La Trinidad, Benguet!

Our last farm stop in La Trinidad, Benguet is owned by Mr. Felix Tan - once a Manileño with a Commerce background (he moved to Benguet) and still a practitioner of alternative medicine. This is one of the farms that adopted the methods of Mr. Pat Acosta's The Master's Garden. Mr. Tan trained with him and converted his idle land to a very prosperous organic farm called Garden of Life. He was able to replicate the process and of course, started to plant herbs and medicinal plants according to his own profession and interest :) I told you each farm we visited has its own charm! ;)

Lunch and Organic Farm Tour at The Master's Garden in La Trinidad, Benguet!

Honestly, lunch at The Master's Garden was unusual haha. It wasn't anything like our organic retreat at Costales Nature Farms with the ATI the year before. There was beef, pasta and fish along with an unthinkable mix of veggies and herbs from the drink to soup to main course to dessert. After lunch, we were shown the awesome all organic vegetable terraces (which a family of four can easily handle and earns them quite enough to send all their children to college). I was so impressed with their healthy plants and superb organizing (how they made the terraces and arranged the farm) skills.

Organic Farming Made Easy & Organized, Popular Agri Myths Debunked at The Master's Garden, Benguet

Let's continue the organic farm journey! We went to The Master's Garden in La Trinidad after the Lily of the Valley Organic Farm (LOV, around 20 minutes by van). Here we learned that a healthy organic garden starts with the perfect farmer's compost. This farm is different from the LOV because it uses a very small piece of land, "micro-eco farm", yet the owner Mr. Pat Acosta was able to maximize it to support his family. So if you have thoughts on wanting to make an organic farm/garden and your stop is that your land is not very big or you think organic farming is laborious and costly or you don't know where to start, this may be the farm and post for you =D Personally, I liked that everything was explained in basic terms and that Mr. Acosta was a professor at UP so he was able to express himself and explain more about his thoughts on OA (organic agri) to us.

Homestay and Camping in La Trinidad for the Barkada near Baguio - Lily of the Valley Organic Farms Benguet

Before I was only confined to these when I think of Baguio - a 1D Baguio itinerary or my very first customized overnight 2D Baguio itinerary (everything had to do with staying within Baguio..). La Trinidad was always a short trip or just a side trip for the Strawberry Farm (which we associate with Baguio still) and the Bagsakan for fresh veggies. Now, my list of places to go near Baguio just expanded with this newly found appreciation for Benguet and the Cordillera Region! How about a homestay experience in La Trinidad or camping under the stars in a Pinoy organic farm? Of the 3 farms we went to on this visit to Benguet, only the Lily of the Valley Organic Farms was set up for a complete experience (told you they each had their own charm, I'm sure others have plans but as of now, only LOV has the structure in place). Now that their kids are all grown up and are based somewhere else, the Laruans have opened up their cozy home for homestay-ers, happy campers and those who want to stay for a few days and do their organic agri trainings and tours.

 

Organic Agriculture Training and Farm Tour at Lily of the Valley Organic Farms in La Trinidad, Benguet

So, I've just told you about that awesome Victory Liner bus trip up north and how I got to Baguio then La Trinidad from Manila. Today, let me tell you about the reason why I went all the way here for =) Last year, I got my first taste of an organic agriculture retreat at Costales Nature Farms in Laguna (just a few hours away, south of Manila). Our gracious host - the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (you can find them at www.ati.da.gov.ph and www.e-extension.gov.ph) - gave us with such a nice experience that got me so curious about being a farmer. Hehe. That first experience was all about food, food and eating more delicious organic food. It's the fastest way to win me over and it's something so basic that we all can relate to =) I was so thrilled that I agreed to 5 days in the mountains this time around! Hahaha. I just remembered: I should call it the "highlands" now hehe and it's where arabica coffee grows ;) But before all of that, let me take you to the first of the four organic farms we visited! Let's go to the Lily of the Valley Organic Farms by Mr. Jefferson Laruan in La Trinidad, Benguet! Each farm left a unique impression on me and a different set of organic info overload (LOL) so make sure you tune in to the next posts about The Master's Garden by Mr. Pat Acosta, the Garden of Light Farm by Mr. Felix Tan and all the way to Mang Osenio Lay-os' Organic Coffee Farm in Sagada.