Leisure Farms offers agritainment tours

In the hilly outskirts of Lemery, Batangas resides Leisure Farms, the country’s first residential resort farm. Over the years, it has gained popularity among weekend road trippers with its fresh out take in countryside pleasure.

This year, Leisure Farms raises the bar of agrotourism with a new offering called agritainment tour. This new feature of Leisure Farms offers a different kind of experience for visiting city slickers and foreign tourists who are up for some old school fun. Just picture yourself harvesting fresh produce or relaxing in a makeshift paradise with live butterflies fluttering around vibrant verdure. All that and more are found right inside this soon-to-be Epcot Center of Philippine agriculture.

The tour kicks off at the paved walk right in front of the Village Cafe where miniature vegetation landscape from Buro-buro Farms, one of their Leisure Farms’ partners, can be found. In this round pocket smallholding, fresh lettuce, broccoli, and other green leafy veggies are ready for picking.

Only a few steps away is the Herb Garden. From Italian oregano to rosemary, this small plantation offers some of the finest herbs and spices used in cooking. Thyme To Cook, a cooking demo activity, is held occasionally to delight guests.

Next stop is Leisure Farms’ new baby. Opened recently, the Butterfly Garden has been home to about 1,000 butterflies of more than eight different local species. Enclosed in a 500-square meter shade are carefully selected flora to suit each species’ nectar preferences. The sanctuary serves as a feeding and breeding ground for fluttering creatures we rarely see in a Manila street nowadays.

Off a refreshing flight with airborne butterflies, the tour lands down to earth - literally. At Worm’s World, beds of what seem like ordinary dirt raise a lot of curiosity among visitors. Unusual to many, the practice of vermiculture is known all over the world to produce the best bio-fertilizer. From African night crawlers bred in the facility, vermicast or earthworm excrement are collected to fertilize the produce grown within the Organic Integrated Model farm.

Coffee shops that mushroomed everywhere in recent years take pride in their imported coffee beans. But Figaro Coffee Co. has tied up with Leisure Farms in their goal to revive the popularity of Batangas’ prized product, the barako, among coffee drinkers. A parcel of land downhill is currently occupied by Liberica trees enjoying the canopy of towering coconut trees.

Harbest Agribusiness is another partner in Leisure Farms that showcases agricultural prowess. If you’re used to seeing modest-sized tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumbers in supermarkets, then be surprised at High on Hybrids’ notable hydroponics where crops are grown to their fullest. Ditch the supermarket frenzy and shop in peace for the freshest produce ever.

Anthuriums are also kept under the protective shade and stroking heat of a greenhouse. Available in red, pink, and white varieties; bloomed flowers are also offered for pick and pay. Besides its fresh, they’re also way cheaper than flower shop prices.

Even the kids can enjoy their day at Leisure Farms with all the various fun activities lined up for them. Most suitable for science field trips, Leisure Farms is a great alternative to film showings and mall entertainment that most schools offer their students these days.

Here, the kids are taught the importance of agriculture and preserving nature. If they’ve seen butterflies and worms on reel, here they get the real deal. They get to experience harvesting first-hand and learn the value of agricultural empowerment over urban development in our rich provincial regions.

Agritainment tours take an average of one hour to finish, depending of course on how long visitors take to pick their produce. After which, all are led back to the Village Store for pack and pay. No need to worry about price mark-ups here. Products are sold much cheaper than in supermarkets.