The precious farm

Sara, daughter of an educator and a journalist, would always go with students on field trips to Mount Makiling but found the area too open, and she felt a bit insecure for teachers to manage campers and young kids who may roam in the forests. So she asked her folks, veteran writer Max Soliven and OB Montessori founder Preciosa Soliven, to look for a similar place that could be secured, gated but still offer the nature experience for their students at OB Montessori Center (OBMC). Now with five campuses, OBMC does have a need for a facility where students can go camping or have retreats. That was the first reason for having this 16-hectare farm in Alfonso, Cavite. Nestled at almost 1,500 feet above sea level, the property in upland Cavite is a cool and breezy place while being host to many native trees and other plants.

We chanced upon Preziosa Farms one fine day as we were driving around Alfonso and right away I called Sara and she allowed us to enter the gated property for a “compressed” day tour. Elvie, her manager, hosted us for lunch, with red tilapia coming from their fish pond and viands from vegetables grown around the property. We right away enjoyed a real “farm to table” experience. 

We saw some students on a weekend retreat, saw a few other people strolling around, but otherwise the place is used by the school for its events or rented by other parties for team building and corporate activities. Elvie says the students now prefer going on “nature trips” in lieu of the usual Junior-Senior prom. What a welcome idea to commune with Nature for a weekend rather than spend good money just for a night of dancing or a formal party as proms usually are.

I asked Sara to explain further in our Good and Green podcast why she and her mother continue to develop Preziosa (obviously named after her mother Preciosa) to be a haven for those wanting to get away from the city. With their expansive network – starting with her famous parents and now her own generation – getting experts to help out is a breeze. No less than famous architect and urban planner Paulo Alcazaren helps with the design and landscape in keeping with environmental preservation. For their rammed earth structures, they asked Balika’s Ronnie Yumang to help out. For their arboretum they asked Imelda Sarmiento, chair of Philippine Native Trees, to help them catalog 500 native trees and identify 143 species native to the Philippines. A total of 732 trees stand tall on the property. They commissioned Dr. Armando Palijon, a forester from UP Los Baños, to check on these treasures and make sure they are propagated, too.

On the fauna side, Sara has about 60 heads of sheep, a fish pond teeming with red tilapia and hosts of stingless bees that produce medicinal honey. I also saw chickens, ducks and a turkey. It is a children’s paradise where real animals roam and you may even be able to pat a sheep on the head.

There is a campsite area, the idea that sparked this development, and an amphitheater-like seating area where you can hold bonfires or meetings. Sara is also building a covered events area, as a backup for those days when the weather is not so friendly and children have to be kept indoors.

Sara is also able to experiment on growing vegetables with unexpected high demand like onions and garlic. When prices of onions headed north, she started to plant the bulbs and I actually saw a whole piece of land, a lot dedicated to this vegetable. Looking for garlic? Sara has that covered, too. After all, she has off-takers in her five campuses for any harvest.

The vegetables, if they have a bumper crop, are sold in the five campuses of OBMC almost at cost. The rest of the harvest is used in the kitchen where meals are prepared for the campers and the other guests at the farm. Her coffee shop and restaurant was designed by good friends Rita Nazareno and Gab Lichauco, as Sara always taps the advice of friends for this ongoing project. She truly does not run out of ideas and resource people to keep making Preziosa relevant and in tune with today’s needs for an events place – be it rough but safe like a campsite or more formal for weddings and similar occasions.

There are 10 more hectares to develop but that can wait. Sara’s own children – all three of them – may be the ones who will find other uses for the property once they are done with university. Her youngest seems to be thinking of going the way of the grandmother and mother, which is to pursue their plans for the school.

In the meantime, Sara continues to think up of ways to improve the farm and its facilities to better serve her students’ needs and for the general public to also enjoy. The facilities are world-class and can contribute to domestic tourism, as many tourists consider towns in upland Cavite for meetings and events because of the cool weather.

What I like about their project is their attention to the growing of food. We were led to the propagation area where they even make soil, which is my favorite project and forever goal. Making soil by layering different substrates and using farm waste is a practice for regenerative agriculture and supports a circular economy. She has the perfect ingredients, which include chicken manure, dried leaves and other farm wastes, trimmings and everything organic that can be put back into the soil.

As educators, Preciosa and Sara Soliven have completed their “laboratory” for students to enjoy nature and nurture their love for the environment. And for sustainability, they have also thought of allowing the public to enjoy these facilities. Second, they have a ready marketplace in their campuses to sell their produce. And third, there is always a contribution to domestic travel and the local economy of Cavite.

Indeed, it is a precious farm.