Growing your own food naturally

I have always believed that it is possible to be self-sufficient in terms of fruits and vegetables, especially our favorite ingredients and fruits in season. But in a place that is as rocky as Coron, Palawan and with thin top soil, how do you do that? Well, Al Linsangan III of Coron Natural Farms may have the answer and the example to copy, even for challenged areas.

Al has always been in tourism and I got to know him as a sustainable tourism advocate some 12 years ago when we had a seminar in Coron. He also ran tours around the islands and would often be challenged by food supply, which had to be imported from Puerto Princesa and even as far as Baguio. Almost everything in Coron had to be sourced from the outside as locals claimed the island was built on rock and could not support agriculture.

Though admittedly making mistakes the first few years as he tried conventional agriculture, chemicals and pesticides included, Al did not give up. Some three years after making many errors in planting, he went around and studied how others did it. He then became a convert of Regenerative Agriculture, making his own soil, mulching and in the process also discovering heirloom and local seeds. He also took a few courses online with University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) on Permaculture and Organic Agriculture. When I visited his farm two years ago, I saw the results of his perseverance and dedication.

Coron Natural Farms sits on three hectares of land, but he needs only 15 square meters to show how one can grow 30 varieties of vegetables and fruits for a cycle menu which includes sinigang, tinola, pinakbet and salads. He also dedicated just 3,500 square meters for rice as he had waste water from three fish ponds that he did not want to just leave as waste. The waste water from fish ponds was rich enough for rice to grow in. He redirected the water to a rice field within his property. Last I saw, he had a rice field, fish pools, soil mounds and free-range chickens running around a fenced but “exposed to the sun” area.

All these did not happen overnight. Al started with just pots, growing lettuce one pot at a time. If you are successful, a few pots can give you a variety of lettuce. Next to a number of pots, he started the 15-square meter plots with different varieties of vegetables. He now calls this his 15x30 model. A singular unit can feed a family and can save a group about P4,500/month if you grow your own food, considering today’s vegetable prices.

Al had his share of mistakes and he always reminds us to not give up but to also moderate your passion. He claims that once you start growing your own vegetables, you can tend to be overly excited and scale up immediately. He warns us to just stick to what vegetables you love to eat, so you never have to think of commercializing or scaling up to sell, as scale brings about the problems most farmers encounter. You tend to want more produce, want to sell, want to find more buyers and end up being frustrated. For him, he only plants what his family can consume and what his business of day tours requires. Call it simple self-sufficiency.

When the pandemic and lockdowns happened, Al’s farm model was tested and it succeeded with flying colors. His 15x30 model provided food for his family and his community. They also could harvest fish, rice, eggs and chicken. Institutions like Kansas State University got wind of it and helped spread the word to at least 41 communities, households and families who now use this system of “self-sufficiency.” Even SEARCA, a research institute from Los Baños, Laguna, helped spread the word about Al’s successful model of farming.

You can imagine how one can just sit around while waiting for the vegetables to grow and fruits to come at the right season. Al says you can actually do this – sit around watching Nature do its work. But he would rather get more inspired to do a little more. He is now making a 1,000-square meter model to be a small sample of his three-hectare property. Since many urban areas merely have pocket gardens, he also developed his city rooftop to be a demo site for container gardening and tower gardening, today’s examples of urban agriculture. So, he has tried a micro model using pots and is now doing several models for every space requirement or limitation.

And Al is not stopping just yet. He not only brings tourists to dive spots and beaches in Coron, he also brings them island hopping. Today, he has added Coron Natural Farms as a tour destination for almost anyone who may be interested in sustainable food production and sustainable tourism. Tourists now can pay to visit his farm, where they can learn about permaculture, natural farming and building soil.

I asked for his tips for being good and green. He emphasizes growing the food you love to eat. He also believes in trying it small first, then growing the space later and ever so carefully and slowly. And last but not least, to do it with your first end in mind – which is to simply be self-sufficient, and not for competitive commerce. He does other activities for the cash flow, but he can surely grow his own food and naturally, at that.

Being a Tagbanua or a Palawan native, he imitates the forest for his plants and the ocean waters for his fish. No pesticides, no chemicals, just being inspired by Nature and copying how the oceans and the seasons behave, ever so gently. And never going hungry for your favorite food.