It could not have come at a better time. The weather this past summer in the Philippines has been dry, and not just dry-season dry, but truly fierce and unyielding. The moms have been struggling with their gardens and frustration has been mounting commensurately. They’ve been growing their own vegetables for a few years now and rely on these gardens, not just for the nutrients, but as a supplement to their budget. They free up money for other things, or often for more and better food for their families. But this season, hot weather and no rain were causing the gardens to yield less, and demand more – more water, more work. They were becoming a burden.

Sustainable means something different to a mother in rural Philippines. It means having a garden without it feeling like a second job, without it demanding risky investment. It means she can sustain herself and her family into the future. So how could we solve the problem of low yields and dry weather without adding work and investment to the equation? How could we keep these gardens truly sustainable?

Ironically the solution was right under our noses. Pulang Lupa, which means Red Earth, is one of the first  communities we started working in. Contrary to its name, Pulang Lupa sits almost atop a garbage dump. In Pulang Lupa you truly don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. In the past, the community combed the dump for anything of value to resell or recycle. They made a meager income of the waste of others. That’s no longer the case as the dump is now closed to scavengers, but it got us thinking. One person’s trash is another’s treasure. Duh, compost! It helps retain water, it enriches the soil, and it doesn’t require further inputs of money and time!

To find the simplest and best solution, we combed another garbage dump full of valuable nuggets, the internet. After a few days digging in the perma-culture online support network, we devised a solution that best fit our mother’s needs and resources, vermicomposting. For those of you not in the know – we were there with you – according to Wikipedia, “Vermicompost is the product or process of composting using various worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms”. We liked the red wiggler part the most.

We set to work immediately, presenting the idea to the mother’s in our group. We explained that worms would help their gardens by aerating the soil allowing the nutrients in the soil to be unlocked, helping their beds retain moisture and removing toxins while adding further nutrients to the soil. Exciting right?

“Nangingilabot ako!” (My skin is crawling!) – exclaimed one mom. It wasn’t just the slimy pictures of worms we projected for them to help explain what we were planning, it was the idea that what we were really after was the poop! Technically they’re called “castings” but in reality they are tiny pellets of plant super-food. They “contain reduced levels of contaminants and a higher saturation of nutrients than do organic materials before vermicomposting.” As the benefits came into focus the women began furiously taking notes. We explained that worms are not very different from humans, or pets – they need the same basics: shelter, a sensible diet (worms are vegetarians!), and a pot to pee in, or rather go number 2. We showed the women how to build a home for the worms, called a worm bed, and how to keep the worms healthy, and productive. They learned what to feed them, how to harvest the castings, and other essentials.

And then came time to meet our pooping pals – the worms! We invited the women to touch and smell the vermicompost. To say they were delighted would be to oversell our case, but they were really happy to discover that vermicompost which is, after all, worm feces is completely odorless. Yup, success can smell sweet sometimes. We concluded the day by discussing how the vermicompost could become an additional source of income. With proper care and handling, the worms can produce enough vermicompost to be sold to other garden owners in their communities. Not only could the gardens supplement their food budgets by adding essentially free food, it could further boost their bottom line by adding extra income, with minimal effort, as the worm beds are low cost and low maintenance.

Our next step is setting up a few gardens in each community to show people how it works. These initial women will then train and advise the next group to dip their hands into vermicompost.

To get the pilot program going, and ensure its sustainable for the women, we do need some initial investment. We need your help to get some worms, used tires, manure and sawdust. Won’t you help these women learn how to create compost that will help feed them and their families for decades to come by giving a gift today? Click here to make this project a reality.

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Equipment you need:

Drill, with the large drill
Saw/Angle Grinder
Blowtorch with gas tank
2″x2″ Wood or metal object to create the mould

It all starts with a used pastic transport drum. These come in different colors and but are all roughly the same size.

Lastly, drill four holes in the bottom of the drum for drainage.

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We had planned to introduce the vertical gardens to the Wednesday group early in the week, but we had to cancel that session because of really hard rain. By Friday though, the weather had cleared and we headed to Pulang Lupa with our demonstration vertical garden ready. By the time we started the session, there were 11 mothers present. I introduced them to Marcus and Leonar, the two people who have been constructing and experimenting with the vertical gardens. Marcus and I started teaching the women about the vertical gardens by explaining some basic information about how the gardens work. A few of the moms were listening but I noticed that some of the women didn’t seem all that interested.

We just kept going and started telling them about the compost and rice hull charcoal that makes the soil extra fertile I listed the best plants that can be grown in the towers (mostly leafy greens but tomatoes and beans as well). I also explained the vitamins and minerals contained in the vegetables that can be grown easily in the vertical gardens. I noticed more of the mothers listening at that point, especially when we explained the advantages of vertical gardens, such as needing less water to feed the plants, the mercury-free soil, and the fact that the gardens take up much less space than a plot of land with the equivalent surface area. By this time all the women started asking questions and getting excited.

I was so happy to see the ladies so enthusiastic about and interested in the vertical gardens. After we answered all the questions the women had, we held a raffle, with the prizes being two vertical gardens with free seeds to plant! (We will eventually loan the vertical gardens to every household that wants one in exchange for a small deposit that will be returned to them if they stop using the garden but the ones we raffled off we are giving away for free).

The mothers were so excited! Before we drew names from the raffle, we asked if anyone did not want to be included because they weren’t interested in having a vertical garden. Nobody raised their hands. Before we drew the names of the two winners, I even saw some of the mom’s praying that their name would be the one picked out! When we announced the first winner, the mother who won the raffle had a wonderful smile on her face and she was so excited to get her prize. We drew a second name and that mom was so happy too. We only had time to set one garden up that day so we asked the two winners to decide between the two of them who would get her garden that day, and who would get hers the following week. The first winner didn’t even look at the second one and she just shouted with a smile, “I was the first winner, I should get my garden today!” We all laughed and we could all see how excited she was.

At that point Marcus and Leonar left the group to set up the vertical garden at the first winner’s house. I stayed behind with the moms and as they started eating their merienda (snack), I told them that whoever wants to have a vertical garden should just tell me and Ami early so that we can start preparing their gardens and deliver them as soon as possible. One woman was so eager to get planting that she asked if she could order three gardens! Another mother asked if she could help us make hers so she could have it sooner. It was really great to see how happy they all were and to see their enthusiasm for this new technology that will enable them to grow safe and nutritious vegetables to add to their diets.

This week we will have a vertical gardening session for the Wednesday group. We’ll also raffle two gardens off for that group, and will continue setting up all of the winner’s vertical gardens. I’m so thrilled that there’s so much interest in this project and have a feeling that before too long, most households in this community will have their own vertical gardens to grow nutritious food to feed their families.

To see more photos of the sessions and the set-up, click here.

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I arrived at Simon’s farm, aptly named “Bountiful Harvest” and was soon put to work.  First, we cut a corrugated plastic sheet in half and used a pop-rivet to join the two halves together. We laid the sheeting flat on the ground and set about cutting holes where the plants would later be placed. Simon has a special drill attachment that makes perfect holes in seconds. We cut as many holes into the plastic sheeting as we could. Once this was complete, we stood the sheet upright and riveted the two edges together, making a tower that resembled a log of Swiss cheese.

We then dug a round hole in the ground to place the bottom of the tower in. Once we had the base secured in the ground we started to fill the tower with prepared soil – a mix of sand, vermicast, rice hull charcoal and clay soil.

When we had filled the tower half way with the soil, we put in the irrigation pipe, which we had drilled with many little holes. We filled the water pipe with gravel to slow down any water intake so that the soil in the tower won’t be washed out when the tube is filled with water. We then filled the rest of the tower with soil.

The work was not over yet, as we had to cut out peg-holders from another sheet of plastic to keep the soil from falling out when the farm is watered. We placed these in the holes and stood back to appreciate the sight. The surface area that the vertical farm provides is equal to almost two square meters. The towers are perfect for leafy greens that are susceptible to contaminants in the soil.

When we get to the stage of building these farms for residents at Pulang Lupa, we will provide them the prepared soil mixture we used so they will be able to avoid any mercury in their food. An added bonus for residents is that the landfill composts organic waste and gives the compost away for free, so residents will be able to nurture their vertical farms without any added financial burdens. In addition to dodging the contaminated soil problem, these vertical farms are also very appropriate for our community because they are portable. The residents at Pulang Lupa are all squatters and have been given permission to live on the land until the government decides to use it for something else. If that day comes, the residents will be able to transport their vertical farms to wherever they settle next. We really feel that these vertical farms are ideal for Pulang Lupa.

We will start by making a demonstration farm that we will leave in Pulang Lupa so that residents will be able see the results for themselves. We will build the vertical farms with residents that are interested in learning how to make them. Each vertical farm costs roughly $50, including the soil and seeds. If you are interested in supporting our vertical farming project, donate here. With your help we can provide every household in Pulang Lupa with nutritious and uncontaminated food.

For more photos, check out the Facebook fan page album.

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