THE Philippine-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the Rotary Club of Calamba and the "Bahay ni Maria" have joined forces to design and establish an edible garden for the elderly and children with special needs in a site in Calamba, Laguna.
The Bahay ni Maria, a home for abandoned elderly and children with special needs in Calamba, is the partner-beneficiary of the initiative represented by Sister Maria Immaculate Ancog, head of Missionary Sisters of Our Lady Fatima, during the recent signing of a tripartite agreement.
The agreement was signed by SEARCA Director Glenn Gregorio and Federic Inion of the Rotary Club of Calamba based in Laguna.
Speaking on behalf of the Bahay ni Maria, Ancog thanked SEARCA and the Rotary Club of Calamba for being chosen as their partner-beneficiary of the edible garden project.
Gregorio said the garden will be a sustainable source of fresh produce to meet the dietary needs of the Bahay ni Maria residents.
"The edible garden project can also function as a venue for collaboration with other stakeholders and recreational activities," he said, adding that the garden will contain a nursery greenhouse for seedlings and planting materials for various crops like lettuce and other high-value crops.
Gregorio said that the garden will have a vertical or container garden utilizing recycled containers; an herbal garden as a source of medicinal plants for immediate aid against common injuries and illnesses; vegetable garden plots and fruit trees; and a composting area for kitchen scraps and garden wastes for the production of organic fertilizer.
During the recently held groundbreaking ceremony of the garden project, Gregorio underscored the importance of gardening in promoting food and nutrition security.
SEARCA also handed over gardening tools and planting materials as well as food to the Bahay ni Maria residents.
Gregorio also shared the success of SEARCA's School-plus-Home Garden Project in Laguna and its offshoot projects, which have expanded to Rizal and Palawan, as well as outside the country in neighboring Cambodia.
