Man-Guardian of Creation

 Why I Love Gardening

I did not go to church last Sunday because I wanted to finish  our front  garden that weekend.  While I was tying the Bougainvillea to put them to order and cutting the overgrown branches, the missionary who lives in our 2^nd floor arrived from mass.  So with the ice cream man with his appealing ice “buko”, so it was a perfect time for a break.  Rev. Torres sat with me under the neat bougainvillea arc  that I just managed to trim and tied  in place.  He did not admonish  me for escaping the Sunday Service but explained the spiritual significance of gardening.

He made me understand that God created the universe and empowered man as steward.  He said, the Lord gave a very simple assignment, “take care of the earth and everything on it. “ Everything man needs was provided for, he just have to labor for it by simply enjoying and taking care of nature.  In the evening I listened to the news of radiation in Japan and bombing of Libya, even the social media is full of  troubles and miseries resulting from the disobedience and defiance of man to just simply enjoy nature.  Man’s wanting for power and wealth opened the Pandora’s box and so everyone has to run for cover from the rage of nature and  the destructive impact of  man- made tools.  The Guardians are now haunted because they fall asleep on their Job and abused their authority over everything on the land. Here is an article that says we failed to be a good steward of the earth:

We have failed bitterly at being good stewards by focusing on our own needs. What was given to us to protect we have exploited. We have systematically cleared millions of acres of ancient rainforests and jungles. We have over-fished the waters and hunted birds and wild animals. We have plundered the mountains and fields for natural resources without any strategies for conservation. Read more
 

When I got done with my day’s gardening, I thought of writing a blog about it for the incoming earth day. Growing up in a farm, I learned gardening early in my childhood.  At that time it was a chore and a responsibility.  I thought of gardening as hard labor and used to dream that when I grow up, I will do other things and go places rather than the gardens and fields. At some point in my life, I enjoyed living in the cities where I do not have to tend plants and animals.  But when the time came for us to find a home of our own, I wanted a house with a garden so we have to go farther from downtown and chose to live in the suburb.  I started with flowers, now we have fruit trees, herb and vegetable plots in our backyard and I am the gardener.  


Unlike my childhood days, I look forward to weekends or free time to work in our garden.  As the children grow older our lawn gets smaller as I keep extending the vegetable plot. I also like mixing flowers with the vegetables.  I moved my strawberry plants into pots so I can move them easily to shade when it is too warm or when the rain pours.  There were times I’ve been tempted to put up a green house but I decided to keep it natural because I dislike enclosures and fences. Now I know that natural gardening is more environmentally friendly.

Here are some of the reasons why I love Gardening:

1.       The fresh air - Gardening gets me outdoors, exposed to natural air, and sunbathing while being productive.

2.      Exercise – the different garden activities offers me different form of exercise.  Bending, climbing to trim the conifers, walking and moving in the garden to and fro, raking, shoveling and digging. 

3.      Organic, fresh vegetables and fruits -  I do not use any chemical fertilizer and pesticide.  I raise herbs and certain varieties of vegetables that I can pick to mix with whatever dish I’m cooking . The spring onions, tomatoes and other greens always come in handy. We can also pick fresh fruits and eat them under its tree.  During the onset of the rainy season I usually plant sweet corn under the fruit trees, when we harvest, they go straight in the kitchen.  They are certainly much sweeter and tastier.

4.      Unwinding and relaxation – Aside from relaxing while working in the garden  I also enjoy having my coffee in hand  early in the mornings while walking around the garden enjoying the flower blooms, checking the fruits trees, the growing seedlings or pulling some weeds.

5.      Fresh cut flowers – I love flowers indoors too and having them in our garden is very convenient.  I go cut some blooms and arrange them on the vases without having to go to the market whenever I wish to replace a flower arrangement on the table.

The joy of watching the kids hunting for ripe strawberries with their friends

In my advocacy for prevention is better than cure, I learned  the three most basic but significant to staying healthy and longevity;  diet, exercise and simple living.  Strengthening our body to ward off diseases, using  natural health alternatives and to  avoid pharmaceutical drugs as much as possible.  Wellness starts from our diet, unfortunately as more people become health conscious about the food they eat, organic foods are hard to find. The use of excessive chemical fertilizer and pesticides in our agriculture products  make us  skeptical of eating vegetables raw.  To avoid the chemicals from the farm inputs, we overcook our vegetables  and peel  the fruits that our body can otherwise benefit from their rinds. 


Kudos to those companies, experts and investors who are not merely capitalists but  who invest on organic research and formulate organic fertilizers and pesticides. We now have alternatives to minimize the use of chemicals in our gardens, orchards and farms to reduce pollutants for a safer environment, cleaner air, water and more nutritious foods.

 "Health is the capacity of the land for self-renewal. Conservation is our effort to understand and preserve this capacity”-Aldo Leopold 

Matthew 6, 25-34

Do not worry  Jesus observes nature. Ecological balance sustains life, but not if we destroy it with modern arrogance. Simplicity leads to joy. – as quoted by the Guardians of creation

In our eagerness to 'progress' and 'develop' we have lost sight of the finite and delicate nature of planet Earth and of humanity's place in it- Tawheed, Fitra, Mizan and Khalifa.

CREEPING CAMOTE IS NOT THAT LOWLY

Camote, the plant of life

Yesterday, after watching the University of the Philippines, Baguio Film Productions by the 3^rd year Com. Arts students, we walk to SM for lunch.  My daughter made a comment about the special rice flavor. I noticed that camote is mixed with it.  I started telling her about camote  that grows almost everywhere in Besao, my home town.

In the past, social classes in our town and the rest of the Cordilleras are classified according to the size of  their rice fields, the numbers of cows, carabaos and other animals they own.  Rice is food for the Kadangyans (upper class) and the camote for the lower classes. So if one eats camote, they are suppose to be poor. Often times “camote is even used derogatorily.  Like for example if one is not smart in school or fail on something, they will say better go plant camote.  Even the rich in Vitamins camote tops are considered to be a dish for the poor socially.  They are not served on the dinning tables during parties. I suppose that is why the camote earned its concept as “low.”  I can also recall when I was younger, sliced and sun dried camote were mixed with rice during weddings of the so called lower classes. That is suppose to distinguish the status of someone.

Camote is widely grown in the Cordilleras. It is a root crop, sweet potato in English.  It can be compared to the Coconut tree known as the” tree of life” because every part can be used for something.  The camote tops are used as vegetable, the root (the tuber) can be used as staple food, dessert and as ingredients for pies, cakes and other delicacies, even Chips for snacks.  The stalks and leaves are great food for hogs also the tubers.  Some  grow them for this purpose, food for their pigs, cooked and mixed with feeds or raw.

I grew up in a farm, we plant camote in our gardens, kaingins or in the rice paddies.  During summer, we also plant them on the rice fields that are only rain irrigated. To preserve the tubers after harvest, they are peeled, sliced and sun dried before they are stored.  The dried camote can be grind and made as camote cakes or mixed ungrinded with rice.  I think that is what the restaurant where we ate did to add a special flavor on their rice.  There is also a variety that the roots or tuber can be ripen by simply keeping them in a well ventilated room for many days even months.  We call it in Besao, “Pinakpit ay obi.”  They are normally cooked plain boiled without peeling.  The flavor get sweeter the longer they are ripen.

I still raise camote in our back yard because I enjoy fresh camote tops when am cooking Sinigang or simply steam it and eat it with calamansi and soy sauce.  It also keeps my garden from weeds and the flowers are lovely too (like the morning glory flower).  Does not need much care except weeding and watering it once in awhile. Very organic because it does not require much fertilizer and no insecticide.

Camote Feast

 Here are some articles on the health benefits of Camote:

Today, camote should be part of diet even if you have more money to buy or prepare expensive dishes. Camote is the world’s healthiest food, this is according to statement of North Athlantic Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. The tuber is indeed healthy due to following reasons.

1) An energy food because of high carbohydrate contents. It can replace rice in diet. But Filipinos cannot do the switch because we are rice eating country. For me and others, a  bread breakfast will not suffice.

2) Good for diabetics. It helps stabilize blood sugar levels by increasing adiponectin, an important factor of insulin metabolism. It has moderate glycemic index of 50.

3) High in dietary fiber and low fat content. Good for the heart and tummy. Fibers help reduce bad cholesterol and ease bowel movement.

4) Deep colored yellow camote contains lutein and beta carotene. Antioxidants to prevent rapid aging and maintain good eyesight. Eat yellow camote instead of taking eye supplement.

5) Have lots of essential minerals and vitamins. Manganese, copper, potassium, iron, Vitamin – E, C, B6, B2, and A. Its like a combination of  rice and vegetables in a single package.  But eating camote repeatedly is boring, have an alternate or try to mix it with other healthy foods.

6) An effective detoxifying agent. It adsorb heavy metals and take it out of the system. Metals such as lead, arsenic and mercury accumulate in our body due to consumption of commercially processed foods. They should be taken out before harming any tissues.

The health benefits of camote tops might convince you to eat such leaves.

Camote tops have the highest content of total polyphenolics among other commercial vegetables studied.

Contain protein, dietary fiber, lipid, and essential minerals and nutrients such as calcium, phosphorous, magnesium, sodium, potassium, sulfur, iron, copper, zinc, manganese, aluminum and boron.

Important sources of vitamin A, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and ascorbic acid.”

Excellent sources of antioxidative compounds, mainly polyphenolics, which may protect the human body from oxidative stress that is associated with many diseases including cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Would you believe  that camote tops can cure dengue? Some  say its true but it is not yet proven by research study according to Department  of Health.

To use as treatment, prepare by boiling leaves for five minutes and enjoy as tea or juice.  They did not mention the water to leaves proportion. Sorry! Source- http://www.foodrecap.net/health/camote-healthiest/

Here is another article  from the Manila Bulletin which I find its  Title amusing:

Lowly camote goes 'sosyal'

By ZAC B. SARIAN

February 24, 2011, 12:44am

 MANILA, Philippines – Dr. Bart Lapus and wife Clara of Mama Sita fame are advocates of healthy eating. And one of their advocacies is the consumption of camote shoots as well as roots.

At a dinner last Monday for a group of exporters, members of academe and a few media people, they served a wide array of camote preparations.

The vegetable soup consisting of Zacamote tops and a few other vegetables was a delight to partake. Zacamote, by the way, is a variety that was introduced from Taiwan which was developed purposely for shoot production. The tops are very tender and can be made into a salad with tomatoes and other garnishing. It could be simply steamed and eaten with a dressing of hot sauce or some other popularly used dressings.

One very nice preparation is the crispy young camote leaves deep-fried ala tempura. Then there are the roots prepared in different ways. What was very new to us was the ‘ukoy’ camote. There were two preparations of sweets, roasted roots that were presented in various ways. For one, Chit Pedrosa who writes a column for the Philippine Star was ecstatic about the preparations she had tasted for the first time. She was also excited all the more when she was given some planting materials that she will plant in her organic garden in Lipa City. The planting materials were brought to the meeting by Dr. Benito S. Vergara of Los Banos who has been giving free planting materials to his neighbors. In fact, he has put up a bed of Zacamote plants at the roadside outside his home where he is inviting whoever is interested to help himself with the shoots.

The Zacamote is very easy to multiply. And one can already start harvesting the shoots as early as two weeks from planting. Of course, Zacamote will also produce roots. Dr. Vergara was able to harvest one root that weighed 1.8 kilos. The root is white.

By the way, those who would like to have free planting materials of Zacamote could visit the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal. The place is along the road, about 30 meters before the Teresa-Morong boundary.


"Creating a new theory is not like destroying an old barn and erecting a skyscraper in its place. It is rather like climbing a mountain, gaining new and wider views, discovering unexpected connections between our starting points and its rich environment. But the point from which we started out still exists and can be seen, although it appears smaller and forms a tiny part of our broad view gained by the mastery of the obstacles on our adventurous way up." -Albert Einstein

Stairways to Heaven

 Our Ancestors' Legacy

“The Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras, often referred to as "stairways to Heaven", were included last year in the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) World Heritage List’s cultural landscapes category.

The areas listed in this category are considered to be sites of significant global value that demonstrate the interaction of man and nature. Listed sites are officially protected by the World Heritage Convention which seeks to preserve significant sites of natural and cultural value. The convention is ratified by over 140 countries, including the Philippines.

The cultivation of highland rice varieties by mountain terracing is practiced throughout Asia, but the Cordillera terraces are said to be the most extensive and unique. They cover the highest mountain peaks of six provinces - Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao, Benguet, Mountain Province, Abra - and are located even on the steepest slopes, sometimes slanting 70 degrees.

The original work of Igorot peoples more than 2,000 years ago, the terraces were designed and built using the most basic tools and technology. Yet they still survive to this day as living ecosystems based on the efficient and respectful collective use of the mountains’ water resources.

The rice terraces have survived as a "living" cultural landscape because the indigenous peoples have preserved and maintained their own cultural heritage — a culture deeply rooted in the land and nature and creation. This is truly the special significance of the Cordillera.”— Dee Dicen Hunt

The Cordillera Regions' main source of livelihood is farming.  Topographically in the area are vast high mountains.  Our ancestors had to terrace these mountains manually using stones and clay soil to raise food crops mainly rice. Then handed down from one generation to the next. Other agriculture products such as vegetables, root crops and fruit trees are raised in the “Kaingins” (gardens in the mountains).  To this day, people who tend these kaingins and rice terraces still do it manually with the help of the Carabao for plowing and basic farming tools.  Harvests are carried by foot through mountains, valleys and streams.

I grew up in a village in the Mountain Province.  It was only in the early 80s that a rough road was built connecting it to the center of town towards  Halsema highway which is the only link road of the province  to the neighboring  towns and to the low lands.  Life was simple then and every crop were organic.  When  the road was built, followed by the  introduction of  new technologies, the farmers started using chemical fertilizers, weed killers and insecticides for more yields.  As a result, they have to use more and more chemically formulated farm inputs because the rice fields and kaingins are not anymore as productive as they were.

Some farmers moved to the lowlands and others migrated  to other places nationwide and even abroad.  The rice fields are  no longer  sustainable  so people in these mountain regions buy rice from the lowlands or from the imported rice of the government.  Perhaps because of the availability of commercial rice, the present generations have no more passion for tending their rice fields or farming.  Others find vegetable and flower gardens more lucrative so some rice fields now are neglected and untended.

To save the Cordillera's famous rice fields architectural and cultural heritage we need the support of our government.  To build more farm to market roads and farming  infrastructures, available education and trainings for our farmers to promote sustainable agriculture.  Support the farmers to increase food production rather than importing from other countries. It is the corruption in our government system that exploits our farmers to competition by importing farm products and encouraging capitalism and hoarders.  The government should also provide financial assistance to our farmers in the form of loans with low or no interest and do away with the red tapes so that our  farmers can avail to it rather than borrowing from the capitalists on very high interest rates.

Our group promotes Organic Farming to reduce chemical farm inputs while increasing their farm yields and produce healthier foods.  We conduct information forums to create awareness on Organic foods and saving mother nature.  We appreciate the efforts of our Agriculturist partners who offer and share their expertise for the cause.

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."  ~Native American Proverb