Road to Self-sufficiency
(Organic Farming with goats, manure and vermi)
Our supporters want the mission field to become self-sufficient. That is a reasonable and practical goal. However, in underdeveloped countries like the Philippines, helping others to become self-sufficient is easier said than done. If a new convert is making less than $2.00 a day, asking him or her to give to support a local preacher can be very mercenary. It can be done. Philippine Cults and the Catholic Church leaders there boast self-sufficiency, but they do it at the expense of the poor while they build cathedrals and mansions. I believe the Lord's church should temper its quest for foreign self-sufficiency, but make every effort to find creative ways to reach that goal in a Godly and Biblical way.
Praise God, our supporters have allowed me to take this challenge in a non-traditional way. We are now closer to that goal in the Philippines than ever before. We have been teaching goat raising to the poorest of the poor in Cebu for two years now and vermi culture (earth worms) for a year. It was not until a farmer named Alberto Demayo came to our farm and started planting vegetables beside the road that everything finally clicked. He used our vermi cast (worm poop) and mixed them with the goat manure to raise vegetables. Although he was not paid to do it, he took the initiative and created a lush and attractive oasis. As a result, we let him keep all the harvest from his first crop and may let him do the same with the second crop as his reward for his important contribution to our efforts to help people buy into the vision of becoming self-sufficient.
The visual impact of a rich vegetable garden in a rocky and agriculturally challeged environment caused a lot of comotion in and around the community. Even local politicians are now visiting our farm and bringing their constituents to learn from us. This is now being duplicated by our partners in other places in Cebu, and soon to be around the country. In 45-60 days, we hope the eye-pleasing gardens will have a similar visual impact in other communities. We want this to spread throughout the country and help improve the health of the people as well as the local economy. Our formula of goat milk, plus home grown food, will take care of their family's needs.
The process goes like this:
1. Goat raising produces manure (and milk and eventually, meat).
2. Goats eat a minimum of 10% of their body weight per day, thus giving ample goat manure for the farmers to use.
3. Vermi (earthworms), also known as African Night Crawlers, eat decomposed goat manure and leaves.
4. The earthworms secrete a pellet-like poop called Vermi Cast, a rich organic fertilizer.
5. Mixed with more decomposed goat manure, the Vermi Cast provides free materials to raise all the food the farmers need and have enough to sell on the market.
Attached is a picture of our model farmer, Alberto Demayo, and Mai Lagria. Mai is a local church planter in Mayon. He visited our farm to learn ways to help him and his local church become self-sufficient. Three nearby local preachers are expected to be self-supporting this year. Other pictures involved myself showing joy (relief) that finally things are working out well. Next week, we hope to post more videos on the net.
Thank you for taking the time to read about our work. We continue to covet your prayers. Let us know what you think.
In His Grace,
Salvador Cariaga
PS. Feel free to view our video.
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