Agri-Agra credit law signed by the President

President Arroyo signed Agri-Agra credit law to facilitate increased credit to farmers and spur productivity. 

I am not a fan of loans and I wish I have another solution for the farmers, fisherfolks (ERRATUM: there is a solution - please read below).  Even how reluctant I am to hear about this increased credit news, and how analysts/agriculture personnels see an increase in loans from the farmers of up to P122 billion -- I hope it serves it's purpose of assisting farmers increase productivity.  I hope their harvest is more sufficient to pay for the loans.  I dont want to see them more poor than before the loan is made. 

"The government is now moving to relax the tight rural credit squeeze following President Arroyo ’s enactment of an amended Agri-Agra law that finally bars banks from skirting a requirement for them to funnel 25% of their loanable funds into farm loans, a policy shift that agriculture officials said could mean up to P122 billion in fresh loans for farmers and fisherfolk."  Read more

For those farmers, fisherfolks (or you who knows them) who would like to continue what they love to do but need assistance in acquiring or managing funds, THERE IS A SOLUTION after all!  Build a financial relationship with a knowledgeable and accomodating financial analyst couple with the names of Mr Benj Santiago and Ms Fely Santiago.  They will:

• Share valuable concepts and help you understand how money works (and how money can work hard for you and not you work hard for the money)
• Work with you on a plan
• Provide regular check-ups to help you reach your goals.

Another way of assisting farmers is through the KASAMA KA cooperative which it's primary thrusts are the following.  You earn a living, we all earn the earth back through sustainable agriculture.

• To package, train, transfer the technology and set up location-and commodity-specific NUSOFAC/SVAC for to its primary cooperative members;
• To spearhead the coordination and organization of a decentralized marketing network of organic farm produce;
• To provide safe affordable organic farm products to the general public and consumers; and
• To support organic movement advocacies and projects/activities related to sustainable environment resources and management, climate change, health and wellness and food security.
• Want to know how to join the KASAMA KA coop?  Email us!

Know more about Agri-Agra credit law from Manila Bulletin

Not too (run) fast!

BEGINNER SERIES

Running is a sports hype in the Philippines today.  There is not a weekend without a race (visit takbo.ph for schedule).  From fun run, wellness run, run for a cause, surf run (?), to marathon and ultra-marathon.  More and more people see the benefits of running and the ease of carrying it out.  The no-fuzz sport where you wear a comfy shirt and pair of shorts, put on your running shoes and whoala!  One is set to run on a track oval, a street (but not cross the highway please!), a threadmill in a gym, a hilly terrain, a forest maybe (for those who are fortunate to be close to one), around a park or more likely, a parking lot (as Manila got more visible parking lots than runnable, "green" parks) and wherever there is a place to run.  Perhaps the mall is no exception to get away from the scorching heat of the sun this El Nino phenomenon.   But not so fast!  There is more to know about running...

Last Sunday, RUNNEX, a group of Executives who are advocating for running since early 80s has reopened a new season of running clinic for 2010.  Dubbed as "Discover Running Series,"  it is a 3 month-long program facilitated by experienced coaches and pacers who guide, assist and motivate runners to achieve running as a lifestyle.  Catch the specifics at runnex.org

New runner or a come-back?  Get some tips from a Specialist in Rehab Medicine and Sports Medicine, Doctor Rodolfo "Junnie" Rosales Jr, who has given medical attention to some Runnex members:

PRE-RUN must do:

• Get a clearance from your doctor
• Take an ECG test that measures the electrical activity of the heart.  The heart is a muscular organ that beats in rhythm to pump the blood through the body.   In an ECG test, the electrical impulses made while the heart is beating are recorded and usually shown on a piece of paper (appears like the sound wave monitor from a radio component or signal bar from a mobile phone) .
• Record your baseline parameters on heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate:
• Heart rate - number of heart beats per minute.  The best time to get this is first thing in the morning before getting out of bed.  Find your pulse around your wrist or neck.  Place your finger tip on the pulse and with the aid of a stopwatch, count the pulse for 1 minute or 60 seconds. 
• Blood pressure - pressure of the blood against the walls of the arteries.  The higher (systolic) number represents the pressure while the heart contracts to pump blood to the body.  The lower (diastolic) number represents the pressure when the heart relaxes between beats.
• Respiratory rate - number of breaths per minute.  It is determined by counting the number of times the chest rises or falls per minute. 
• Warm-up stretch
• Warm-up run for at least 5 minutes.  This can be walk-run or brisk walk depending on the heart exertion and legs reaction.  Listen to your body.

POST-RUN must do:

• Record the changes in parameters -- heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate
• Cool down stretch
• Take note of any abnormal feeling in your breathing, body pain, leg or ankle aches.  The most usual pain a beginner-runner experiences is the achilles tendonitis. Depending on the gravity of pain and when in doubt, see a doctor.

NEXT in Begginner Series:  Let's get to know Mins and Max!

"The miracle isn't that I finished.  The miracle is that I had the courage to start" (John Bingham, running speaker and writer).  It's not too late to start running.  Run with us at UP Diliman, Quezon City, 5:30 in the morning, SUNDAYs.  It's fun to run even in the heat of the sun!  Email us for more details.

About Dr. Junnie Rosales:
Full Name: Rodolfo P. Rosales, Jr
Specialization: Rehabilitation Medicine and Sports Medicine
Clinic: St. Lukes Medical Center Quezon City, Medical Arts Building, Suite 223
Email us for more contact info!

Educational Field Trip: Organic Farm in Batangas, Philippines

Catholic Filipino Academy students, parents and teachers participated in Lakbay-Aral sa Kalikasan (Study Tour with Nature) at Villegas Organic and Hobby Farm Complex, Batangas, Philippines

The Villegas Organic and Hobby (VOHO) Farms hosted almost 80 participants from the Catholic Filipino Academy – consisting mainly of grade school kids including their parents, seven high school students and some pre-school kids – who actively took part in the one-day "Lakbay-Aral sa Kalikasan" on 27 February 2010.

The "Lakbay-Aral sa Kalikasan" was purposely designed to immerse young students on living things, sustainable environment and organic agriculture (which they have limited exposure to in the city) and to make their learning experience fun, memorable and exciting.

Mr. Pablito Villegas, Dr. Isagani Catedral and Ms. Dinah Rose Pizarro facilitated the study tour program, providing outdoor hands-on learning on earthworms and their value in promoting sustainable environment, soil and its types, culinary and medicinal plants, and the inter-relationships of worms-soil-plants, demonstrated in a sustainable/environment-friendly farm and ecological balance through the maintenance of biodiversity and employment of zero waste management practices, as exemplified by the VOHO Farms. The students also enjoyed hands-on fishing, running after free-range chickens and playing in the tree house and "bahay-kubo" (indigenous Filipino house), thereby enriching their eco-experience and enhancing their appreciation for nature.

After the educational field tour, as part of their commencement activity, high school students were introduced to Organic Gardening 101. On the other hand, grade school kids planted fruit tree seedlings and prepared dedication cards to their tree. A five-year old girl wrote on her tree: "I will save papers so you can live long." This concluding session intended to instill in the students their valuable role in protecting the environment and to leave in them a memorable experience to share with their friends and family.

The recently passed Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 clearly mandates the inclusion of organic agriculture curriculum in all levels of the Philippine educational system. The remarkable success of the study tour program (educational field trip) last Saturday was a step toward promoting the sustainable environment and organic agriculture in the schools and its community or constituents.

Presenting Mr. Green Chef...

Hi there!  I am Mr. Green Chef, the person you trust on herbs and veggies.  Every so often, I will introduce you to a herb or a vegetable that is full of vitamins, nutrients, and what more, it has medicinal value! 

Believe me the most effective medicines are found in the FARM-acy, not pharmacy.

The herb I first grown in my garden is the Lemon Grass.  Resembling a gigantic weed, it is an aromatic tropical plant with long, slender blades that can grow to a height of 5 ft.

Health Benefits

• ease stomach discomforts, nausea
• aids in lessening, if not totally curing, the pain caused by sprain (refer below how to prepare a liniment)
• menstrual problems or dysmenorrhoea
• insomnia or stress from it's calming effect
• reduces the level of uric acid and of other toxins
• cut down excess fats and cholesterol
• reduce acne and pimples
• makes skin firmer as it tones muscles and tissues

How to Prepare a Liniment

1. Chop 4 ounces of the lemon grass leaves and roots
2. Boil all together, with fresh coconut oil
3. Let it cool.

Photo, information courtesy of Philippine Herbal Medicine

Disaster-ready Philippines

The earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday, February 27, 2010, brought chills into my body as I remember the 7.1 magnitude earthquake I experienced in the 90s. 

Me and my classmates were off from school, walking along Taft avenue, under the light rail transit.  When the earth shook, we moved away from a huge building structure, embraced one another and said our prayers.  It was a foretaste of the end of the world (well, what do i know about it?!).  It was a moment where you think about your families, their whereabouts and the possibility of reuniting...  Was that a glimpse of Chile earthquake?  I dont think so.  Chile's earthquake was with far greater strength, unimaginable.  I would have not wanted to exchange my place that day to Chile.

Where was I?  I was part of a team that conducted a study tour in an organic farm.  I was surrounded by families (father/mother, young children) who made a decision to change their lives and believe that one step (at a time) will make a difference on earth. 

They are Catholic Filipino Academy, advocating for zero waste management.  While gradeschoolers get to know up-close the relationship of plants, soil, worms and how these work together in the farm to manage waste, the highschoolers did Organic Gardening 101, producing a plot of pre-germinated lettuce at the end of the activity.  The homework left for the whole family now is to bring what they learned in the farm to their own homes.

Meanwhile, the Philippines got a wake up call from Chile and sets the alarm for Disaster Preparedness.  How are we ready for a natural calamity? 

"This is another warning for us, if Ondoy and Pepeng were not enough, we ought to get our acts together and be prepared for the next time that mother nature decides to come down hard and pummel the Philippines again." said Senator Edgardo J. Angara who is calling for a focused drive to achieve a level of national disaster preparedness that would make the country better equipped to face natural calamities.

When do we start?

Know more about Sustainable Agriculture and how the principles of Care, Health, Ecology and Fairness are developed in this environment.  Join our Study Tour!  We Care for your Health, We Nurture the Earth!!!