By Reynaldo  Carubio, TVIRD Canatuan Mill Superintendent

 

My involvement in SALT comes from the heart.  I love farming and I couldn’t bear the thought of people, especially those I work with, going hungry when their land is so abundant; all they have to do is spend a little more time each day to till the soil and care for their plants.  I am very glad I was given that opportunity to share my knowledge with my colleagues through SALT.  In the process, they have also grown a love for farming (Please see feature story “Green revolution in Canatuan” here.)

My vision is for the people of Canatuan, most of whom are Subanon IPs,
 to have decent and nutritious meals throughout the year.   I want that vision to cover and be felt in every farm, every meal, every day in this community whose people have been so gracious to the company I work for. 

 

Carubio inspects sweet potatoes planted in a plastic sack.  Each sack is expected to yield a kilo of the root crop.

 

 

It’s a win-win proposition: even as they will have enough food on their tables, the forests around them will at the same time be protected because the farming method they have learned discourages their traditional slash-and-burn approach, which was quite rampant long before I joined TVIRD more than two years ago.

 

Through SALT, the participants were able to cultivate the habit of going to the farm daily.   This is quite the opposite of what they were used to doing before their involvement in SALT: they went to the farm only once a week, but they also expected to eat every day.  That was not sustainable farming. 

 

It wasn’t long before they learned that only those who refuse to use till the land would remain in trouble.  That realization is now providing many happy returns.

 

These days, I regularly receive merienda (snacks) prepared from root crops that SALT participants themselves planted in their own farms.  I also regularly receive invitations from them to visit their homes.  If only for these, I feel I am already amply rewarded.  But then again, when you love something, you expect nothing in return.

 

The electrical engineer with a green thumb beams with pride as he checks on ginger spice planted along the covered walkway near the Mill Office.  He now regularly receives invitations from SALT participants to visit their homes.