Oh boy, I just hit the ejector tray of the CD-rom drive on the computer im using with my knee and its definitely broken! ... im starting to sweat. How am i going to get out of this one? "umm, excuse me but ummm I think I just broke your computer...sorry." Maybe it'll just go away if I don't think about it.
Anyway, just got back from a weekend gathering/seminar on sustainable agriculture about 3 hours away in Leyte. I went with about 30 good-natured, thick-skinned farmers from our Diocese riding in the back of a flat-bed truck, but my only companion from our parish was Mr. Epitas, a nice grandfatherly fellow. It was hosted by Bennedictan Sisters who just opened up this huge institute / training center for Sus-Ag. I am finding that the Church here is really involved the intergral development of poor, that is, not only spiritually but physically. Being that the majority of the Philippine population consists of the rural poor, most of whom are farmers and fishers, sustainable agriculture is a main thrust of development work here integrating issues of ecology and social justice. it seems right on to me.
During the foundation ceremony of the institute, the sisters to my surprise brought out bags of money and started throwing fist-fulls of pesos into the throngs of farmers. I thought that was weird of them.
Another strange sight was seeing a cross-eyed stable man stick his arm shoulder deep into the rear end of a large Bulgarian buffalo. Apparently, using some special manipulation he's able to determine if the heifer is preg-o. These buffalo give good milk, and actually dairy production is a possiblity for our parish. The gubment will give us free buffalo; all we have to do is organize. The Philippines spends billions of pesos on importing milk from other countries, and is really trying to become self-sufficient. It will be a good source of income for our folks but will require a lot planning and work.
A few of us went to another seminar last week on egg production hosted by the Diocese, and this most likely will be our next project. the #1 requirement, said the speaker, is the love for birds. I can dig that! There's good market for eggs and our parish has some land we can use as a farm. Poldo knows birds and I think I can find the funds. Just hope i don't get the flu.
In other news, the fiesta of Kawayan, our town, is rapidly approaching and it's going to be carazzy! last night was the basketball open championship. still to come: boxing match, 4 straight nights of dancing, and countless slaughtered livestock!
be well my friends
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Tales from my missionary days in the Philippines
1 comment:
The right to bear buffalo sounds a good one but are you sure it isn't just overstock that the government is trying to clear out? I guess more buffalo means more teaties to squeeze heads to chop. That makes for good recreation.
Post a Comment