The Bicol region of the Philippines is located to the south of Luzon island.  The many forms of poverty – including economic stagnation, environmental degradation and limited infrastructure – affect the region.  After the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, Bicol is the poorest region in the country, with about half of the families living below the national annual capita poverty threshold of PhP 10,378 in cash and non-cash income (approx. US$ 204 per year).  Health concerns and malnutrition, as well as agrarian issues, food insecurity, environmental degradation and frequent natural disasters are prevalent in the region. 

IIRR aims to work in four watershed areas located in four of the six provinces of the region, namely Albay, Camarines Sur, Masbate, and Sorsogon.  IIRR’s program efforts in Bicol are centered on these watersheds as the units of analysis for an integrated development program planning and implementation.

School gardens make a difference in Masbate

When IIRR started field level development activities in Bicol region, the second poorest in the Philippines, Diwata watershed in the province of Masbate was chosen as site for initial activities. It is the watershed with the smallest land area, encompassing nineteen villages in two municipalities. Using information generated from a series of activities such as participatory rural appraisal and community needs assessment, it was realized that malnutrition was a major problem especially among children. Causes of food insecurity identified by the people include; frequent typhoons, commercial chemical dependence (fertilizers and pesticides), limited knowledge of low cost and low input agricultural technology, lack of locally grown foods, and high prices of food imported from other provinces.

Drawing from IIRR’s past experience, capacity building on Bio-Intensive Gardening (BIG) was introduced in 2002 at three distinct levels: household level gardens, community level plots, and school gardens. After training 218 persons from seven pilot villages, including 8 schoolteachers, 71% proceeded to cultivate their own respective gardens.

Household level gardens have been able to produce vegetables to feed their malnourished children, oftentimes with an excess amount that they would sell in the markets for extra income. In one of the villages called Bueneshurte, the local leader mobilized the community to develop BIG plots. Forty gardens were developed and yields of vegetables has greatly increased. Some community level plots produced sufficient yield to supplement the food requirements of a cluster of households, while several cooperators have been requested by other non-participating villages to share their knowledge.

The school gardens became a source of additional nutrients to feed the malnourished students with a daily ration of a well-balanced diet. In one of the schools, the Principal,  Erlina Caparino, had 75 of her students malnourished. Following the BIG training by IIRR, she mobilized the students to establish a school garden. Four months later, the school garden was able to provide enough lunch to the formerly malnourished children. More students now attend school regularly and grades have improved. Because of this success, the government department of education has provided the school a grant of $15,000 to construct a new building.

In addition to the bio-intensive gardens, IIRR has embarked on a program to train community health workers in the Diwata watershed so that they are able to teach the communities how to utilize the food from the gardens to control malnutrition and other health related problems.