COVID-19 has left many jobless and hungry. With no idea where to find food in the coming days, the future looks bleak for many. Thankfully, the Bayanihan spirit still shines through; and many brands, organizations, and people have stepped up to help their partners.
Local craft company Woven is one of them. In partnership with the Social Economy Action Research foundation (SEARCH), this Filipino handicraft store created the Bahay Kubo project— a food sustainability program that helps its hardworking partners. This initiative aims to provide Bahay Kubo Farming Kits to at least 100 of these artisans and their families as thanks for their services and as aid during these trying times.
Photo from Woven
The Bahay Kubo Project
Woven Co-founder Trish Lim explains, “Unlike urban communities where supermarkets and other goods are nearby, those in the provinces typically rely on inter-city or inter-island travel to source food and supplies.”
Lim also notes that rice and coconut are the main focus for farmers in Basey, Samar. A portion of the annual rice harvest may be kept for the family’s consumption; but the rest is sold for cash, which is then used to buy necessities. Instead of growing their food requirements, which would have been cheaper in the long run, these farmers grow cash crops in the name of capitalism. Very few farmers practice the bahay kubo style of farming– named after the song– where all of their food requirements are grown on the farm.
After hearing the concerns of the artisan communities in Samar and Basilan, Woven and the SEARCH Foundation created these Bahay Kubo Farming Kits.
Photo from Woven
What’s in the Bahay Kubo Farming Kit?
The Bahay Kubo Farming Kit is designed to improve food security for these families by helping them create backyard gardens. Priced at Php1,100 apiece, each kit contains seeds from a wide variety of root crops and vegetables, a farming manual, and some working capital for fertilizer. The materials are good for a small 300-square meter backyard garden, and the expected 400-kilogram yield within 3 to 4 months from this kit will be able to support a family of 5.
Photo from Woven
The Farming Kit will help farmers survive this crisis. That way, rural communities can farm for self-sustenance and become more independent. Even better, the wide range of crops in this kit are nutritious and can serve most of their food requirements. Any additional meat or produce could then be used to supplement what they can grow in their gardens.
Photo from Woven
Through this initiative, Woven and SEARCH Foundation hope that the farmers will gain peace of mind, knowing that there’s food on the table. As the old saying goes, “give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”.
If you’d like to donate, you can deposit directly through BPI or BDO. After that, email your proof of transfer with your name and contact details to the team at Woven. They’ll then check and confirm your donation. In addition, Woven will be regularly updating you with news about the families that will be receiving these kits. That way, you know that your donation is going into good hands.
Do you know any similar initiatives or programs? Share them with us!
Woven
Email: hello@woven.ph
Website: https://woven.ph
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