Urban Survival Gardens

Survival Gardening Program on March 22, 2020 as an emergency COVID-19 response to ensure Food Always In The Home (FAITH).

One of the best things our households can do throughout the duration of the quarantine period that will help the government to cope up with the worsening effect of the disease is to establish their backyard garden through container gardening, rooftop and vertical gardening. Planting short-season crops like pechay, lettuce, beans among others which can be harvested within two months will be the best household activity to do in this trying times. Staying at home for a prolonged period can be very difficult, frustrating and stressful for most people, which can be also addressed through gardening aside from assuring your family with food in the table in 1-2 months.

SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS DISTRIBUTION

SOME PHOTOS DURING THE JUDGING OF SURVIVAL GARDEN CONTEST

The objectives of the program include: 1) to distribute seeds in response to the long duration of the Enhanced Community Quarantine; 2) to establish survival gardens as a measure to give households with easy access to vegetable supply in the coming months; 3) to provide families with source of nutritious foods especially during times of health crisis; 4) to engage the households with productive and stress-relieving activity through-out the quarantine period; and 5) to provide the households with additional income and/or savings on food.

Despite the limited movement of people during the enhanced community quarantine, we came up with strategies in order to facilitate the smooth implementation of the program. We utilized social media platforms like Facebook page and radio stations as means to widely disseminate the program. The requirements for people to avail the program are: they must have available spaces and ready for planting. We required them to send a picture of the prepared garden site and their complete address and contact number through our Facebook page. Three ways were done for people to access the vegetables seeds and seedlings being distributed: through house to house delivery, through the barangay officials and volunteers, and through an scheduled community seed and seedling distribution (“community plantry”).