Teaching organic basics to the IPs

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

- CHIT U. JUAN

You may think Indigenous Peoples (IPs) or cultural communities may already have innate knowledge about organic and natural farming. The fact that they live in natural habitats makes one surmise that they practise regenerative agriculture and all the natural farming methods which our ancestors did.

With the entry of commercial fertilizers and chemical pesticides in the market, they unfortunately are not spared or protected from what destroys or eclipses traditional knowledge. Because these commercial preparations are free or donated, the tribal people readily use them, much to the demise of age-old natural methods.

What is interesting to note is that these come free along with tools like pruning shears, but many do not come with the instructions for use. So a fertilizer is used inappropriately and produces foliage or leaves, but without fruits or flowers! They have shears that have rusted due to lack of knowledge on maintenance of these simple tools. So our trainers recommended they clean them with a natural vinegar solution (fermented banana is like alcohol) to disinfect pruning shears that they can wear on their belts. The shears must be disinfected between plants as diseases can spread when these are used without disinfecting. Simple. Efficient. Old world knowledge that has worked since the beginning of time.