Sustainability against all odds: Meet our grassroots farmers

Sustainability remains a national buzzword. All over social media, we hear of leaders and experts talking about how to push for sustainability in the Philippines.

- DANIEL M. MACHES

While we recognize the role of the mainstream discourse, it’s worth recognizing that there are impassioned individuals putting sustainability into actual practice. Despite limited resources and even lack of support from the government, these advocates persevere in creating models that benefit everyone in their communities. And interestingly, they are succeeding!

I have met two farmers who initiated agro ecology in their farms. They may not be known nationally but their efforts make them unsung heroes. They are champions worth emulating and whom we should learn from. Even our institutions and policy makers can learn a lot from their sustainability practices which can be replicated nationwide.

Ashley Lamaton from Barlig, Mountain Province has been a coffee farmer for more than ten years. There is so much to learn from his story, not just as a producer but also as a champion of sustainability.

Ashley started as an heirloom rice producer. Later on, he started planting coffee on vacant lots. At first, some community members would mock his project, saying that coffee will not thrive. Yet, he just continued planting and reforesting denuded landscapes.

A Japanese coffee connoisseur who visited his farm labeled Ashley’s farm as a jungle. That is what makes his project amazing.