Last 2021, the Rotaract Club of San Pedro All Star (RACSPA) celebrated its first national win through their project proposal, the Community-Supported Integrated Biofarming for Local Landscapes Empowerment, which won the Bronze Prize of the 2021 Edison Ong National Rotaract (EON) Awards out of fifty-eight (58) nationwide entries—becoming one of the youngest clubs in the Philippines to achieve such recognition.
The project, which was nicknamed CommunitySIBOL, was the brainchild of RACSPA’s very own licensed agriculturist and Community Service Director, Justin Interno, after the success of the project’s predecessor, the Operation USSAFS (Upland Sustainable Soilless Agriculture for Small Community’s Food Security and Local Economy), which won the DRR’s Grant for RID3820 Area 1 for the Rotary year 2020-2021.
Both Operation USSAFS and CommunitySIBOL are part of RACSPA’s aim to promote urban agriculture as means of livelihood and food security for the residents of the City of San Pedro, Laguna. Despite the city’s significant growth in industrialization and being geographically blessed with a likeable balance of hilly and flat landscapes, the newly-chartered city’s agricultural lands were replaced with villages and establishments, leaving almost no land left for the agricultural sector to thrive.
Believing that agriculture can also be a source for food security as much as livelihood, RACSPA came up with the idea of promoting urban agriculture through the concept of Hydroponics, a type of horticulture where plants are grown without soil, and after major delays caused by the implementation of pandemic alert levels and sudden surge of COVID-19 cases, CommunitySIBOL finally took place last March 6, 2022 at the Pacita Organic Garden, a community-supported agricultural garden in Barangay Pacita 1, San Pedro, Laguna. The event started with a seminar led by licensed agriculturist Jose Diego Roxas from the Bureau of Plant Industry, where he discussed the basics of hydroponics and its benefits before proceeding with a live hydroponics session, which was participated by the beneficiaries in all ages. The hands-on session became a fun and collaborative session, where everyone had their chance to create their own hydroponics bed and plant their own seeds. The training was also graced by the presence Engr. Enrique Layola of the City Agriculture Office, who provided more equipment needed to establish a hydroponics facility in the area. Also present is Area 1 DRAR Jameson Haldos, who actively participated in the session.
CommunitySIBOL is one of RACSPA’s most ambitious projects, with all the financial and logistical challenges came along the way. Despite this, the club maintained its eagerness to provide sustainable projects that the community will utilize now and in the future. With hydroponics now executed, the club is ready to plan out other urban agriculture concepts to help San Pedro City’s agriculture sector rise together with its industrial growth.
