This might not be the typical expat blog, written by a German expat, living in the Philippines since 1999. It's different. In English and in German. Check it out! Enjoy reading!
Dies mag' nun wirklich nicht der typische Auswandererblog eines Deutschen auf den Philippinen sein. Er soll etwas anders sein. In Englisch und in Deutsch! Viel Spass beim Lesen!
You plan to move to the Philippines? Wollen Sie auf den Philippinen leben?
There are REALLY TONS of websites telling us how, why, maybe why not and when you'll be able to move to the Philippines. I only love to tell and explain some things "between the lines". Enjoy reading, be informed, have fun and be entertained too!
Ja, es gibt tonnenweise Webseiten, die Ihnen sagen wie, warum, vielleicht warum nicht und wann Sie am besten auf die Philippinen auswandern könnten. Ich möchte Ihnen in Zukunft "zwischen den Zeilen" einige zusätzlichen Dinge berichten und erzählen. Viel Spass beim Lesen und Gute Unterhaltung!
Visitors of germanexpatinthephilippines/Besucher dieser Webseite.Ich liebe meine Flaggensammlung!
Vice President Sara Duterte on Friday urged publishing companies to continue in their pursuit as she acknowledged their roles in nurturing the "seeds of knowledge."
"Let us nurture the seeds of knowledge that, when planted today, will yield a bountiful harvest for generations to come," Duterte said as she graced the opening of the Philippine Book Festival in Davao City.
In making her call, the Vice President noted the significance of books as well as the authors behind it in sharing knowledge and expertise to the people, giving inspiration and entertaining the people through stories.
That is where the Department of Education (DepEd) also puts importance, Duterte, DepEd chief, said.
Photo courtesy of VP Sara Duterte's Facebook page
"Recently, we launched the MATATAG Curriculum with great emphasis on basic competencies, including writing, reading—and comprehension," she said. "Over the past few years, we have seen a painful decline in the ability of our young learners to read and write," she added.
She said the MATATAG Curriculum is a revised and improved version of the K to 10 program to correct the latter’s flaws that affected the learners’ writing and reading skills.
"Our direction is not only for our learners to possess the power of writing and reading—but, most importantly, for them to value this power as it could help them navigate life successfully," she said.
"Our campaign necessitates rekindling our learners’ interest in the written word through reading books and other materials that could ignite their curiosity, give space for their creativity, and nurture their intellect," she added.
Duterte called on publishers and authors to stand united to foster a lifelong learning and a culture that “embraces diversity, empowers minds, and sparks the flames of imagination.”
The recent book festival, she said, proves the important role of books in people’s lives and in the nation.
"May this festival illuminate our path toward a strong Philippines—where the pages of our shared story are etched with the enduring ink of knowledge, wisdom, and inspiration," she added.
Immersing in nature ‘boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, slows the pulse, and even reduces stress hormones.’
MEDICINE OF LIFE Author jumps off a rock into the river
I had heard about the healing powers of walking in nature but didn’t realize it had a name—forest bathing. Used in Japan in the 1980s, meant “forest bathing, forest therapy, or taking in the forest atmosphere.”
Immersing in nature involved the physical and psychological healing of individuals weary in mind and body. The demand to “reinvigorate the body and mind” via nature also saw locals begin to share their knowledge of the forest and the belief, long held yet often discarded, of its benefits to humanity.
I started to read more about forest bathing, its origins, and how it had become such a transformative sensory experience and began to understand and better articulate why I kept going back to the Sierra Madre Mountains and booking myself on yearly treks to the Himalayas, the Scottish Highlands, and even the Alps for days-long treks.
THE BEAUTY OF SCOTLAND These photos were taken during the author's eight-day hike in the Scottish Highlands
I would often describe how I feel after as “power charge,” which I found ironic, since walking even at some point up to 32 kilometers a day could get grueling. I won’t deny that trekking for days is hard. In all my years of walking, running, and climbing mountains, I have learned to control one thing, my breathing.
This was even pointed out to me by our local guide in the mountains of Montalban, Rizal during my last climb, “Ma’m kahit paano, kahit anong klaseng terrain, parating even at regular ’yun breathing ninyo (no matter what, regardless of the terrain, your breathing is always even and regular).” So, this is mindfulness.
On every ascent and descent, I automatically focus on my breathing, realizing that the chant-like cadence of the sound of my breath propels me on my journey. This I learned I can control. To realize that you can control and can learn to control, with practice and some measure of discomfort, other aspects in your life is powerful.
BE ONE WITH NATURE Hikers are encouraged to cherish nature by engaging with the outdoors
Geosciences professors Dr. Hayden Lorimer and Dr. Katrin Lund described forest therapy as “taking people on a journey that leads at least part way toward greater personal security, reviving lapsed aspirations and life ambitions.” Indeed, the mind and heart are healed but forest bathing heals the body as well. A 2008 study by Akemi Nakamura, spanning 30 years of data, showed immersing in nature “boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, slows the pulse, and even reduces stress hormones.”
In one paper I also read about healing vibrations in the forest. If you stay long enough, you can activate the parasympathetic nervous system that helps with bodily functions and generally relaxes the body.
I must add though that forest therapy does not require trekking for days or involve an arduous hike. In fact, it is described merely as “an intense visual encounter with nature that is not destination-oriented but punctuated merely by a beginning and end.”
RISE AND SHINE Flexing muscles on an actual mountain with gym buddies from Rise Nation
With this in mind, I decided to invite some friends from my gym for a short day hike. I’ve written about my gym Rise Nation that specializes in the versa climber—a climbing machine that helps tone the body and gives one an intense cardio workout in just 30 minutes. The trek was to apply all those muscles toned during our workouts on a real mountain.
Our hike took us up to view a portion of the Sierra Madre Mountain Range basking in the radiant morning light and then down trails, almost non-existent and overgrown with forest flora, to walk by streams and rivers that end in torrents over waterfalls cascading into the Marikina River. At one point I slipped on a stony slope, stopping short by the stream’s edge.
HEALING OF THE HEART Yoga teacher and mental health advocate Jennifer Non strikes a pose
From experience, I did not resist and just naturally followed gravity. As I lay there, I looked up at the sky overhead that was obscured only slightly by the over-reaching tree branches. Later, I closed my eyes and luxuriated in such a pristine natural environment. I let the various sounds and sensations take over me—the wind on my face, the sound it makes in the trees, the polyphonic pitches from the cascading stream at my feet and, as my senses grew more acute, I could even detect a bird call. Nature creates such beautiful music!
At school, I learned that music, particularly indigenous music, is an imitation or recreation of nature. Listening to the melodies around me, I was reminded of the T’boli’s klutang, a wooden percussion beam played with mallets. The T’boli’s musical repertoire is said to mimic the sounds of nature, interlocking with the calls of a pair of crimson-breasted barbet or “fu.” The fu has a metronomic call, “large pitch for the male” and “small pitch” for the female.
The fu bird plays highly in T’boli cosmology that is inextricably linked to Lake Sebu, around which lies the cultural and ancestral land of the T’boli.
In her paper “The Sounding Pantheon of Nature. T’boli Instrumental music in the Making of an Ancestral Symbol,” Manolete Mora enumerates: the two-string lute, the sludoy or bamboo polychordal zither, kumbing (jew’s harp), d’wegey (single stringed spike fiddle), and the Ketimbow (an extinct instrument). These are what she calls the “courting instruments.”
You see, they were created by a celestial deity called Lemugot Mangay who was sent down to earth by Di’wata, the supreme celestial deity, to bring the T’boli’s ancestral female figure Boi Henwu back to heaven.
GOING NUTS FOR BETEK NUTS Members of the Manobo tribe in the mountains of Agusan del Sur give out Betek nuts
To make Boi Henwu fall in love with him, he created musical instruments to woo her with. Boi Henwu did fall in love with Lemugot Mangay but before allowing herself to be brought to heaven, she said she would play the klutang for the last time. When she was done, she threw the mallets down to the ground, which then turned into a pair (male and female) of crimson-breasted barbets. There is another man involved, Kludan, who was with Boi Henwu for 16 years before Lemugot Mangay entered the picture. Through the years, Kludan grew to love Boi Henwu but tragically it was one-sided. (Spoiler alert: Boi Henwu went with Lemugot Mangay to heaven and Kludan ended up in the underworld.) Roused from my thoughts by my fellow hikers and, after checking I was OK, we proceeded down the mountain to the base camp.
The beauty of our traditional music remained in my mind the rest of the day. I recalled an interview I did with US-based Filipino soprano Stefanie Quintin Avila, who said, “Filipino singers should work toward the decolonization of our consciousness as a people.”
She decried how Filipino musicians would revere Western classical music while our own traditional music is simply relegated to intermission numbers. For centuries, musicians all over the world have had to adhere to strict norms of the field of vocal arts. Avila pointed out, “The Philippines has its own musical traditions that (are) enough to fuel the Filipino artist’s creative passions. This has to be acknowledged and cultivated with the help of government. Only then can we find our voice and realize the full potential of the Filipino artist’s capacity to create, innovate, and liberate ourselves from established musical authorities.”
Germany now!
In some parts of the country, hundreds of firefighters and police officers were kept busy due to thunderstorms and heavy rains. Thousands of passengers have been affected by disruptions at Frankfurt Airport.
Floods, flooded basements, flight cancellations: heavy rain has affected parts of Germany. Due to rain over Frankfurt, dozens of flights were canceled at the airport there: on Wednesday evening, a large amount of water accumulated on the platform, among other things.
Many flights were canceled, flights could not depart on time or had to be redirected to other airports.
Frankfurt Airport's initial estimate was that a four-figure number of passengers were affected.
There were storms in other parts of Germany, but they did not seem to have serious consequences. In Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia, cellars flooded at night. Manhole covers were also lifted due to the massive amount of rain.
Marvi and Rogen, owners of Anitu Food Forest. (Anitu Food Forest)
Marvi Rafael Montecillo and Rogen Montecillo, a husband and wife team, are the driving force behind the remarkable Anitu Food Forest. This passionate pair is on a mission to redefine sustainable farming and leave a positive impact on their community and environment.
Marvi ‘s great-grandparents were among the early pioneers who established a farm in a small town within Kibawe, Bukidnon during the 1950s. At that time, the area was an untouched vastness of virgin forest with old towering trees, some possibly exceeding a millennium in age, and incredibly fertile soil that inherently possessed richness without needing any further inputs. During that time, Marvi ‘s great-grandparents effortlessly cultivated and harvested coffee and cacao.
Marvi Rafael at Anitu Food Forest. (Anitu Food Forest)
However, “That is no longer the case now, as our farming methods—although created material abundance that we are all so grateful for—was a method that is one of exploitation or extracting,” Marvi said. “…majority of native trees, coffee and cacao today have been cut down as pest and diseases infest the farms in Kibawe.”
Transition to syntropic farming
Marvi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Xavier University—Ateneo de Cagayan. His academic pursuit ignited a deep interest upon encountering the concept of syntropic or regenerative farming. According to Marvi, “Syntropic or regenerative farming is a type of farming method that takes the advice of mother nature which has created abundance all over the planet.”
Rogen at Anitu Food Forest. (Anitu Food Forest)
Marvi further explained that “Syntropy refers to the tendency of systems to become more organized, complex, or integrated over time. In this sense, syntropy would represent the process of systems moving towards a state of greater order and organization.”
In essence, Marvi said that this can be illustrated as the transition from basic grasslands to intricate forests. By introducing human intervention, which involves actions like meticulously pruning or trimming biomass grass and densely planting numerous plants and trees, it can accelerate the pace at which growth, complexity, and abundance develop. This acceleration effectively condenses what nature might naturally accomplish in 200 years into a mere 10 to 20 years.
This innovative agricultural methodology emulates the way of nature, which has nurtured abundance throughout the planet's history. “For millions of years, life evolved from the simple one-celled microorganism and spread all over the planet into very complex ecosystems consisting of various plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, jungles, forests and even human civilizations etc.,” Marvi said.
Marvi and Rogen together on their farm. (Anitu Food Forest)
Founding Anitu Forest
In the year 2020, Marvi entered the bonds of matrimony with his beloved partner. In collaboration with his spouse, Roge Montecillo, a recipient of the Young Farmers Challenge Program Award in the enterprise category. The Young Farmers Challenge (YFC) Start-Up is a competitive financial grant assistance program aimed at supporting young individuals or groups interested in starting new agri-fishery enterprises by providing start-up capital for profitable ventures.
Their mutual entrepreneurial spirit sparked a realization that as entrepreneurs, they are responsible for identifying solutions to various challenges. This gave birth to Anitu Forest, an endeavor driven by a mission to tackle critical issues such as deforestation, excessive reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides, insufficient cacao production in the Philippines, and the scarcity of viable employment opportunities.
Rogen making hot chocolate at kaamulan grounds. (Anitu Food Forest)
Through a series of small experiments, they are determined to address these challenges by creating cacao forest farms and eventually launching a tree-to-bar chocolate company. Currently, they are crafting their chocolates at home.
Marvi and Rogen take care of various crops like coconuts, bananas, ginger, and cassava. As the tall native forest trees grow, they also plant cacao underneath. The main aim is to make yummy chocolate, so Marvi is working to bring back the trees that have always been around in this area.
Marvi and Rogen are pioneers of syntropic farming in the Philippines. While permaculture is practiced by many in the country, they are embracing syntropic farming as a way to achieve larger-scale natural agriculture that generates surplus produce, aiming to compete with conventional farming in terms of both production and cost-efficiency. According to their perspective, any method of natural farming should not only ensure the well-being of the community and the environment but also prove financially sustainable, with the ultimate goal being abundance. Given the expert assessment that much of the soil in the Philippines is severely degraded, Marvi and Rogen view syntropic farming as a potential solution to address this concern.
The couple believe that there's a disconnection between big financial institutions and their origins. They think there should be a return to the idea of "sound money" and a focus on supporting producers. They point out that in the past, things like cocoa beans and gold were used as money.
Chocolate products called chocolate barks. (Anitu Food Forest)
Looking at history, they've noticed that societies like Mesopotamia, Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Maya, which harmed their soil's fertility, saw their farming suffer. This often led to problems in society and the economy, eventually causing their downfall.
They consider themselves fortunate to engage in natural farming, understanding that as humans, they are an integral part of nature rather than separate from it. “With this in mind, we feel we are doing a very important job. And despite the difficulties, the feeling that we are doing something important pushes us to work harder and, hopefully, smarter,” Marvi said.
Learning syntropic farming proved to be a challenging and costly journey for Marvi and Rogen. They are grateful for the internet, which granted them access to a range of resources, including books like "Agricultura Syntropica" by Rebello and Sakamoto, written in Portuguese and translated into English. They also engaged in Facebook discussions with fellow syntropic farmers from Brazil, Australia, and Mexico. Through these avenues, they managed to amalgamate their learning and put it into practice.
Chopping and dropping of biomass such as branches and leaves to serve as fertilizers. (Anitu Food Forest)
While it's tempting to attribute their challenges to limited finances and lack of machinery, Marvi and Rogen recognize a more fundamental gap: the absence of knowledge and a culture that values continuous learning and knowledge accumulation.
Marvi and Rogen acknowledge the words of Ernst Gotsch, the visionary behind the synthesis of syntropic farming, and emphasize the significance of knowledge by stating, "Knowledge is the best fertilizer."
Teaching syntropic farming to the community's workers posed a significant challenge. “There are terminologies, scientific terms and phenomena that are not easily translatable to Bisaya.,” Marvi said. “But simply by doing and practicing syntropic farming, all of us, not only our workers, have slowly learned along the way.”
The spatial arrangement involves the division of plant species into distinct layers, each occupying specific proportions of space including tall, medium, low, and groundcover plants. (Anitu Food Forest)
Although Marvi and Rogen were primarily engaged in conventional farming across most of their land, they initiated small experimental plots to practice syntropic farming. “The covid pandemic pushed us to risk a lot which actually helped us to improve faster,” Marvi said. “It was a pain to see our failed experiments die together with our false notions, but there is no way around it. We must fail in some things in order to learn and improve."
Success amidst skepticism
Despite the skepticism of nearby farmers who claim that "zero-chemical" or natural farming is unattainable due to the depleted and highly acidic soil in the area, Marvi and Rogen's farm yield presents a contrasting story. They successfully cultivate ginger, cassava, vegetables, bananas, and cacao without relying on chemical inputs.
“We believe, as time goes on, the soil fertility and biodiversity increase and our farm produce as well,” Marvi said.
Cacao fermentation process. (Anitu Food Forest)
Marvi and Rogen’s vision revolves around establishing a sustainable business through reforestation farming. “By making the consumers part of the reforestation process, we create a virtuous cycle where money flows from the city towards reforestation projects, and at the same time the forest provides high-quality food to people in the cities,” Marvi said.
Marvi and Rogen plan to expand their cacao forest farms, collaborating with and instructing fellow farms in the ways of syntropic farming, facilitating the growth of a craft chocolate market, and ultimately establishing a chocolate factory.
In the initial phase of their farming venture, Marvi and Rogen's aim is to demonstrate that syntropic farming is a superior method compared to conventional practices.
Current products from naturally grown cacao. (Anitu Food Forest)
“This is a thesis, and only time will tell if we can show that indeed it is,” Marvi said. “Once we are able to prove it, we hope to partner with our neighbors to not only reforest our small barangay but create job opportunities and even spark a few minds who wish to engage in agri entrepreneurship.”
Within their farm, they provide consistent employment for around 10 to 15 people throughout the year. As entrepreneurs, their task involves selling their chocolates to consumers all across the Philippines, especially in urban areas. This way, they want to encourage consumers to actively participate in the reforestation process.
Marvi and Rogen together with the people they help by providing jobs. (Anitu Food Forest)
Vision for a sustainable future
In their perspective, the era of regenerative farming has arrived. With access to technology, machinery, equipment, and a wealth of knowledge, they recognize the potential for more effective farming practices.
Marvi and Rogen consider themselves entrepreneurs, tasked with finding solutions to challenges. They value the idea that in society, the success of one translates to success for all. This notion extends to farming, where prosperity is accessible to all farmers, and the benefits of high-quality produce are shared.
Marvi and Rogen first time to sell hot chocolate at Kaamulan Festival. (Anitu Food Forest)
In their optimistic view, the multiplication of wealth, knowledge, and love occurs naturally as civilization progresses. They firmly hold that optimism and problem-solving can pave the way to addressing all challenges.
Life, for Marvi and Rogen, is an expedition they've chosen to embrace. “Despite a lot of unknowns and risks, this is what makes life worth living. Being a reforester and a regenerative farmer and creating a business around that is truly satisfying work.” Marvin said. “We believe in value creation, contribution to the community, and raising a family. These things make us happy.”
The next article will discuss syntropic farming, its benefits, principles, and its potential for better and more sustainable food production.
Poverty-stricken communities in the country should have input on how the government should pursue their development, says House Bill (HB) No.500 filed by Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte.
Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte (MANILA BULLETIN)
Poverty-stricken communities in the country should have input on how the government pursues their development.
This was the wisdom behind House Bill (HB) No.500, which was principally filed by Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte at the beginning of the current 19th Congress.
Duterte said this globally recognized strategy, called the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach, should be institutionalized and provided sufficient funding to ensure that underserved and remote communities are able to decide which programs and projects should be implemented to suit their needs.
“Poor and farflung communities should get a say on what should be done to alleviate poverty in their areas since they know what’s happening on the ground and what problems need urgent action. This is the true spirit of inclusive growth,” Duterte said.
“Allowing them to identify, plan, budget and implement small development projects will not only give them a sense of empowerment, but would also ensure that they maintain and sustain these projects well. Since they are involved in all the aspects of the project implementation, they would make sure that their hard work would not go to waste,” he added.
Such projects, among others, are the construction of water systems, schools, street lighting, community health centers and farm-to-market roads.
The institutionalization of the CDD strategy is provided for under HB No. 500, which the Davao solon and former deputy speaker filed with Benguet lone district Rep. Eric Yap, and ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Edvic Yap.
The bill is derived from the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan--Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which has pioneered and sustained this World Bank-assisted initiative in selected poor municipalities in the country.
"With local government units (LGUs) expected to receive over P827 billion in 2024 as their National Tax Allotment or their share in the collection of national taxes, many cities and municipalities can well allocate a portion of this windfall to help fund CDD projects in their localities, especially once the bill becomes a law,” Duterte said.
Duterte said that to institutionalize the CDD strategy, the bill mandates that not only the DSWD, but other national government agencies and the local government units (LGUs) adopt this approach in their community-based programs.
Accredited civil society organizations and academic institutions are also encouraged to participate in facilitating technology transfers, and assisting communities in securing collaboration or funding from other institutions.
The amount needed to implement the measure shall be charged to the annual appropriations of the DSWD. To help sustain the CDD projects, the bill provides for the establishment of an endowment fund consisting of voluntary contributions, donations, grants, or loans from domestic and foreign sources, government subsidies and other income.
Davao City 1st district Rep. Paolo Duterte (MANILA BULLETIN)