Even though the COVID-19 pandemic came with overwhelming challenges, there are still a lot of things to be grateful for. Our girls at Tahanan are very happy to experience all the wonders of organic urban farming and horticultural therapy.
The COVID-19 lockdowns have been very difficult for our girls. They felt the negative effects of extended isolation and confinement. Before the pandemic hit the Philippines, our girls were enjoying therapy sessions in a garden inside a nearby convent of religious nuns.
We decided to recreate the healing environment that a garden brings by adding horticultural farming as part of our therapy programs.
We thank our mentors and a pastor couple for turning this dream into a reality. Our girls can already grow their vegetables! The girls learned how to make Bokashi compost, and turned kitchen scraps like fruit and vegetable peels into organic fertilizer. The girls also learned how to sow, weed, transplant, and build flower beds.
This program has helped our girls cope with the challenges of the new normal by honing their green thumbs, cultivating the soil, and creating the garden of their dreams right in Tahanan’s backyard.
