“Hindi namin inisip na maging kampeon. Ang inisip namin ay kung paano ipatutupad ang Bio-Intensive Gardening (BIG) sa aming barangay. Ito ay isang napakalaking responsibilidad. Napatunayan naming sa pamamagitan ng BIG, posible ang organikong pagtatanim (We did not think of being the champion. All we have in mind is how to implement Bio-Intensive Gardening in our barangay. This is a big responsibility. We have proven that gardening in an organic way is possible through BIG),” Parent Leader Elvira Capena shared as she expressed her gratitude after their 4Ps Community Garden in Brgy. Catuday, Bolinao, Pangasinan was proclaimed as the Regional Winner on the Search for Model Bio-Intensive Garden 2019.
The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development Field Office 1 (DSWD FO 1) has been conducting this search for three years now. This is to empower the beneficiaries in fighting malnutrition among children through nutritious food from the produce of their BIG.
DSWD FO 1 Regional Director Marcelo Nicomedes J. Castilllo envisions the BIG to become BIG-GER (Growing to Enhance Resources) as years go by. He wishes for all barangays to have their own BIG as source of additional income for Pantawid Pamilya families and even serve as green market for the whole community.
According to Mr. Edwin Conte, Consultant from the Office of the Mayor of Bolinao, Pangasinan, BIG is the product of the unity and cooperation of all Pantawid Pamilya beneficiaries, so he is confident that BIG will not just become BIG-GER but sooner will be BIG-GEST.
Rev. Edmundo Tavermin, Civil Society Organization Partner, uttered that there is no doubt that every Pantawid Pamilya beneficiary deserves a better quality of life and no longer to be poor.
The Pantawid Pamilya Regional Program Coordinator, Ms. Rosalyn L. Descallar, personally thanked the beneficiaries for giving full attention in applying their learnings from the Family Development Sessions particularly BIG. Such only proves that the efforts of the government for them to improve, are not wasted. This year’s runners-up are as follows: Hardin ni Salukag (Garden of Diligence) of Brgy. Escoda, Marcos, Ilocos Norte; Hardin iti Namnama (Garden of Hope) of Brgy. Suksukit, Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur; and Hardin ti Nam-ay (Garden of Prosperity) of Brgy. Pideg, Tubao, La Union. (by: Jaesem Ryan A. Gaces, Information Officer II/Pantawid Pamilya)
