Marlita has a warm smile and kind eyes, with the hands of a woman well acquainted with work, and the complexion of one who spends her days in the sun. In a rural part of the Philippines’ Aklan province, she cultivates an organic farm along with her husband and three children.
It’s clear that Marlita is a natural gardener – her eyes glow with enthusiasm as she talks about working the land – but even so, for many years her family struggled to get ahead. Despite their strong work ethic, they found they were barely making ends meet, and the produce from their single plot of land could just barely feed the family of five. Expenses such as health care and school supplies for her children were a struggle.
World Vision came into Marlita’s area several years ago. The Christian relief and development organization is community focused, emphasizing sustainable development through programs that empower families to overcome their own struggles. And through World Vision, someone from Canada sponsored Marlita’s oldest child, Mike Luise.
This marked a turning point for the family. As programs developed in the region, Marlita was able to take part in training provided by World Vision and the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture. She was trained in home gardening and natural farming, being coached in organic farming practices. This new knowledge meant the family would not need to spend their income on expensive and harmful pesticides. Simple practices, such as planting marigolds around the perimeter of her plot, or wrapping vine vegetables in newspaper, served to ward off insects with great success. “It was a lot of work,” she says. “But I love my garden.”
Marlita’s small farm expanded from one plot into two, and then three, as she put her learning into practice, and her crops flourished. Today, the family’s farm is an impressive sight by any standard, yielding robust papayas, pineapples, cucumbers and melons, among other fruits and vegetables. These days, the family is more than provided for, with excess produce being sold at the market to appreciative neighbours. “Just yesterday,” Marlita says with a smile, “a man told me my vegetables are so fruitful and sweet and fresh.”
With the farm profits, Marlita’s children, Mike Luise, 14, Hazel Joy, 10, and Katrina, nine, are kept healthy and well-educated – something Marlita herself was not able to achieve as a child.
“God gives us different gifts,” she says. “I was not able to finish grade school but now it is as if I am in school because of the trainings that World Vision and the Department of Agriculture provided for us.”
Recognizing Marlita’s capacity, World Vision recently provided the family with worms for vermicomposting, along with a sow, which will bring further income and food. Soon, her neighbours will also have opportunity to benefit from Marlita’s knowledge and skill, as her land will be used as a training farm, with Marlita acting as “farmer teacher.”
Marlita’s entrepreneurial spirit is strong, and while she’s clearly proud of the progress she’s made, she is eager to move forward. Motioning to the land behind her home she says, “I now need a carabao [domesticated water buffalo] because my sister-in-law has land there. I want to expand more to give me more to cultivate.”
For all that Marlita and her family have accomplished, she remains focused on the future, with determination and, most importantly, hope in her eyes.