MANILA, Philippines — For 10 years now, students of the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) have been giving weekly tutorials to public schoolchildren in Barangay San Joaquin, Pasig as part of their National Service Training Program.

Yet, in spite of the significant gains of this school-wide program called BIGGKAS (Basa, Isip, Gawa, Katesismo, Arts and Sports), UA&P felt something was missing. If they wanted to help a greater number of people and not just kids, they realized they had to do more educational interventions.

“We realized that the communities where there are many poor residents also have a need for nutrition and livelihood. They have available land and manpower, and the mothers of San Joaquin have a lot of idle time. So we thought of maximizing all these resources,” reveals Ina Capulong, 17, a sophomore student at UA&P.

But before UA&P even began to implement a livelihood program for San Joaquin, a new ally came into the picture. United Laboratories, Inc. (Unilab) last year held the first Ideas Positive, an idea generation camp and competition aimed to inspire college students to come up with fresh, developmental, and research-based social marketing initiatives that not only promote or advance health and wellness at the community level, but can also produce a positive and sustainable change.

Team BIGGKAS from UA&P, composed of freshmen and sophomores, joined the tilt and won over 20 other schools with their hydroponics gardening proposal. Dubbed “Buklod Bukid: Sowing Nutrition, Reaping Hope,” the project aims to establish a farm in the city that can address malnutrition among the children in Brgy. San Joaquin, as well as provide a source of livelihood to its residents.

Soil-less farming
While the University of Los Banos and Tagaytay are already using this type of farming, Team BIGGKAS project moderator Anna Alejo says the hydroponics method has yet to be introduced in the metropolis.

“Hydroponics is soilless farming. It is a method of growing plants in water, without soil. Liquid nutrients necessary for plant growth are mixed with water and fed straight into the roots or seeds of a plant. Instead of soil, we use shredded coconut husks called coco coir and sand which becomes the seedbed. This method is already being used in most countries and some parts of the country but not yet in urban communities,” explains Anna.

She adds that contrary to popular perception, water, sunlight and nutrients, but not soil, are necessary for plant growth. “Soil attracts pests. Cancer-causing elements can also penetrate the plant through soil,” Anna says.

For the gardening project in San Joaquin, vegetable seeds are grown first in coffee cups made from styrofoam.

Then when the plants have grown, it will be replaced in a bigger styrofoam container.

“Apart from promoting organic farming through this method to the residents of the community, and providing livelihood by selling the vegetable produce, the project will also be able to provide the community with a rich source of food,” she relates.

Team BIGGKAS partnered with the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) and the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) for the project. DoST conducted seminars and training on hydroponics to the mothers in San Joaquin, the target beneficiaries of the project while BPI pledged to supply the nutrients and seeds. Using the P100,000 prize money they won in the Unilab tilt, the team began implementing the project. They are now in the process of turning over the materials for planting to the mothers in the community.

Anna says the mothers are very eager and cooperative. Many of them are already looking forward to the success they can reap when the vegetable-selling business goes full swing.

Giving back
“Farming may really be far from our interests but we found the hydroponics very unique. It’s not a tedious process. More than that, we embarked on this because we want to become an agent of change, starting with little steps I believe we can produce big changes to help improve society,” shares 19-year-old Grayson Yanez, a sophomore student from Iligan city and a UA&P scholar.

For Jean Reyes, joining the team was a dream come true. In high school, she was an active volunteer of several socio-civic organizations like Gawad Kalinga. At the UA&P, Jean had long wanted to join BIGKAS’ tutoring sessions but was busy with schoolwork. So she saw the project as the perfect opportunity to continue her charity work.

For Ja Din and Pat Regalado, the chance to be part of such a big project is no mean feat for freshmen students like them.

“It’s a challenge na kahit bata pa ako makakatulong na ako sa iba. I believe its time to share my blessings with other people. And as a scholar, this project is also my way of giving back to the school,” says Pat, 17.

To make the project more holistic, the team also conducts seminars on selling, money handling and business management to further empower the mothers and teach them the necessary skills they need. Recipes of vegetable dishes and videos of cooking demonstrations are also being distributed to help mothers prepare healthy meals to their families. In the future, Team BIGGKAS hopes to replicate the project in other areas in Manila.

Workshops were also held during the three-day Unilab Ideas Positive Camp to improve the social marketing, leadership, and project management skills of the participating students. Notable speakers from the industry and social entrepreneurs such as Francis Kong, Bam Aquino, and Atty. Alex Lacson shared their experiences and best practices with the students.

Unilab Corporate Affairs director Alberto Manlapit says the endeavor hopes to harness among the youth the Filipino culture of Bayanihan, because greater things are achieved when people work together towards a common goal.