Likasaka Manwal

2nd edition now.

The 1st edition is a staple in my bag.  I never realized how used my copy was until I saw the new 2nd edition, that was all clean and no creases.  Had my copy autographed by Tere and Dante who are both true blue natural farmers.

Perfect guide as you learn about natural farming.  The concoctions used to replace chemical fertilizers are well illustrated and easy to comprehend.

A must have for all advocates of natural farming.  A great gift too for farmer friends or for those who want to know the difference of farming clean food :)

PHP400 for pick up in Manila.  For an additional PHP250, we can send by LBC.  Email us at info@solraya.com for orders.

If we send by LBC:

1) Pay PHP650 thru BPI, Acct # 3535-8057-24
2) Notify us of date of payment, your name and address
3) We send thru courier

Go With The Flow

Just came back from Lucena to attend the 7th National Organic Agricultural Congress (NOAC).  Very successful and it was a great opportunity for the meeting of minds of organic and natural farmers. 

Many have opened their minds to pasturing white chickens.  There are problems with the over supply of white chicks now in the Philippines...so let's use that to our advantage!  Let's pasture and free range the whites.  It is cheaper and easy to find.  Big help to us smaller farmers.

Key words were echoed and served as discernment :)  

Brings us to going with the flow.  Recent Typhoon Juan had almost all our trees in the farm down.  It will take a lot of energy and time to prop them up again, with the risk of stressing their roots. We decided to let them be and let them lie as they are now.  Easier to to harvest and we won't be jumpy whenever a storm warning is up again.

Listen  and observe, to guide you to do what is right.

Centris Sunday Market

Starting November 7, Philippines for Natural Farming, Inc will have a booth to showcase natural farming from "how to" to marketing of produce and end products. PNFI is committed to spread the good deed of us farming back to basics and using the materials around us for sustainability. We are also aware that our members need a marketing arm to start them off.

Sunshine Chicken is one of the products that will be sold in the booth, together with other produce from our members' farms. Farm inputs, manuals, seeds etc will be made available for those interested to walk the talk with us.

Centris is at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Ave. Parking is convenient and next to the Centris train stop of MRT. The Sunday market will be at the parking lot beside the Centris Walk.

Centris Sunday Market, 6am-12pm. Look up Philippines for Natural Farming, Inc.

Come and meet us. Experience our passion up close and personal. Please support natural farming in the Philippines!

Join our yahoo group: natural farming in the Philippines.

Juan Batch

Remember the photos posted earlier, on the batch that was in the brooder during Typhoon Juan? The day after Juan, they were let to the open. A week after at 21days, they were transferred to the range housing.

Meet them now, at 28days. Most of them are out in the range and pasturing themselves:)

Might be your first time to see white chickens in clean, comfortable and airy cages?

Study The Area

Natural farming leads you to always be in the look out and to listen to alternative feeds that are abundant around.  Azolla was one that we can multiply fast in the farm and  is very good for feeding livestock, as well as an active ingredient for FPJ.

Read about Azolla here.

Sometime ago, we tried a batch that we got at Earthkeepers in Tiaong.  It either vanished or died and evaporated in thin air.  It was gone.  Got another batch, same thing!  People were talking about how easy it was to propagate it.   I must be so dumb about Azolla that I can kill what is supposed to be a "can't die".

I was so glad that one of the natural farmers in our group distributed containers of Azolla.....here goes again that line that "you can't kill it"....

1st batch again went to this holding area.  A small pond.  Same thing...vanished!  Hmmmmmm  I was starting to get embarassed that I don't just kill it...it can't be found.

Then I saw these group of Sunshines, coming from that "holding area" for Azolla.  They looked like campers happily walking out of the trail....Couldn't the Sunshines be the culprits and had been eating the Azolla even before they can take off and multiply?

Must be!

Oh so thankful that my friends decided to trust me again with a small container of Azolla. We decided to now use a contained area. Net it on top. Meaning, secured it much like brooding chicks :)

The ones who see it daily, reports that it hasn't died, but it was just doing OK and floating around.  At least it was still there.

But for me who saw the container after 2weeks.....HEY SUCCESS!

So it was the Sunshines after all :)  One thing is sure, they loved eating Azolla :)

Healthy Signs Of Life

White molds on the ground...that is a sign that your land is healthy and good bacteria is growing and being fed well.  Don't be worried about them.  The good bacteria eat the bad.

What other signs are there in your farm that excites natural farmers...

Molds on the ground.  Birds and nests abound in our farm, both on treetops and ground level.  Signs of life everywhere.  Insects of all shapes and colors....

This spider was able to swing around fast!  By the time we saw him the next morning, his web was clinging to the branches  from different trees, on the ground now.

Strong winds shook the trees to show us the cobwebs :)

Don't take it for granted.  Observe the farms that uses chemicals heavily.....you will notice the difference of healthy life.

Brooding For A Storm

We all had a lot of warnings.  There was a lot of time to prepare way before the expected landfall of Megi, Typhoon Juan in the Philippines.

For pastured chicken farmers like you and I, what can we do?  Moreso when you have a batch brooding.

For now, we are brooding in the same range housing.  They were in shaded areas, but no good fencing around.  Doc Rey wanted an area that will have windbreakers, near the caretaker's house, accessible to water.  So he assessed what we had that may work for us:

1) In the garage, he saw unusued aluminum vans and the dismantled truck bed enclosures.  He asked that be brought to the spot he saw that had trees that will be good windbreakers.  Close to the house of the caretaker and the water pump.

2) Not just sitting them on the ground, he sort of had it buried a bit.  Dug canal around the cages and area, for drainage.

3) Found old roofing materials that was wrapped all around.  Why?  Don't forget the RATS!  They will surely want dry ground for themselves too :)  They can't climb the slippery surface.  

But can the chicks have good air circulation inside that cage?  There was a reason why they were retired to the garage.  These pieces of roofing material had holes on them already. Perfect for air inlets.  The wire mesh all around the cage was guarantee enough that fresh air circulates and bad air escapes.

Others were set on top as roofs. They were tied to the cages.

4) Trucks' tarpaulins were set on top of the roof.  Remember those yeros were butas already :)  Roofweights were needed.  Got old tires and the stacked chicken crates that were near the water pump for washing.

It was very good!  Did what it was supposed to do, as planned, from materials that were to be found around you.

The trees all around fell and didn't withstand the strong winds of Juan, but it did to the cage its purpose.  It protected the brooder from the rage of the typhoon.  The brooding Sunshines were very healthy and energetic when the cage was opened after the storm!

We had several of the cages set up.  You don't want them to pile up one on top of the other when they get afraid and cold.  Stampedes are less likely in smaller spaces.

Let's take a closer look inside.  Aside from the gas brooder that was good for 1000 birds, there was another standby brooder for the same capacity.  If you will notice, this area isn't for 1000 birds, so why have big capacity brooders being used?  You have to make sure they are warm.  It will be terribly cold out there during the storm and no such thing as over prepared. 

From the other side and behind:  The fallen tree was acting as shade before the storm came, as it was prepared a couple of days prior.  The large LPG tank, the source of energy for the gas brooder.....heavy stuff, can't be blown away.  Doc Rey still played safe.  He had charcoal heaters on standby.

We've learned over the years.  I hope you have taken some points from us too to guide you through.

Creatures Of Habit

After we opened the cage for the 14days to start ranging, we passed by this 49days range area.  

This batch is the one that holds my spot for my favorite Aratiles tree.  "My Spot" had fallen too from the ravage of Juan, together with almost 99% of our fruit trees.  As they went out to hunt for food today after the storm had left, in groups, they find their regular joints.

This group obviously loves Aratiles too.  They were just attracted and concentrated on the fruits they have enjoyed on the ground daily.  They must have not noticed that the source of those fruits are no longer standing there.  Nor that the Mango tree that used to give them shade while they scout for their fruits, are now at their eye level.

That was the side story....

I was trying to point out that they are willing and able to to take care of themselves!

Here Comes The Sun

 Touted as a super typhoon....we had days to prepare as information dissemination had been non-stop and with the availability of the internet, there is no reason to feign ignorance of the obvious comings.  Some newspaper was so safe and printing news that they cited several weather observation stations' predictions of Megi's route. 

It was said to be hitting the Northern tip of Cagayan.  I must have drank coffee that night and had been clicking "refresh" on my browser so often.  I know that just before I slept, I saw the path switch downward....or maybe dreaming?

Not to be too alarmed about our Sunshines....our buildings are strong, so I wasn't worried about housing going down.  This is the design we are now using for the ranges.  It withstood the strong winds :)  The Sunshines they housed were not a bit affected.

Electricity wasn't an issue too...there are alternative sources of heat like your charcoal etc.

We were brooding a batch and will be close to 2weeks when the storm passes us.  That was what Doc Rey secured.  How he secured the brooding calls for another post :)...so I won't show you yet the photos of brooder.  The photo below will be a good preview.

We hurried to the farm the day after....fallen trees all around.  The brooding area is surrounded by Banana trees....all down to the ground. That looks like a lot of FPJ in the next weeks.

The 14day old Sunshines still got out to their range on the appointed 14day outing!  They were excited to to go out, while we were appraising the damages to the farm.  The Sunshines took their walk with us among the fallen trees.

They ran to the door.  Took a peek and sighed that they saw their elder sisters on other pens, ranging.  "Everyone was OK"!

The day after Typhoon Megi (Juan to us in the Philippines):

The rage of Juan the previous day, was now forgotten....as they took their first steps and bites of grass.

The fallen trees became instant playground!  They loved to climb the branches and can't get enough of burying themselves in the trees on the ground.

Brooding is utmost.  The housing is very important.  If the chicks are secure in good brooding cage, have the right space and are warm, enough food...then they will be OK even during a storm.

Why You Don't Have To Get Chicks From Us

We have refocused and making it cheaper and easier for all to have  access to good tasting and healthy chicken meat.  You may grow your own food or get from farmers you know and trust.  Get to know your farmer.  Its all about farming :)

How did we make it cheaper and more accessible to grow clean meat?  We run trials and have gotten the results we wanted by using the white chicks that are used for commercial poultry raising.  

When given probiotics/fermented plant juices and pastured for the same time as its colored cousins, they have the same taste, and surely the healthy benefits are in how it was raised.

We are teaching you a concept.  We are selling you the idea of raising/eating well.  Food that you may grow yourself.  Food that you may entrust to farmers you really know.

If for some reason you can't find dayold chicks in your area, or you want the brand that we use, then we can cater them to you.  But again, the ,most ideal is get the chicks from your area.  The point was to make it cheaper and easy for all farmers.

Another plus side:  Easier to teach when we aren't selling anything to you :)

Listen to Good Job, Philippines!

My friend from high school, Maggie Munoz invited us to guest on Good Job, Philippines.  The show is part of DZRJ 810, all English AM radio station.  She co-hosts this show with Barbie Atienza, every Saturday at 10am-12nn.

Maggie knows me for the pastured Sunshine Chickens, but of course I will also talk about my current passion that evolved from our raising Sunshines....which is, natural farming :)

Wherever you are that day or night, I hope you can join us on Saturday, October 23, 10am, Manila time :)

You can catch it through the internet...HERE.  Find the link to DZRJ 810 AM.

At 42days, Still Kids

As I was having a good time and exercising from bending to take the photos.....this cute thing ran, trying to avoid me....just like a tyke who knowingly did something naughty.

See his dirty feet? You suspect he was into something :)

He is still a kid at 42days, even if he weighs 1.5kgs. Now you won't be surprised why the commercial supermarket chickens are tastless. They were barely out of their nurseries when harvested at about 30days :(

Contented Chickens

Have you ever seen your chickens this way?  You have always pictured your chickens in cramped cages and dirty looking with sad faces :(

Here now:

Morning sun...cool shade....all the food you want, buffet style....fruits galore....lounging chair (yes, it is an instinct for all chickens to perch, so pity the caged ones)....fish pond around...

We are almost describing ourselves on the beach!

Its not about colored or white. It is all about being caged or pastured :)....End result: Healthy and Tasty!

Water Lily

During the El Nino, when the ponds in the farm dried up, the Water Lily was still abundant and we saw that the chickens went down to play....or so we thought.  After a closer look (I have posted a thread on this previously), the Sunshines eat the Water Lily! 

We searched in it and read that it is edible and had medicinal properties.  We had tons of Water Lily and cleaning up the ponds had been a problem!

So to make it easier for the free ranging chickens, the farm help brings up some for the white Sunshines, since they thought that they were "special" and might not know what they are to do.  We all took it that they didn't know how to eat.  We forgot about "instinct" to get what is good for oneself :)

Convinced that it was indeed good for the chickens, we tried using it for FPJ.  This will be a great answer to our clean up of the ponds all around the farm, at the same time giving good nutrients to the pastured chickens.

Too much to clean up and it thickens faster than we can manually chop chop.

To ease up work, a shredder/chopper will be the answer.  A great farm tool.  More on that on another posting.

Don't Throw It All Away

Can you make out what is laid in the basins for the Sunshines to eat?  And those dark liquid in their drinkers?

That is FPJ...if you had made your own fermented plant juice by now, then you will know how they look like :)  After you have harvested the FPJ, you will have a sludge.  

Don't throw it all away....feed them to your chickens, pigs and other farm animals. 

Sustainable....nothing is thrown away in natural farming.  Philippines for natural farming!

Cages are well ventilated, aired, a lot of sun...

My Spot

I have a favorite spot in the farm.  It past the holding area for the "to be harvested", after where Doc Rey decides to normally park.  If he brought a 4X4 then it means I am closer to my spot.  After the 1st housing is an Aratiles tree.  Very short walk from the parked truck, so this is my favorite place to reach out for my treasures of those reddish, sweet, juicy beads.

Surprise!  I now have white competitors.  Thank you that they can't reach up, they just contend themselves with what falls on the ground.

See how they love it!

6weeks old :)

Mercato Centrale @ BGC

 Updated 25 October 2010

Mercato Centrale @ BGC starts on 21 November that is a Sunday. Thereafter, it goes on every Saturday and Sunday.

It is envisioned to be the market to go to.  Very comfortable setting and air conditioned.

Strategically located beside Serendra and Bonifacio High Street.

First it was at AGRILINK 2010, now our 2nd time to step out will be at the Mercato Centrale @ BGC.  Starting in November.  A Naturella Farm Store will be there every Saturday :)

 Read about it .  See you there!

Naturella Offers

As purveyors of what is best from natural farming practitioners, we are always on the look out for what is good and best at a given time.  Just like season changes and weather permits, there will be problems at source farms that may affect supplies' availability.

If you want something, please let us know and we will try best to bring it to you.  That will also be our opportunity to go further and farther :)  Please click "LIKE", and then leave a note at our FB page "A Naturella Farm Store" or drop us an email: info@solraya.com.  

DELIVERIES FOR A MINIMUM OF PHP1000.  WHAT WE HAVE NOW as of 22 February 2011.
For orders pls call/text (0917) 847-2639.
If you call/text in advance, you may pick up at 19 Lipa Rd, Philam Homes QC for no minimum orders.

FOOD

1) Sunshine Chicken (no antibiotics, no hormones, pastured chickens)
Dressed chickens PHP200/kg
Pure Liver Pate PHP300/tub
2) Pork from naturally farmed pigs.  PHP200/kg
3) Fresh Sweet Tuba (Coconut Nectar) PHP60/bottle

FARM INPUTS/SUPPLIES

1) Shredder/Chopper PHP45,000
2) Fermented Concoctions PHP100
3) Likasaka Manwal great book on the principles of natural farming.  PHP400
4) The Secret Is In The Soil beginner's guide to natural gardening. PHP300

Signs

The fairy is there.  Simple lines and self explanatory sign.  The look is whimsical?  Must be too much Facebook ads I see :)  

From now on, this will be the name we will be marketing.  Sunshine Chicken will be one of the products it will carry.

First stop:  AGRILINK 2010, World Trade Center.  Oct 7-9

Nice weekend market had been booked. Will post details.

Join us and LIKE "A Naturella Farm Store" in Facebook!

Naturella Steps

What was just a name last week has now developed naturally and will take first steps during AGRILINK 2010.

Natural farming and marketing takes the focus of our lives now.  Everything is falling into place as timing that the loyal clientele that Sunshine Chicken has developed, are also asking for other products that they know will be sourced dutifully for them.

Now A Naturella Farm Store will act as purveyors of  products from natural or organic farms.  You may pick-up from us or avail of our delivery service. Selected trade shows and weekend markets are being calendared.