Peter Y., Manila Garden Program Coordinator: Working in the garden in Manila.

My friend's son had been growing vegetables at a corner of an empty lot in the middle of a residential district in Manila, the capital city of the Phillippines. In August of 2001, we decided to rent the lot to grow more vegetables not using any chemicals. It's quite large and only a part of the plot was cultivated. The first thing we did was remove rocks and cement blocks. Then we pulled weeds. My friends and neighbors — about 20 adults, 10 children, and 10 teenagers — joined us and we made raised beds. We planted okra, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, etc. So far we harvested only okra. It was beautiful, fresh, soft, and very tasty.

Cita T., one of the participants says, "Many farmers in Philippines use fertilizers and pesticides even in rural areas. But some of them began not to use chemicals because they realized that those are bad for our health." I'm hoping that some of these children become farmers and promote organic agriculture in this country.