Clinton is an out of school youth from one of the mountainous areas in Argao, Cebu. He sometimes assists his father with carpentry jobs to earn some money.
One day he was encouraged by a friend to enroll in a non-formal course about organic farming in their community. He learned different technologies through training and exposure trips as follows:
Composting – gathering of all animal waste and biodegradable waste.
Soil and Water Conservation – preventing soil erosion through contour farming and canals.
Concoctions Making – fermentation of fruits and plants as fertilizers and feeds.
Nursery Management – establishing and rearing plant seedlings as planting materials.
Rainwater Catchment Establishment – construction of water reservoir for farm use.
His perseverance pushed him to finish the 10 months course crossing the steep mountain ranges to reach the center.
Three months after he started his farm, drought came and he lost all his crops. Instead of losing hope, he started all over again by utilizing his skills he learned doing carpentry and used his salary to buy planting materials.
At the age of 23, Clinton had his own integrated organic model farm, acquired goat dispersal and cattle fattening. He was able to look after himself and even after his siblings by sending them to school, he bought his own gadgets, motorcycle and fixed up their house.
Monitoring and evaluation are the continuous activities done by his mentors to look over the sustainability and development of his farm.
His relentless efforts and experiences all paid off and the experience made him a better person. Moreover, he has encouraged the Out School Youth to try farming because it changes lives.
Subtitled by Ziba Ar