If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm. — Fram Lane
Life has been full of abundance now.
It is far from the state where I was before, life is more livable and free.
Maybe it's not relatable to the majority, but my "last year" might be the "current" state of some minority—job loss, dwindling savings, bad harvest, empty pantry, and hospital bills.
I am grateful that my country loosened and welcomed free-thinkers again. The future might be vague, but I have faith that this openness to the diversity of thinking and decisions in context to human rights over mass manipulations shall spread to other nations as well.
The world is beautiful and I hope the leaders would become the role models for a humane and safer world for both young and old, and especially to those who opt-out from centralized mandates.
In 2021, I started building from scratch. The devastation of the storm had wrecked my previous efforts, but it also opened me into growing the permaculture garden and into building the food forest.
I have made 10 raised beds and four plots, though some were merged and the two were redesigned to expand the food forest.
Due to the economic turmoil, I delved into diversity, sustainability, and self-sufficiency. I kept planting even without a direction.
I filled the empty spaces with different varieties of sweet potatoes and purple Taros. Two raised beds were filled with gingers and kangkong plants. It's been my rule to prioritize low maintenance crops that fit my lifestyle and energy levels.
As a nocturnal, I find more energy as the night deepens, working on side hustles to earn to help fund my education and to contribute to our daily budget.
During the day, it is with great effort to labor, though I have random bursts of energy to do hardwork in the orchard. It did help me in expanding the food forest with more fruit tree seedlings, bananas, pineapples, and other crops. The coffee trees are still actively fighting with the weeds, although most have reached a waist-high height already.
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With the bananas maturing, I asked my Mama for an extra help since I am not yet adept in harvesting and handling larger bunches. We usually keep the Saba Bananas for snacks and meals, but the dessert bananas are sold in the community for extra income.
Growing a food forest is hard since it also entails the waiting game plus no guarrantees of success, though I love the idea of fruit picking in the few years from now—that's one of my motivation to keep building and keep growing.
My vet sister had accumulated various specimens and pets since the start of 2023, so aside from us benefitting from the leafy greens, we are also able to augment the animal feeds for the rabbits to lessen her expenses.
I pray someday, my family will reap more abundance, so we can continue sustaining and improving our state, while more people in the days to come.
The sun is shining now, I hope this update also bring sunshine to you, too. Have a blessed and abundant life ahead!
PINNED POSTS
 | A Sustainability Review of the Year 2022 Starting from January, let's have a trip down the highlights of my journey in self-sufficiency and sustainability. |
 | Clearing the Damage After the Storm Instead of falling into anxiety, I took time to make use of what the storm had given. |
 | Building Abundance with More Fruit Trees Amid the Economic Turmoil This year, I planned to initially plant 100 trees wherever possible until the year ends. |
 | Using Saltwater and Fire to Heal a Permaculture Garden Plant debris becomes natural mulch and organic matter. |
 | Harvesting Cucumbers After a Year of Labor As crops mature, harvest season began as well. |
 | Fermenting Fish Amino Acid for the Garden Crops It would be a sin to throw away such things, even the food scraps I turn it to compost now. |
About Me
@oniemaniego is a software developer, but outside work, he experiments in the kitchen, writes poetry and fiction, paints his heart out, or toils under the hot sun.
 | Onie Maniego / Loy Bukid was born in rural Leyte. He often visits his family orchards during the summers and weekends, which greatly influenced his works. |
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