God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools. — John Muir
If you take the whole historical weather data, probably, until 2018 and develop a weather model to predict the weather today, it just wouldn't reach high accuracy without a bunch of additional paramaters and heuristics.
You see, Leyte, is a Type IV climate where rainfaill is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year. Even more, our city is located in a rainforest that supports a rich biodiversity.
We also have a more or less stable weather patterns each year, such the monsoons and the dry season, on top of the random rain throughout the year.
What was happening is that 2019 was probably the driest year in our region. The 2020 was the craziest sunny-rainy weather every single day. Then 2021 had brought yet another disastrous super storm, 90 years too early! And 2022, where the hot season extends indefinitely and the monsoon season is still out of sight.
The Good and The Bad
If this is the long term, thw drier climate would be very beneficial to the agricultural sector. This means more type of crops can be sown and harvests will be higher.
The bad things are tremendous in number! Among the few are forest damage, loss of biodiversity, severe weather patterns, and population displacement.
While a single entity cannot change the course of nature, individuals can mitigate environmental and economic disruption, by building more resilient and sustainable food forests.
It his high time to adapt with the changing times in order to thrive in this new world!
Drought-Resistant Food Forests
While the West purports that traditional agricultural practices is resource-intensive, it is an inaccurate statement—monocropping, industrial methods and large-scale farming practices are what makes agriculture detrimental to the local economy, albeit beneficial to the national economy.
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With heavily cultivated farm lands, trees does not repopulate. Remember, most farm lands used to be forests. These open areas thirst for more water and fertilizer, then just dry up without another irrigation—erosion and disastrous floods are inevitable.
By converting traditional (industrial and large scale) farms into sustainable food forests that provide produce both from native and introduced trees and crops, the yet artificial ecosystem will soon become self-sufficient and, in turn, allocate more of the existing resources back to the nature and the community.
Reforestation allows lands to slowly heal while also giving a secure environment for the community to live.
Food forests stores more carbon, organic matter, and water versus industrial and large-scale farms. Creating a food forest that fits your climate is not only beneficial for one generation, but to more generations after.
Sustainable Practices
Humans demand for more food security 365 days a year, it wouldn't be right to grow trees or crops that feeds only once year!
There is no single handbook for sustainability, just observe the environment and see what is working. For tropical countries, towering hardwood trees and coconuts dominate the vast expanse of land from the beaches to the mountains.
It is logical to design food forests that not only mimics natural ecosystems, but also generates sustenance to both people and creatures living in it.
Since fruit trees from seeds takes about at least 10 years to mature and grafted or marcotted seedlings takes about five years, the initial years would give an ample time to grow short- and mid-term crops.
Torrential rain will come, along with stronger winds and more floods, but in most months, it will be drier.
With hotter temperatures and drier climate, it is wise to grow drought-resistant crops while growing trees and crops that fits the existing ecosystem. As a strategy, again, study your microclimate and the characteristics of your property.
So while the food forest is young, grow crops that will thrive in the appropriate climate, but as the food forest matures, it can protect and sustain more crops that grows in shady and moist environments.
Food Forest for Food Security
Food security can be defined on a national level, but it can also be defined on the community or family-level.
When the economy goes haywire, the national government often lies through media to avoid mass-panic and even provide band-aid solutions that is documented through news reports but are often unfelt by the people who need it the most.
So in permaculture, it is best to define food security starting from the family-level before scaling into the community and into the larger scale.
Even better, permaculture methods must be implemented at a community level to avoid dependence on importation. The community should also be educated to eat and make most of the local produce.
Food forest is not only about abundant produce year round, it is also a place for building and healing. It can be a source of lumber, plant fiber, and medicine.
In normal times, food forests are a place of solitude and holistic transformation—but in difficult times, food forests become aplace of refuge and survival.
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Often times, hearing about sustainability or permaculture can be overwhelming, but it doesn't need to be complex. The food forest is just like your home, supermarket, or pharmacy. It is a place for security, nourishment, and healing.
So plant your first tree and feed generations after you.
PINNED POST
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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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The tropics are a great place to grow food. Our family are in Ormoc and we're trying to convince them to grow a food forest, just as you suggest!
Ohhh, we're "neighbors". I'm from Baybay.
Hope they can start it, Ormoc has a great sunny weather really great for agriculture.
She's from Albuera so definitely neighbours
The things we do have no logical explanation, certainly the trees cannot save us from the fools.
Sadly, but they own hectares of farm land and others likes the idea of terraforming Mars. Others want to mine asteroids.
But in my life, I just want to dedicate it into planting trees, not to save the world, but to have shade when it's too hot at noon.
After all, we're just insignificant and will be forgotten after we die.
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