Evan Iliadis blog

The Aristofarmers

The Aristofarmers

After moving into our new house, our next project was farming. Stella had designed it in her mind and was eager to implement it, but so far, we had only spent limited time on the landscaping of the house yard, which was a priority. Remember, we have 3,000 square meters to handle!

There were only rocks and wild grass, but Stella turned it into a paradise, and we call it “The Aristofarmers.” Nearby, Tatay and Nanay had a small plot of about half a hectare, abandoned and uncultivable, unsuitable for a rice field. But whatever is “worthless” for others can be useful for Stella.

Tatay agreed, believing that no land is worthless in the hands of real farmers. Father and daughter share their love for nature and savoir-faire, and they decide to challenge the naysayers. We hired 3 carabaos, and the digging began in the early morning after the traditional breakfast. It was exciting to see and admirable, using 18th-century techniques yet bringing results beyond expectation. Tatay Dodo was always the leader. The Aristofarmers

The rest of the extended family kept busy finding mahogany seedlings under the mother trees. Instead of seeking seedlings from the local DNER office, 55 kilometers away, we decided to do it the old way. According to the knowledgeable, we were advised to look under the big, healthy trees to find their “babies.” We followed this advice and saw half of the 3,000 seedlings needed in 3-4 days. We decided to buy the rest from a village nearby. I will post a photo album on the sidebar with comments on each photo for the rest of the steps, but I wouldn’t close this entry without a couple of pictures of me.

As I said before, the carabao’s work fascinated me and I decided to try it. I haven’t been as good at driving a tractor. Yes, folks! It’s more complicated to deal with a carabao! Because the animal has a soul, it obeys one who feels the love and understands his kind words. Brutal Westerners are omitted!

You don’t become a farmer. You were born a farmer. All the credit I can get is for being tenacious and a believer. To convince the villagers that where there is soil, there is a mine, be it a gold mine or a tomatoes mine, both are profitable.  Three years later, it looks like our efforts will probably pay off. The Aristofarmers

You can now follow the rest of the story by browsing the pictures on the album posted on the sidebar titled THE FARMING YEARS The Aristofarmers

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