It was one of these super wet mornings in Legaspi when we arrived. Located in the Philippines' hurrican belt, the area at the southern tip of Luzon gets a lot of rain. The wet season lasts from November to March. Combined with the volcanic, acidic soil, water erosion is one of the big challenges. The farming yields are substandard. Many farmers abandon their fields to move to the city slums. It creates a vicious cycle of poverty.

Don Bosco, who runs a farming college in Legaspi, set out to break this cycle by introducing sustainable farming. It traines every year between 200 - 300 local young people in sustainable farming methods and is in the middle of setting up a model farm to demonstrate how to make farming more profitable and lift the rural population out of poverty.The next batch of students sitting their entry exam

Don Bosco's school was set up in 2001 and has three divisions.

1. The agro division where the students learn sustainable farming, modern methods of recycling and adaptive agriculture which fits the local environment and maximises crop yieldsOur plant nursery with Pili, Coconut, Cacao, Chili, Papaya and Pepper Trees are suitable for soil with a pH of 5.8
2. The General Electric division where students learn to build electrical grids and repair AC units and fridgesKnowing how to repair broken AC units is a most useful skill in the Philippines
3. The Engineering Division which trains youngsters in maintaining all sorts of farming and general purpose enginesBeing able to repair farm equipment far away from towns is an essential skill for farmers

Since 2001, the Don Bosco School achieved many goals. It trained several thousand students, has a pig farm with 100 animals (a pig sells for USD 700) and 2'000 hens who lay 2'000 eggs per day. The school is self sustained and pays all its bills. Since Don Bosco only accepts poor students with zero income, there are no student fees.During our visit, the piglets took a break - no reason to run around in today's tropic rainstorm

One key goal eluded the Brothers of Don Bosco though. The farming yield did not sufficiently increased to lift farmers out of povery. The goal is to earn around USD 350 per month - which is 2 x the current level. The plantation of corn and soy produced acceptable results but the soil erosion continuously flushed away the vital organic matter. It was time for a new approach.Today's rain was sufficient to flush away all fertile soil on this little path

Don Bosco thus split its large 14 hectar property into two. The eastern part (6 ha) will house all the logistics, plant nurseries, hen and pig farms and the school. The western part (8 ha) will be converted into a model farm to demonstrate how sustainable farming can increase productivity to the level of USD 350 per month per family.

The demo farm will become a plantation with trees and plants suitable for acidic environments. The entire perimeter will be screened by several rows of Mahogany trees which can be sold as construction material or furniture wood and provides some welcome additional income.A few rows of Mahogany trees have already been planted.

Coconut, Pili, Pepper, Papaya, Cacao, Chili and Banana trees will then be planted in rows to allow efficient cultivation. To stop soil erosion, local grasses will be planted - there is already plenty of grass. Cattle for dairy farming will complement the set-up. This will not only produce ample crop yields but also provides opportunities for the women and teenagers on the farm to process the row products and for shipping and consumption. Another source of welcome extra income.The soil is paradise for Papaya trees.

Everything will be done in an energy efficient way. The organic waste is crefully composted to obtain the necessary furtilisers. Coconut fiber is sold as fuel to a local thermal power plant and will again result in some extra income.Coconut shells are stapled and made ready for sale to the local power plant.

Solar energy will be used in as much as possible. Now that solar panels are affordable to everyone, the students put one on the top of an e-bike to produce a concept solar bike. It works already and has a range of 75 km without re-charging. With a solar panel on the roof though, the battery never runs empty. In a next step, the rigid panel will be replaced by a film which is even more light absorbant. The solar bike is not more expensive than an ordinary e-bike buy the fuel is freer - of .Students and teachers are proud of their existing solar e-bike prototype

Considerable investments will be necessary to put these ambitious plans into effect. Don Bosco School has to digitise school and demo farm to enable data based farming, it will need new machine tools to manage the transition to solar and some fencing will be necessary to protect the plant nurseries from animal intruders who discovered the delights of young sprouts but kill our efforts to grow our own seedlings. Father Boc holds Don Bosco's tiny wifi - a whole area wide coverage will be necessary to allow students to work with their tablets in the field

The John D.V. Salvador Foundation and Don Bosco's Agro Tech Center now engaged in a dialogue to create a solid financial plan for the years ahead. It will take some time to make the transition but Rome was not built in one day either. We will keep you posted on these pages.