“Farming has an innate ability to heal,” said Dr. Leonido Naranja of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños and the man behind the concept farming design of La Huerta Farms and Residences. He introduced the property project as a “new-found cure-all” medicine.
La Huerta Farms and Residences is a 50-hectare development project of Sta. Lucia Land Inc. (SLLI) in Calamba, Laguna. It offers homeowners an opportunity to cultivate farms right in their own backyard.
The project features four concept farm design clusters, namely: El Sol (The Sun); El Cielo (The Sky); La Luna (The Moon); and La Lluvia (The Rain), each featuring a different edible landscaping to promote health and wellness in an expertly maintained natural environment.
Dr. Naranja continued that farming is only seen today as a source of sustenance. But in the olden times, it was the way of life of communities as their whole life revolves around farming and nature.
Farming, as an activity, gives the body a total workout – carrying load, walking, body bending and twisting that will help the body break a good sweat. Those who do traditional farming appear to be lean and strong because they manually attend to their lands and thus, shed the “sweat of the earth”.
According to Eduardo U. Tirona, president of Orchard Property Marketing Corporation (OPMC), the project’s sole marketing network, “La Huerta Farm and Residential Estates features good-sized farm lots; ranging from 700 sqm that is fit for a backyard gardener or hobbyist, to as big as 3,000 sqm for agricultural entrepreneurs, where a farm lot owner can have an ‘agricultural gym’ while enjoying his or her farm.”
Moreover, the fresh produce from the same farm can be a good source of natural nourishment. This benefits a person’s health as the freshness of food retains most of the nutrients that are lost in food processing; and all these coming from one’s own backyard.
The dynamism of the whole farming process, on the other hand, poses a good challenge to keep the mind active. One needs mental focus and a keen eye for details, such as weather and atmospheric changes, soil condition, and others, to be able to manage the entire activity.
“Both the business and technical side of farming require certain mental acumen before crops and livestock are acquired and eventually harvested. At this new project, the farm lot owners will be assisted in both areas through an in-house technical and agri-business training,” Tomas P. Lorenzo, Lapanday Properties president, said.
Dr. Naranja added that the professionals and horticulturists will provide farm lot owners with technical support and training seminars on crop production and processing, organic farming, hydroponics, composting and other earth-friendly agricultural practices.
Earth-friendly farming is the backbone of the farming clusters. The El Sol cluster features plants and trees with medicinal and therapeutic benefits while El Cielo includes an ostrich farm, organic vegetable and herb gardens, and pili nut farms. The La Luna cluster, on the other hand, is where coffee and cacao, together with Bignay and other fruit wines, are grown; whereas tropical palms and flower farms thrive in the La Lluvia cluster.
For details on La Huerta Farms and Residences and other Sta Lucia projects, contact Reby Ramirez @ +63 916.4044.555 / +63 922.883.9308 / +63 919.699.3572 or e-mail her at reby_ramirez@yahoo.com.
Source: Manila Bulletin, 07 December 2010
RA 9646, popularly known as Real Estate Service Act ( RESA ) has been approved for implementation when its Implementing Rules and Regulations ( IRR ) was published on July 24 2010 at Philippine Daily Inquirer and Philippine Star. For details on the RESA Law, visit www.ra9646.com, the central repository of all updates on RA 9646.
