IP worker proves that mining and farming can co-exist

TVIRD’s farming programs promote self-sufficiency among Subanons

At the Skyline, a district in Canatuan where he and his family
live, Palomo is popular among his neighbors. He always shares his farm produce
– pechay (Chinese cabbage), tomatoes, kangkong (river spinach) and root
crops like camote (cassava) and gabi (taro root) – with relatives and
friends. He and his wife Rowena are advocates of natural – or contour
– farming, which they learned in the Sustainable Agriculture and Land
Technology (SALT) training session conducted by TVIRD’s Mill Operations
Superintendent Rey Carubio.

As a member of the Siocon Subanon Women Association, Inc. (SSWAI)
and to further improve production in her family’s farm, Rowena, for her
part, also immersed herself in a project called or Food Always in the Homes
or FAITH. A livelihood program supported by TVIRD, FAITH aims to promote food
self-sufficiency among Canatuan residents by making vegetables, grains and,
later on, poultry products available to every household in this mountain village
and the adjacent communities of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte. The project focuses
on tapping women to participate in upland agriculture without resorting to the
traditional Subanon kaingin or slash-and-burn farming method.

Carubio, with the assistance of personnel from TVIRD’s
Community Relations and Development Office (CReDO), continues to teach the Basons,
other company employees and SSWAI members modern farming techniques under SALT
and FAITH, including composting as a natural method of producing farm fertilizers.
Before their involvement in SALT and FAITH, the Basons were contented with their
small vegetable garden that measured a mere four meters by three meters and
which sometimes did not produce enough to supply even their family’s vegetable
needs. After joining the food self-sufficiency programs initiated by the company,
the Basons have expanded their garden to a one-hectare hillside farm teeming
with vegetables. They have even managed to sell their excess produce several
times, thus earning thousands of pesos in additional income for their family.

Prior to joining TVIRD, Palomo was already a farmer. When the
company was setting up its gold-silver plant in late 2002, his brother Danilo,
a member of the Subanon Council of Elders, encouraged him to work with the company.
Palomo tried his luck and was accepted as a casual employee in the Mill Department.
Among his first assignments was to help in the environmental cleanup –
processing of the cyanide- and mercury-laden tailings left by illegal small-scale
miners that operated in Canatuan between the early ‘90s until early 2000s
– that TVIRD undertook for almost a year. When the company started operating
in 2004, Palomo was assigned as pump tender, tasked to see to it that there
is enough water in the plant, a vital aspect of operations.

“Palomo is an IP who values his work so much,”
Carubio says. “He is already in his sixth year of service with the company,
but his record is spotless. He has no record of absences and has never committed
a single violation against the company’s Code of Conduct. He has recently
been assigned to a more responsible post in the Sulphide Project as a pump and
water recovery tender, a job that requires him to ensure that pulp from the
plant is properly treated at the thickener tank with flocculants so that there
is constant supply of water for the plant’s operation.

“He never leaves his work until he turns it over properly
to the next shift man,” Mario Anghag, Mill Operations supervisor, says
of Palomo.

Carubio adds that while Palomo is always present at work, he
also makes sure that he visits his vegetable farm everyday. He understands that
like people, his plants like to be taken care of. “Jokingly, I often tell
his wife that her only rival to Palomo’s love and attention are their
vegetables.

“He is a likable fellow. He may be shy, but he is actually
friendly to his co-employees. And, he always shares what he has with them. His
vegetables are sought after by his neighbors, who do not hesitate to ask for
help from him during difficult times. But of course, he is always willing to
teach them the techniques on how to plant crops on a hilly terrain,” Carubio
says.

Rowena says Palomo is a responsible father who values education
for their children, even if he only finished fourth grade in elementary. “This
is why all of our children are in school, except the youngest who is still two
years old,” she says. “When one of our six children is sick, he
is always with me checking on the child the whole night even if he has to report
for work the following day.”

Co-worker and neighbor Roberto Absalon is also all praises
for Palomo: “He never complains. When we went to Paduan to handle a seminar
on contour farming to the women’s organization there, we walked for several
hours to be able to reach the place. We were tired, but he was still smiling
and was energetic when he taught them the details of SALT.”

On his love for his farm, Palomo says: “I have big family.
I have to nourish my children with proper foods. This is the reason why I go
home straight from work; to be able to work on my farm. Rowena tends to it when
I am at the Mill Plant, but she has to take care of our children’s needs
too.”

Rowena is thankful that the company has programs that encourage
sustainable farming. As a believer of this concept, she abhors kaingin, knowing
how destructive it is to the environment. “And the best part of it is
that we have all the vegetables we need and even earn additional income on the
side. This added income enables us to buy other food products like fish and
the school needs of our children.”

Palomo says he is contented with what he has now. His children
are healthy. He has a permanent job in a company that has exhibited strong commitment
to helping members of his tribe. “I have also proven to my friends in
Siocon town that mining and farming can exist together. All they have to do
is to take a look at my farm or at of those of my fellow employees or of the
members of SSWAI.”

TVIRD CReDO Manager Thess Limpin says within four months of
intensified campaign for FAITH participation, a total of 163 SSWAI members out
of the total 176 total members now have gardens of their own. CReDO is targeting
100% participation within 2009. “Although the project is just four months
old, the number of participants is increasing, and I am positive that we will
be able to reach our target this year.”

Carubio, on the other hand, says he will continue supporting
Palomo and other “resident farmers” of TVIRD. His inspiration comes
from the fact that he was able to achieve his target of having at least 10%
of the 100 employees who participated in the SALT training sessions to be active
in the program. “I expected that during the first six months of the program,
we will only get a fraction of the participants to be active,” he says.
“There are many reasons for this small participation level, among them
the wait-and-see attitude, work pressure, and lack of farming space. Others
simply don’t have the aptitude for or interest in farming. Nevertheless,
five out of the eight security detachments in Canatuan now already have gardens
where our security personnel source their daily vegetable needs. People are
taking notice, and have expressed eagerness to become farmers themselves.”

Little does Palomo know that his example of a simple, frugal
and yet self-sufficient life is like a beacon of light that his superiors, colleagues,
and neighbors admire. He remains shy, but he does shine. (Lullie Micabalo)