Last March 2023, the Sunflower Centennial Halfway Home for Boys launched its back-to-nature project, “Talon iti Namnama (Farm of Hope).” The project aims to have a sustainable production of vegetables and fish for food consumption and eventual resource generation of the home through hydroponics and aquaponics.
In line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and 15 (Life on Land) as well as the CICM Advocacy of Integrity of Creation, the Halfway Home for Boys intends to supplement food supplies while lessening the supposed expenses allotted on vegetable and fish products that are being regularly purchased. Aside from the home’s own consumption, the harvests will likewise be eventually opened and marketed to the SLU community as income generation to augment the expenses of the Halfway Home for Boys.
Talon iti Namnama was spearheaded by Fr. Emanuel Enjang Pranatal, CICM, Executive Director of the SLUSunflower Centennial Halfway Home for Boys, Baguio City, Philippines.
Talon iti Namnama: Farm of Hope
- To be an avenue of exploring the immediate natural environment, be it a small space in a highly urbanized area;
- To introduce hydroponics and aquaponics as alternative vegetable and fish production for the home;
- To facilitate the reduction of expenses by SLU on vegetable and fish products that can already be grown in the home;
- To increase the involvement and responsibility of the boys and staff in the success of harvest productivity;
- To train/teach the clients self-sustainability and love for nature.
“Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough, and a self-sustaining entity can maintain self-sufficiency indefinitely.”
