Abstract:

Las Kuatras Marias farm is located in San Narcisso village, near Victoria City in Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, where rice monoculture is the main source of income for family farmers in the area. Applying an extensive knowledge of indigenous and organic practices, the farm is strategically structured in distinct components that are designed to maximize one another. A nutrient recycling system generates a virtuous closed loop process on the farm, and biodiversity is intensified to multiply key ecological functions and processes within and among the components (e.g. natural pest management and optimal use of sunlight, rainfall and soil fertility). With an increased occurrence of typhoons, floods and drought in the region, the family has learned, analysed and scaled up the most resilient plants and practices to reduce their vulnerability.