Introduction: Resilience and Reimagining – The Birdhouse’s Transformation
Perched atop a lush hillside in the Philippines, The Birdhouse embarked on its journey with a touch of naivety, gradually transforming into a clearer vision as we witnessed the impact of tourism development and the imperative for mitigation. My wife, Camille, and I aspired to establish ourselves as the nation’s foremost glamping destination, embodying experiential tourism, slow travel, captivating interiors, and what we believed to be eco-sustainability. Our distinctive residential property, overseeing five glamping units and formerly one of El Nido’s top restaurants, hummed with activity. Yet, as is often the case with tales of transformation, an unexpected twist of fate altered our course.
As the world grappled with the onset of the pandemic, we found ourselves in a rare and unforeseen hiatus. This pause in our bustling tourism activities coincided with a personal milestone: the blessing of our first child just before the pandemic and then our second amidst it. These events marked the beginning of a profound shift, not just in our personal lives but in the essence and direction of The Birdhouse.
The pandemic served as a catalyst, urging us to revisit and realign our priorities. While tourism took an involuntary backseat, we turned our focus to the land that had been the foundation of our venture a food forest as part of the concept of climate resiliency. We began to understand that our initial plans for a food forest, though seemingly sidelined, were a part of a necessary and natural progression. It wasn’t about sidelining our vision but approaching it with the wisdom of understanding our land’s needs. We moved with what’s now been an 7-year consultation job and conversation, co-living at times with Shyo Sayajon and some of his dogs and receiving mentorship in between coffee sips and Red Horses. His suggestion a permaculture designed food forest.
He explained that immediate planting on our property, as we initially envisioned, would have been counterproductive. The soil, unprepared for such a task, would have succumbed to runoff and erosion. Nutrients essential for growth would have been lost. Instead, our journey took us through the necessary stages of development: mastering water management, understanding soil health and gradually building a robust ecosystem capable of supporting a diverse and thriving food forest.
Now, as tourism gradually reawakens, we face a new set of challenges and opportunities. While some lessons of the pandemic seem quickly forgotten in the rush to return to normalcy, we at The Birdhouse carry forward the insights and transformations borne from this global pause. Our journey underscores the importance of adaptability, the value of understanding and working with natural processes, and the profound impact of aligning personal growth with environmental stewardship. Beyond tourism, our shift is into climate resiliency and regenerative enterprise consultancy with a humble touch of we are still on our own learning journey. We have a few spaces lined up that we are looking and putting down roots on and building on the foundation of what we’ve learned during our first season of living in El Nido since 2015.
We believe The Birdhouse stands as a testament to eco-sustainability and a living example of resilience, reimagining, and the power of evolving with purpose and intention. We also believe we don’t know everything and that we can be wrong, we are constantly learning and maybe more importantly, unlearning.
Household as a Centerpiece: Nurturing Hope and Sustenance in a Shifting World
Our journey has continuously evolved, especially as our family grew with two young boys. This growth brought new perspectives and urgencies, particularly in the context of a food system often riddled with challenges like inflation, and reliance on petrochemicals and insecticides. Globally food price shocks continue to rise due to poor monetary policy and the angle of our world being run by foreign multinational food giants. Our pragmatic and innovative approach has found joy in simple, sustainable practices. Oh and we also lost our jobs though I shifted to online work quite quickly. In and around the house stuff happened….
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- Adapting to Growing Needs: With the increasing food demands of a growing family, we’ve become more attuned to the rhythms of our garden, adjusting our diets to incorporate its bounty. Some hacks for the growing kids often consist of frozen ripe saba or bananas blended with fresh garden veggies like spinach, basil, moringa, and more. This caters to our nutritional needs and reduces our dependence on external food sources.
- Home Remedies and Health: Our herb garden has become a cornerstone of our household’s health, offering natural remedies for common ailments like coughs and colds. The ability to turn to our garden for teas and healing herbs is a testament to the power and efficacy of nature’s pharmacy. Basil that is holy, thai, and sweet sprout alongside coriander, parsley, rosemary, peppermint, and a number of other high value herbs we would have otherwise imported. Educational Value for Children: One of the most invaluable aspects of our journey has been the opportunity to educate our children about the food cycle. From planting seeds to understanding waste management practices like composting and vermiculture, our children are learning the importance of sustainability from a young age.
- Empowerment Through Gardening: The journey of transforming our food system at home resonates deeply with the words of Kimbal Musk: “To imagine going from you cannot feed your children, to not just feeding your children and yourself but feeding your community — It just gives me goosebumps to see the impact [gardening] can have. It empowers families to take control of their lives and grow food for themselves and their families and for their community. And that psychological change of their mindset is just absolutely extraordinary — it’ll change your life. … I think gardening is essentially an act of hope.”
- Seed Saving Practices: Another critical component of our sustainable living is the practice of seed saving. By preserving seeds from our harvests, we ensure a continual supply of plants for future seasons, reducing our dependence on external seed sources. This practice not only contributes to biodiversity but also strengthens our food sovereignty. We fully expect that some of the seeds from our food waste at The Birdhouse will move to other gardens and spaces and harvested by our children.
- Sharing knowledge– Weekends and friend and family visits are always centered around the kitchen and dining table. With a living space surrounded by vegetation, food remains a central topic and point of interest for folks. Some examples include the education from Zandro Cañeda and the good folks of L.I.C.K. on harvesting coffee from our neighborhood and planting seedlings in our own food forest. In November, we hosted Gary Avila Ayuste, founder of BEEngo Farms and an educator and advocate for bees and beekeeping.
Our household is a living example of how small-scale, intentional changes can significantly impact our relationship with food and nature. It’s a model that demonstrates resilience, adaptability, and, most importantly, hope in the face of a rapidly changing world.
And yes this was AI-assisted because it now gives me more time to be on the beach with my children and a beer in hand.
