One Morning at the Sipag Farm

One Morning at the Sipag Farm

Contributed by: Helen E. Caintic

It was a great morning at the Sipag Farm. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Senator Cynthia A. Villar, the owner of the farm, and the initiative of Brother Roland Nillas. 

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        At exactly 7:00 a.m. on March 6, 2025, we left Quezon City to go to the Sipag Farm located at the borders of Las Pinas City and Bacoor, Cavite. There were about 25 of us who were fetched by the two vans sent by Senator Villar.  It was a very pleasant morning and an easy drive reaching our destination via the Metro Manila Skyway.  At the moment we reached the entrance to the farm, we were greeted by the impressive line of tall Nedra conocarpus trees which seems to serve as a fence around the farm. There were also a lot of bamboos and pine trees around.

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        Upon reaching the reception area, we could not contain our excitement when we were greeted by the courteous staff. The place was not what we had expected it to be - the airconditioned building was like a big provincial home decorated with native ornaments and heavy local wood furniture.  After a while, the matriarch of the farm entered the living room and gladly greeted each one of us. She talked to us wholeheartedly about her work as Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food.  As director of the Villar Social Institute for Poverty Alleviation and Governance (SIPAG), she decided to build farm schools to promote agriculture in urban areas.  She also mentioned that they are using solar energy to light the entire farm.  (Electricity from Meralco is used only for heavy appliances in the farm.)

        After we savored the sumptuous welcome merienda served to us, Senator Villar invited us to tour the farm which also serves as a school, in partnership with institutions like TESDA, offering free training programs to farmers, students, civil servants, etc interested in learning some farm technology. We were toured around the entire farm by the senator herself, riding golf carts.  

        We first visited the farm training classroom that uses desks made of recycled waste plastic materials, and the nearby aquaculture facility. Then we passed by the mixed vegetable gardens where eggplants, ampalaya, patola, tomatoes, and other “pinakbet” or lowland vegetables were planted. We then proceeded to the carabao stock facility where we saw about 50 carabaos feeding on protein-rich Napier grass grown on the farm itself. These carabaos’ milk is used to produce kesong-puti (which was earlier served to us) and pastillas among others. We also visited a composting facility for the production of compost fertilizer using household wastes, and a vermiculture facility to produce organic fertilizer. As we continued our tour, we also passed by a coconut farm and learned that they have also developed a cacao plantation under the coconut trees.  

We were then served refreshing drinks and a filling lunch in one of the restaurants in the farm. Just across was a kids’ park with a zip line, playground, swimming pool and even a pet shop.  There are also horses available for horseback riding.  After a brief rest, we proceeded to the water lily processing facility where they do the drying and processing of the stalks and leaves of the water plant to produce baskets, lampshades, paper and others. The building also houses the citronella oil extraction facility and the coconut oil processing facility. 

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    It was a morning well-spent. We learned a lot and realized there are still many ways we all can do to help make life better and more meaningful.  From simple waste management to starting our own backyard farms for food sustainability.  Pope Francis has said in his encyclical, Laudati Si, that we need to care for our common home.  What better way to start but by educating ourselves.