“Sometimes the best surprise a life can offer comes behind a challenging moment”

This saying perfectly reflects the multiple windows of promising future that opened after Maam Cherry T. Lo, owner of Sonrisa Farm was then diagnosed with breast cancer. Her illness became the bridge to the establishment of the thriving farm in Barangay Carangcang, Magarao, Camarines Sur. Unknown to her, the farm that she intended to build will unlock fruitful opportunities to others.

Green start

Six years ago, she bought the land to build a farm for her relaxation and personal consumption and named it “Sonrisa”, a Spanish term for “Smile”. The 3.5 hectares land intended to be a place designated to address her health concern, developed into a successful site of organic produces. Sonrisa farm was created mainly for family utilization and not a business option. But because their family wanted to share the greatness that these yields have brought to their lives, they decided to open the farm to the public.

Building Opportunities

Right after they bought the land site, they automatically became friends with their neighbors residing at the back of their farm. “Actually the houses located behind this farm which composed of 20 families, we had organized them and named them “SAMA KA”. They help in taking care of the farm and planting new sets of seedlings. We did not give them money as their salary. Instead, whatever amount we earned from the harvests that were sold to the market was counted as theirs wages. That way we can able to help them.” shared Ma’am Lo.

They provided them seeds to be planted while they constantly encourage them to go organic.

Strengthening Relationship

In a farm as wide as hers, she doesn’t need a mass number of workers, rather a good relationship with them, to motivate them in becoming more productive and zealous workers. “Every time I make use of my time to take a rounds in the farm and visit the plants and the farmers, then I saw them spraying the fertilizers, without using any kind of protection to their bodies, Im worried because what if they got sick by not using any protection.” stated by Mrs. Lo.

“We value the health of our farmers as much as we value the health of the plants and the orderliness of the farm.”- Mrs. Cherry T. Lo.

“We are so lucky to have them (farmers). They are the real bones to this farm. Our farmers are not just polite, they are kind and hardworking. For me, they are not our workers but
members of our growing family” she furthered.

Currently, they have organized many farmers whom they help through providing jobs and sharing equal opportunities to be engage in farming and planting real organics.

Overcoming the Trials

Like any other business, the farm and the people behind it had faced countless of problems and trials. One of which is the devastation of the last typhoon Nina that visited the region. All the newly planted seedlings including the other stuffs in the farm were destroyed.

Though the end result of the typhoon is seemingly hopeless for the idea of restoration, she didn’t stop. In fact, she continuously encouraged her workers to reinstate and upgrade everything that the typhoon wrecked. Good thing, in just one month, the farm had completely recovered. In no time, the operation of the farm returned to normal and is now greater than before.

“This farm was created exclusively for pure organic matters. Though a lot of people had offered us their help, in exchange for using their chemical fertilizers such as those which are putted into the feeds being feed to the pigs, we never hesitated to decline the offers.” narrated by Mrs. Lo

Healthy investment

As of now, they already have a ready market. But she revealed that they are slightly lacking in terms of supply because the products that they produced are in demand in a sense that a lot of people came and visit their farm to buy their harvests. Aside from it, knowing that she comes from a family of businessmen who owns business like real estate and restaurants, farming became an avenue to generate their own supply of high quality produces for their restaurants, forming their business interplay in a chain and cycle.

Ma’am Cherry T. Lo shared the unimaginable benefits a person can get from organics. “Here’s the good thing about organics: in terms of cultivation, they are not costly, but when you sell it to the market, you will definitely get double and even triple the capital you had initially spent in producing it”. She also revealed their secret process they use in cultivating their self-produced fertilizers.

Currently, Sonrisa Farm has its own concoction house where they create their own supplies of organic fertilizers that they use. These include their vermies and the “buro-buro” that we make out of the things we get inside the farm.

After converting to organics, the harvest of their farm had tripled and the produces has grown bigger and healthier than before. And since they don’t need to regularly put these organic fertilizers to their soil, the production cost is much cheaper than ever.

Crop-ting Ideas

Plants are like humans. Whenever these plants grow better after being provided with benevolent care, it reflects the immeasurable management of the people in concerned. The benefits of going with organic are boundless. A healthier living, low cost production and maintenance, eco-friendly and high quality produces, boost in the local economy and a greener lifeperspective for everybody.

“Currently, I don’t take any maintenance medicine. Two days ago I took a blood test and all the results were found normal, because I eat more on vegetables.” assured by Ma’am Lo. Aside from primary benefiting from the farm harvest, she herself is a strong living proof on what wonders an organic can do. “If I am to share my advocates for them to go with the organic, it’s nicer if they see its pleasing results
that changed me” she added.

Continuing Legacy

Farming for her is like being a doctor. They continuously study and attend seminars to learn and find the most applicable expertise they could use for the farms need. Whenever they encounter problems, they keep on supplying solutions until they can come up with the best option for their produces. She didn’t engage in the farm business just to focus on the profits to be earned. Rather, she would like to share their advocacy which includes the “healthy eating”, and the “soil, soul, and society healing”.

Sonrisa farm and Ma’am Lo herself, continuously inspires other people. Right now, Sonrisa farm is accredited by TESDA as a farm school, and as well as a learning site for Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) site for farm tours, recollections, seminars.