Periurban Vegetable Project - Allotment Gardens

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Summary

General

The project was co-funded by the EuropeAid's AsiaUrbs Program and implemented by three cities and three universities from Germany, Belgium and the Philippines.

The project partner cities were Schelklingen (Germany), Dinant (Belgium) and Cagayan de Oro (Philippines), the partner universities were FUNDP, Department of Geography, Namur (Belgium), the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität, Applied Geography of the Topics and Subtropics (APT), Freiburg (Germany) as well as Xavier University College of Agriculture, Cagayan de Oro.

The project duration was from March 1, 2002 to February, 28, 2004. All project objectives were achieved.

The activities implemented are considered as a model for participatory urban environmental management in Southeast Asia. The project was declared winner of a German Ministry for International Cooperation and Development (BMZ) sponsored competition entitled "Globally Linked - Locally Active Award" (Global Vernetzt - Lokal Aktiv) on May 5, 2004, as one of five model projects that implement the concept of "One World" in an innovative way.

Awarding of the "Globally Linked - Locally Active Award", May 5, 2004, Berlin (Germany). From the right: Stefan Dongus, Schelkingen City Mayor Michael Knapp, Prof. Dr. Axel Drescher, Minerva Jean A. Falcon (Philippine Ambassador to Germany),
Undersecretary Dr. Uschi Eid (BMZ), Jury Members

Objectives

The project aimed to support the city administration of Cagayan de Oro in establishing a GIS-based environmental resources planning system through a participative process. It particularly promoted waste segregation at source as well as agricultural activities of the urban poor to meet their needs in terms of food security.

Workpackages

The project consisted of the five workpackages (1) Project Administration, (2) Geographic Information Systems, (3) Allotment Gardening, (4) Integrated Solid Waste Management and (5) Information and Education Campaign. The core of the project consisted of workpackages 3, 4 and 5 which are very closely interlinked as shown in following scheme:

Interrelationship of Workpackages Allotment Gardening, Geographic Information Systems and Integrated Solid Waste Management

Workpackages 1 and 5 supported the implementation of these core activities.

Workpackage Geographic Information Systems:

The following steps were done to build GIS procedures that will help to develop a Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP):

The existing GIS data and the data quality of Cagayan de Oro were assessed in order to begin simulation and identifying data gaps.
The complete list of important data required for raster modeling were submitted to the partners in Cagayan de Oro and gathered to improve the existing database including Community Mapping data.
Through GIS simulation three raster models were developed defining the procedure to compute data to build the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. A Suitability Map showing the best parcels for urban agriculture regarding all environmental and physical aspects was realized as a first step in the complete methodology. During the second year the Social Map model and the CLUP model was developed to reach the objectives of the workpackage.

Final Report GIS (335 KB)
Ongoing PUVeP activities Geographic Information Systems

Workpackage Allotment Gardens:

Three allotments gardens have been successfully established in barangays Gusa, Lapasan and Carmen.
Standard operating procedures for vegetable production for allotment gardeners have been developed and introduced to the gardeners in several training sessions.
Corresponding leaflets in the local dialect have been produced and distributed to the beneficiaries.
The allotment gardeners are successfully producing high quality vegetables for the family needs and are able to market excess produce to the neighborhood and restaurant.
They enjoy spending quality time with their family in a clean and silent environment.

Final Report Allotment Gardens (419 KB)
Ongoing PUVeP activities Allotment Gardening

Workpackage Integrated Solid Waste Management:

The project demonstrated that

Garbage segregation can significantly reduce the amount of residual waste for final disposal at the landfill area (more than 50 %).
Composting of biodegradable waste is feasible and does not produce foul odors if appropriate technologies are applied.
Garbage pickers are not a social problem but are part of the solution of solid waste management problems if their potential as 'waste experts' is recognized and harnessed by local government units.

Final Report ISWM (356 KB)
Ongoing PUVeP activities Integrated Solid Waste Management

Workpackage Information and Education Campaign:

The workpacakge identified strategies for the smooth implementation of the project activities:

Dissemination of activities was implemented through house-to-house campaigns, community fora and media releases.
Several project orientations were conducted in different venues and dates. During these sessions, flyers, posters and stickers were distributed to the participants.
The target groups see the initial project impact to their livelihoods as a very positive one. Hence, the local government of Cagayan de Oro intends to expand the project activities also to other areas of the city.

Final Report IEC (123 KB)