From adversity to abundance: Mothers triumph in urban gardening

Through the transformative power of urban gardening, cities are no longer concrete jungles but can also be vibrant oases teeming with life and greenery.

Urban gardening allows people to rediscover the bountiful benefits of connecting with greenery, even in the heart of urban environments.

Two homemakers, Lisa Alcantara and Jennie Fernandez, are living proof of this, as graduates of SM Foundation's Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan's urban gardening program.

Fresh produce

After her former company closed down due to the global economic crisis in 2007, Alcantara tried venturing into multiple side hustles and micro businesses to make ends meet.

Always looking for ways to put food on the table, she learned about the basics of urban gardening and eventually became passionate about it.

"Noong sumali po ako sa KSK ng SM Foundation, mas lalo ko po naintindihan kung paano ba alagaan at mas palalaguin ang bawat uri ng halaman. Natuto rin po kami kung paano po paikutin ang puhunan at kita" (When I joined SM Foundation's KSK, I learned how to take better care of plants and how to make our money earn more), she said, adding that she and her fellow KSK farmers can now rely on their garden for their daily meals.

The program not only brought fresh produce to her table but also allowed her to give back to her roots. Collaborating with fellow community members, Alcantara and her batchmates cultivated the garden in her alma mater, Sto. Cristo Elementary School, beside SM North EDSA in Quezon City.

These days, teachers and other staff members can harvest from the surplus vegetables, creating a cycle of generosity that echoes Alcantara's newfound commitment to her community.

"Dito po talaga ako lumaki sa Barangay Sto. Cristo at dito din po ako nagtapos ng elementarya. Masarap po sa pakiramdam na marami pong nakikinabang sa aming mga pananim. Dahil po nakapalibot ang classrooms sa garden, maganda po ang kapaligiran ng mga bata habang minsan naman ay nakakapagbigay ito ng gulay sa mga teachers at sa aming mga urban farmers" (I grew up and finished my elementary in Barangay Sto. Cristo. It feels good that many people benefit from our garden. Because our garden is surrounded by classrooms, it's a good environment for students while also providing vegetables to teachers and our urban farmers), she said.

Entrepreneurial spirit

Much like Alcantara, Fernandez from East Ortigas faced the challenging aftermath of her online business closure due to the pandemic.

Through KSK's urban gardening initiative, Fernandez acquired the skills needed for cultivating vegetables in their urban community and rediscovered her entrepreneurial spirit as an urban farmer.

Along with her batchmates from the program, she envisioned establishing a cooperative to formalize their business, open doors to new entrepreneurial opportunities and create a sense of empowerment among themselves.

"In the next two years, gusto po naming i-institutionalize ang urban gardening sa aming subdivision para rin po makatulong sa mga kapitbahay namin, those na wala o nawalan ng trabaho" (In the next two years, we want to institutionalize urban gardening in our subdivision so we can also help our neighbors, those with no jobs or who lost employment), she said.

As the homeowner's association president, she looks forward to sharing her new skills so that houses in their village would be filled with produce they can always rely on.

Alcantara and Fernandez both see urban gardening as not only putting food on the table, but also serving as a catalyst for empowerment and community collaboration.