Kalunggay: Moringa oleifera a.k.a. Malunggay

I personally tested the oft-reproduced characterization made many years ago by the Trees for Life organization, that "ounce-for-ounce, Moringa leaves contain more Vitamin A than carrots, more calcium than milk, more iron than spinach, more Vitamin C than oranges, and more potassium than bananas," and that the protein quality of Moringa leaves rivals that of milk and eggs.

This is good news for many of us who do not have the capacity to buy the foods mentioned as comparison. Malunggay locally known as Kalunggay in Bulusan  is multivitamins available for free usually  from a neighbor's fence. But we did plant our own sustainable supply at the back of our house.

Easy to grow. Just ask from your neighbor a wrist-sized branch of Kalunggay and let it stand for a while in a sunny nook in your yard. When the shoots are starting to show in the standing branch, this is the right time to  plant. Be sure to pick a sunny spot in your garden or fence that is open to the sun the whole day.

That is my technique. Others plant the freshly cut branch  right at once. I tried this too with the same success.
Most important factor is the sun. These plants are sun loving and like to grow on their own after planting. No need to water. Natural rainfall is enough for them.

For an authentic Bulusan recipe of Kinunot using Kalunggay as vegetable you may visit this site :
pamughaton.net

Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines

On Why MBRLC is on Top of my List as My Most Admired NGO

Photo:MBRLC

It is not only because MBRLC (Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center) was featured in the website of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in 2004. It is not also because of its many awards and recognitions:

Awards/Recognitions

*Achievement Award in Technology (1984) from Crop Science Society of the Philippines         

* Ramon Magsaysay Award
(1985) for International Understanding
*DOST-PPM Award in Science and Technology for Private Enterprise (1987) from the Department of Science and Technology
*Presidential Citation (1989) from Her Excellency Madame Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino
*World Food Day Silver Medal (1991) from the regional office of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization
*Regional Likas Yaman Award (1997) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resource

It is mainly because it has given us the hope that abundance is within reach to us ordinary farmers living in the countryside.

By giving us a workable template for appropriate farm technologies and sustainable farming systems that  they themselves are using in their day to day needs, the doubts and fears of our own capabilities somehow lessens.

I t is worth noting that  they only teach what they practice--only technologies tested with recorded success are taught in their own farm classes. The teachers are all practising farmers around the NGO site complex.

Most notable is their version of FAITH (Faith Always in the Home) which when applied by an ordinary farmer with a meager 100 sq meters of  farm lot will secure food on the table for a family of six. This alone addresses the fundamental question of hunger- the most immediate issue and primal fear of anyone who depends on the natural elements (weather fluctuations included)  for food and day to day needs.

The rest of the modules of technology are all worth replicating SALT I, SALT 2 and many more which were all tried and tested with time. Luckily for us, these modules are already available on line for the use of anyone interested to test the method in his/her own small farm.

With the access of these farm technologies and techniques from MBRLC, a farmer will carry within himself an added confidence in his work. And will bring a brighter outlook and hope for every farmer tilling the land knowing that his work is based on a method tested by time and actual practice.

The useful and practical information on farming sytems being shared by the MBRLC were designed specifically for the small farm family.

by: Alma P. Gamil, Bulusan, Sorsogon, Philippines 

references:

MBRLC Profile

www2.mozcom.com/~mbrlc/profile.htm

Religion-Christianity-EP-Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC)

fore.research.yale.edu/religion/christianity/.../mindanao.html