Brgy Parish in Bula, into Farming and Helping Parishioners

Fr. Rex Ramos, the parish priest of St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in Ombao Polpog, Bula, Camarines Sur converted his vacant patio into an agricultural tourist attraction by turning the small space beside his rectory into a vegetable garden then eventually transferring it to its larger portion of the parish compound.

His 1,000 square meters vacant is now filled with many variety of vegetables.

Fr. Ramos planted all sorts of vegetables that are commonly consumed in households.

“When you sing the Bahay Kubo song, almost all the vegetables mentioned there are grown in the garden,” he said.

With the basics of farming that he learned from elementary school, partnered with information that he gets online, Fr. Ramos has learned a lot about vegetable gardening. Next, he had to worry about flooding every time it rains. He went to vulcanizing and tire shops to ask for used tires which he transformed into planters and eventually as a reinforcement for the trellis. .

Fr Rex is not after the financial income that his will make.

“My goal is to teach my parishioners simple backyard gardening in their limited spaces so they can lessen their expenses. I want my garden to be a model that they can emulate,” he said.

Fr. Ramos managed to plant in his vegetable garden even before the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic was imposed. Now, he harvests the produce and distributes it as relief to those who can’t afford to buy from the market.

With exerpts from Patricia Bianca S. Taculao