Sarah Queblatin - My Blog

What we sow is what we reap. So in growing a garden, we need to sow investment for

1) Project Start Up
2) Project Maintenance
3) Project Sustainability and Independence

It is important to fund raise for majority of the cost because one of the project's principles is co-creation. Apart from counter funding with in-kind and volunteer contribution, we would be needing contributions from grants, local government partnerships, and support and commitment from small and local vegetarian restaurants.

For different stages, the funding will decrease as it progresses leading to self sustainability and independence of the 20 families who will run the garden.

For now, I can only estimate for the start up which would cost around P 30,000 or about $ 600 for the first phase until the first harvest.

It is quite a challenge to secure funding without a legal identity. Hopefully with social enterprise funding that support start up projects we can get finding.

Lastly, as I have learned about fundraising for the past few years -- its really more about Fun Raising and Friends Raising! :-) we can only get investment from people who believe in our vision... and the best way to have that shared vision is through networking and friendship!

The focus will be on jumpstarting an urban gardening project that will capacitate community members with:


a) Nutrition knowledge and application
b) Composting
c) Urban Gardening
d) Earth Based Arts
e) garden/farm to business partnerships


The scope of the project will cover:

1) Establishing the Components of the Project Management Cycle

2) Resource Mobilization

a) Funds

b) Human Resource (volunteers, experts,
etc)

3) Community Mobilization
a. Enriching community's interest in
ecological values
b. Capacity Development of skills

4) Business Partnership
a. Identifying a Business Partner
(preferably a vegetarian
restaurant for Urban Gardening
Vegetable Products)

Project Scope will exclude:


a) After reviewing the project idea and plans, I have decided to forego the upcycled fabric component. It would be very tasking to have it together the urban gardening project and business partnerships

In low income and poor societies like the Philippines, the way of life involves struggle,lack of resources, and uncertain futures.

Using an arts based approach to addressing the issues of poverty in communities poses a challenge to how the community perceives development.

For more the 120 + families of Sitio Alimugmog in Antipolo Philippines, life is a constant struggle as informal settlers. They moved to the city from the provinces with the hopes of a successful life. Years, several contractual jobs, and a growing number of children later, families of Alimugmog have limited capacities and resources for a comfortable life.

Poverty is also the same case with Tala in Caloocan City where more than 400 Muslim and Christian families co-exist together as informal settlers. Livelihood is a struggle because of lack of capital and the competition among small businesses in the area. A livelihood program initiated with a non-profit partner got wiped out by the flooding from hurricane ketsana in 2009.

Both communities have partner organizations working with them for environmental education and relationship building. As the partner and volunteer for the organization, I bring with me an arts based approach for development to address the consciousness and cultural context of the community for social marketing for environmental stewardship and cultural and religious tolerance. This helps prepare communities for application of programs/projects in the communities by partner organizations.

Addressing aspects of interiority (consciousness, culture, worldview) in a poor community that needs resources for livelihood, survival, and well-being has always been a challenge for me.

Addressing a holistic approach to community development also inspired me to support them in a nutrition program.

I hope to integrate a creative process with a source of livelihood for my project. I hope to address this with an urban garden that will produce vegetables for a vegetarian restaurant and address composting and nutrition. There will also be a use for upcycled fabrics for conscious products - reusable bags, yoga mat bags, and journals to match their reflective and creative processes in understanding themselves and the environment around them.


In this case I would therefore address the problems of : bulky kitchen waste (almost half of Manila's waste is kitchen waste) and textile pollution (It is estimated that more than 1 million tonnes of textiles are thrown away every year around the world, with most of this coming from household sources).