Tanimang Bayan is collective vegetable gardening on vacant land in the urban outskirts of Manila. It is a recent phenomenon inspired by Bungkalan, a decades-old practice in the rest of the country where farmers, peasants and citizens claim land and demand fairer prices for their crops. Due to the political tone and general suppression of social movements, Bungkalan often come under government scrutiny. Taniman Bayan favors food security and the defense of land rights for farmers, peasants and citizens.

About 20 members of the citizen movement went to work replanting seedlings, building raised beds and turning damaged plants into mulch. As they worked, they enthusiastically shared their experiences about vegetable garden development and maintenance. The conversation was spontaneous and full of insights and realizations.

Limcel participates in the management of the garden in Sitio Bakal and tells how she and other PLM members worked together in 2017 to cultivate the 100sqm piece of land that had turned into a garbage dump.

“We wanted to make better use of the land and create income for our families. For example, we now sell eggplants. During the pandemic, urban gardens became more important because food was harder to come by,” Limcel said.

Many of the city's households living below the poverty line are working informally, without permanent jobs. They have no secure housing and are always in danger of urban developers evicting them from their homes to make way for construction projects. Gardens also do not escape the power of developers. Limcel: “We were forced to leave some of our gardens because a real estate company wanted us out. It didn't stop us from building more gardens. We will continue to produce food for our families and communities, even in small quantities.”

Despite their precarious situation, the women share success stories.

“The local government of Quezon City has decided that the vacant lots in Sitio Bakal, Bagong Silangan may be cultivated by those seeking extra income,” said Angelie, area coordinator of Urban Poor Resource Center (UPRC). UPRC is PNFSP's partner in supporting community agroecological farms and educating citizens on how to claim rights around land and agroecology.

Thelma from People's Unified Strength: “Tanimang Bayan has become our custom. We grow organic vegetables for which we make our own fertilizers mixed with animal manure, vegetable discards and other garden waste. Tanimang Bayan has also strengthened the bond between community members and our organization. For some, it has become a stress reliever and a place to discuss issues that affect people, such as high food prices and low wages.”

Angelie stresses the importance of organizations like PNFSP to support citizens to start and sustain community farms. “PNFSP and some other organizations provide tools, seeds, organic land and training on organic farming and practical technical assistance. PNFSP and Good Food Community contributed to the installation of the manual water pump in Sitio Bakal, which provides water year-round.”

She does admit that support from more organizations is welcome, however, as maintenance of the gardens becomes more challenging due to extreme weather. “In recent months, the drought has caused smaller harvests. Then when it suddenly rains hard, most areas flood. In the case of Sitio Bakal, there was even a typhoon that destroyed crops,” Angelie said.

Furthermore, the civic organization is seeking financial support to grow medicinal herbs in the gardens to engage in disease prevention and healing. Health care in the Philippines is not accessible to everyone and medicines are often too expensive.

During lunch break, members cooked vegetables from the Good Food Community for the Kusinang Bayan (community kitchen). On most occasions, especially during harvest time, the organizations do Kusinang Bayan for those who participate in the Tanimang Bayan to enjoy the newly harvested vegetables.

One of the members of People's Unified Strength wants to do more of what she has done today, “If we expand the Tanimang Bayan, more families, especially children, can be fed nutritious, safe and organic food.”