When the pandemic swept the Philippines last year, Sitio Bakal underwent restrictive community quarantines which led to a surge in the unemployment rate within the community. Food shortage and income loss are among the major problems causing anxiety to the families apart from the ongoing health emergency.
Thus, GUDLIFE Project will provide sustainable and cost-effective sources of food and livelihood, especially for the marginalized and vulnerable communities such as the Sitio Bakal community deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic ripple effect.
GUD LIFE aims to:
- Improved access to and capacity to maintain a potable water source.
- Cultivating their backyard garden using Hydroponics and use the product as a food source and alternative source of income; and
- Sitio Bakal is organized and capacitated to sustain its sources of food and income.
GNIP has spearheaded the initiatives on urban gardening projects using hydroponics technology during the pandemic that has benefited 12 families in different ways.
Prospero Dacura or Kuya Nonoy is one of the residents who get benefited from hydroponic projects in the community. He was able to harvest ‘pechay’ and earned 600 pesos or 12 US dollars in two weeks. Eventually, it became a source of food and livelihood for his family.