Tag: Mushroom Farm

pandemic

How to Market During this Time of an Unprecedented Pandemic?

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Speaking from experience, a week after Covid-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO), Mahal and I stopped our Tuscany Highlands business. The halt per se wasn’t as abrupt, but, day by day, we just found ourselves not working on the business. It started when our farm people told us that the most recent consignments of fresh oyster mushrooms at various stores in Claveria were being returned because no tourists and customers were visiting Claveria and no one was buying. The shops where we were consigning are located on tourist spots and along the highway where local and foreign tourists usually visit and drive by. With everyone being asked to stay at home, there were no more customers visiting these shops. So all fresh oyster mushroom harvests were sent back to the farm to be dried and stored for future use instead.

Then the sale of our mushroom products like MUSIGA (Mushroom Sili Garlic Paste), PALAMI (mushroom Palapa), Mushroom POLVORON and Mushroom CHIPS stopped as well. Despite our efforts to market, no sales were coming in.

Then our Mushroom Hands-On Cultivation Training was put on hold indefinitely for fear of spreading the coronavirus.

So one day, we just stopped our business from running and concentrated on surviving this pandemic as a family. We have our savings, extra food and other supplies, plus I still have a little bit of income coming from my online work so we’re still okay.

But do small businesses really have to stop marketing? Do we really have to completely stop doing business? Is it being tone-deaf or inconsiderate to continue selling stuff at this time when no one seems to be buying non-essential stuff?  Continue reading →

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Adjusting to Rural Living – Rants of a City Girl Turned Farm Girl at 11 in the Evening

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It’s been raining hard the past couple of days… good for our crops… kinda bad for me. We can’t go back (yet) to the city.

The original plan was for me and Tuz to stay in our tiny city pad with all the conveniences of modern living. I have strong wifi there, Tuz and I can watch movies on the big screen, we can have food delivered or even go out late at night to eat at my favorite food place in the city, there’s a fridge at home, a microwave, a washing machine and of course an air conditioner (although the temperature here at the farm is way cooler). Then that day after Mahal made LBC deliveries for Mushroom Chili Paste and Mushroom Langka Jam orders and came home, he waited for me to wake up. I was actually expecting him to be gone already by the time I wake up so it’d be easier for me to not miss him. But he couldn’t leave yet. He said he was already missing us so much. So we spent time just talking… and hugging… and kissing… an hour passed… two… three… I was on the brink of tears knowing that he needed to go back to the farm soon since the plants have been all alone with no one to take care of them for 5 whole days already at that time.

Then Mahal said: “Sama ka na!” (Come with me!)

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Farm Life Update – Growing Fruits and Vegetables from Seeds, New Business Partners and Non-Stop Road Trips

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Hey, hey, hey! How’s everyone doing? I’ve been away from this blog for exactly two months and it’s all for good reasons. How I wished I was sleeping and resting the whole time but it was actually the opposite! After I did that 30-day blog post challenge, my life has been on hyperdrive  — I got busier than ever which I never thought could be possible with the hectic life I’ve always lived! I wasn’t just checking things off my to-do list… I was actually busy “being” the person I always wanted to be — a mother, a traveler, an entrepreneur. And it’s all great! Let me itemize what I mean. I am OC that way… lol!

 

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Farm Life in the Philippines

Farm Life in the Philippines – What is It Like? (Part 2)

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I’m now on the 8th day of my very own self-imposed 30-day blog post challenge which also propelled me to restart doing other things I love and one of them is actually living at the farm. This is Part 2. If you missed Part 1, you can read it here: FARM LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES – WHAT IS IT LIKE? (PART 1)

 

OUR FARM LIFE TODAY

Tuz and I came to the farm with Mahal last Saturday. I honestly thought that we’ll only be here for the weekend, just to catch some fresh air and enjoy the view, because, you know, I can be high maintenance like that. Lol. Seriously though, it’s because of the following reasons:

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farm life

Farm Life in the Philippines – What is It Like? (Part 1)

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I’m now on the 7th day of my very own self-imposed 30-day blog post challenge which also propelled me to restart doing other things I love and one of them is actually living at the farm.

DISCLAIMER

This is going to be a long blog post, hence the two parts. So prepare some popcorn and enjoy the first one… ^_^

BACKGROUND

What I’m going to blog about with you today is my life here at the farm to give you all a glimpse of what farming is like here in the Philippines, at least in these parts of Northern Mindanao. I used to vacation at my grandfather’s farm in Bukidnon when I was younger but of course, it’s not the same. My grandfather is a typical haciendero with all his drivers and helpers; has 2 nice farm houses complete with all the amenities of modern living and he doesn’t farm… he just orders around people to do the job and collects money from all his harvests while here, at Mahal’s farm, it’s really back to basics – no running water, no proper toilet, no proper housing and we also do the planting ourselves. There goes my expectation of being a typical haciendera down the drain. Hahaha! Work and sacrifices first before enjoying our harvests. Continue reading →

Mushroom Chili Paste

Tuscany Highlands Organic Farm Mushroom Chili Paste – How It Came to Be

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I’m now on the 5th day of my very own self-imposed 30-day blog post challenge which also propelled me to restart doing other things I love and one of them is helping out Mahal in our agribiz venture.

Mahal and I are always thinking of ways to preserve our mushroom harvest. The only ways we can do that for now are either to freeze them (which can be costly since our own personal fridge at home is small and can’t accommodate a lot of harvests), to dry it which is good because that’s very easy to do and you only need the sun to make it possible,  or to process our harvest which is the best alternative. We chose to do the last 2 alternatives since they fit very well into our current lifestyle. 

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farm

Farming is Like Mothering (A Mother’s Day Post)

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It’s Mother’s Day today, Philippine Time (I am perpetually on US Time Zone) and I’d like to greet everyone, especially my mom, a Happy Mother’s Day!

I’m now on the 4th day of my very own self-imposed 30-day blog post challenge which also propelled me to restart doing other things I love and one of those is enjoying our farm and doing farm stuff.

I don’t have any special blog post planned for this. I thought I could think up of something but having been sleepless the past week due to work, Tuz’s fussiness, body aches coz I started working out again, and that one small fight I had with Mahal that brought me chest pains and sleeplessness, my body caved in this weekend and I slept for 11 hours straight! It helps that we are at the farm, Mahal and I kissed and made up, the weather is so cold even without air conditioning, the air is so fresh with crickets and frogs singing in the background, it really made me fall into a long slumber. And then I woke up to this beautiful view of a hidden sunrise, who wouldn’t feel so rejuvenated and refreshed? So as the sun continues to rise in the horizon, I figured I will try to make a Happy Mother’s Day blog post.

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Halloween 2017

Halloween 2017: How to Let Go of Attachments

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Whenever the “ber” months would arrive especially September, I always get excited because it means that my favorite time of the year is just around the corner. No, it’s not Christmas… it’s Halloween! Then I’d start decorating the house, I’d start buying costumes and treats, planning for a house party and scheduling other horror parties and events that my work schedule would permit (like the Nuvali Sky Cinema Event we went to around same time last year).

This year, it’s different. I’ve only come to realize that it’s already Halloween around 3rd week of October when photos of previous Halloween celebrations appeared on my Facebook memories. And instead of feeling happy about it, I felt sad. Continue reading →