One of the most positive things to come out of this year is a renewed interest in plants and urban gardening. As more people have worked from home over the last few months, there is more of a focus now on making the home more than just a place to sleep at night. Indeed, with the right touches, home can be a place to thrive–in more ways than one.
While some have decided to fill their homes with beautiful indoor plants, some have decided to take a more practical route and start vegetable patches in backyards or terraces. In these times, not only do plants give numerous stress-relief benefits, but they give the added bonus of defraying mealtime costs.
It just goes to show that instead of having to line up at supermarkets and wet markets, it’s completely possible to transform unused space in homes and communities to turn them into sustainable sources of food. One person can already do so much with a balcony; imagine when a community is given access to a much larger plot of land.
MyCitiHomes, through their CEO Ms. Rosie Tsai, came up with the idea of bringing back the essence of real community building within their various developments, inspired by this renewed passion for plants.
Bayanihan renewed
MyCitiHomes is kickstarting an initiative to bring back the Bayanihan spirit with the establishment of gardening cooperatives at KAIA Homes, General Trias.
There are several open spaces within MyCitiHomes developments. Rather than keeping these idle, MyCitiHomes has partnered with the HOAs of KAIA communities to build gardening plots that create venues for residents to have access to fresh vegetables and herbs.
To ensure that this endeavor goes smoothly, MyCitiHomes has provided the initial set of plots with seedlings that will jumpstart the community’s green movement. The cooperative is composed of homeowners and residents who are tasked to tend to the vegetable plots. The members of the cooperative are free to improve upon the start-up plans and develop their own systems to yield good-sized and sustainable crops.
By encouraging more residents to join this project, it is the hope of the company that they will also feel the spirit of community and oneness–Bayanihan–which is a uniquely Filipino trait.
Win-win for residents
The vision for this project is to eventually have sustainable harvests that can last through the years. Community leaders accepted that challenge to create meaningful activities that will make these projects thrive.
A total of 10 raised plots were turned over to KAIA Homes residents to grow for the next few months. It also comes with seedling packs that include easy to grow greens such as chilis, tomatoes, pechay, lettuce, and spinach.
Future plans
The pilot launch for this project was launched in partnership with the homeowners’ association of Kaia Homes in Cavite. However, the long-term goal is to replicate this initiative across other MyCitiHomes developments.
The MyCitiHomes team has always taken to heart the belief that their relationship with homeowners extends past the sale. Through this project, it is the hope of the company to continue to be agents of blessings from God. It is the team’s commitment to continue initiating meaningful projects that will improve the quality of life of their residents for years to come.
