An edible garden grows in BGC

MANILA, Philippines – In a small corner of 34th and 5th streets in Bonifacio Global City, leafy greens and flowers grow on raised beds made from recycled wood.

The 1,500-square-meter community garden holds a discreet charm in the vicinity of tall buildings and establishments in the former military base in Taguig. Inside are different varieties of lettuce, tomatoes, herbs like mint and tarragon, and some edible flowers.

People living in the area come and go at the BGC Community Garden, usually with a reusable bag where they can put their green haul for the day. Outside the roads are busy, especially during rush hours.

It was a small oasis in the middle of the city.

“When I did it, I thought it was a temporary thing,” Louie Gutierrez, founder of the BGC Community Garden, told Rappler in an interview.

With the world at a standstill during the pandemic, Gutierrez was looking for something to do. He tinkered with the idea of starting a community garden when he saw an empty lot in their village in Makati. 

He didn’t know anything about urban farming and gardening back then. The idea became feasible when the owner of the lot lent it for free to him. It came more alive when it also became an opportunity to provide livelihood for his employees during the lockdown. 

Gutierrez found an agriculturist whom they could consult online. When the first harvest came, they gave the produce away to the neighbors, maids, and security guards. 

That was in 2020. The lean group of 9 farmers, excluding Gutierrez, now forms the non-government organization Urban Farmers PH. 

Fast forward to 2022, they’ve been lent the corner lot in BGC – for free – to create another community garden. Gutierrez said that he floated the idea of “creating an edible garden in the middle of the city” during their talks with the Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation. 

Starting the community garden in BGC was a struggle at first. Seedlings would die. But they started growing flowers, added more vegetation to the land.

“We saw the birds were coming, the bees were coming,” he said. “They were pollinating. We had butterflies, you know, so the ecosystem is growing.”

It has since been an exciting three years