Ms. Melinda Fulay, 49 years old and Mr. Eleuterio Gerodias, her husband together with their children from Barangay Post Proper South side, Makati City, are part of the Regular Conditional Cash Transfer (RCCT) of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program since 2012.

Before she became member of the program, she has been practicing Urban Farming in her backyard since 2000. She shared that having a backyard garden benefits her family especially on food consumption which teaches her children to eat healthy vegetables.

On August 2017, there was a training introduced to the members of South side Makati City, the Kabalikat sa Kabuhayan Urban Farmers Training which is sponsored by SM Foundation. Ms. Melinda is one of the blessed participants who underwent the training. She shared that her previous knowledge on urban farming was not enough and graduating from this training is a big accomplishment and opportunity for her as it increased her knowledge on modern techniques to maintain vegetables. She is truly grateful as she managed to explore the other benefits of urban farming.

At present, she owned a garden in front of her house. She has different vegetables such as eggplant, tomato, sili, mustasa, pechay, saluyot, talbos ng kamote, sitaw, ampalaya and malunggay. The training encouraged her to plant herbal plants such as: tanglad, insulin plant, serpentina and Dahon ng Maria.

Her garden is a huge help as it lessens their expenses on food especially today that she is the breadwinner of the family due to his husband’s disability. The earning she acquires from being a manicurist goes to the education and other family expenses.

Ms. Melinda’s story served as inspiration to her neighbors. Her gardening initiative encouraged her neighbors to do the same. The members of their community managed to see the beauty of urban farming through her.

At first, she only relied to them to water her plants but today, after seeing the benefits that urban garden brings, there is an existing communal garden beside the estero. This garden is maintained by her fellow Pantawid Pamilya members who also graduated from the training. It developed their camaraderie and community awareness on keeping their estero clean so as to ensure that their communal garden will also be clean and will be productive.

Clearly, Ms. Melinda Fulay is a living witness that urban gardening has significant impact to oneself and the community. ###