

Pilgrimage to Paradise

A proposal for

Climate Change Adaptation

Hilary Pangan and Veronica Medina
  1. ### Introduction:

Models for Climate Change Adaptation

At my ordination ceremony to the Catholic Priesthood, I pledged to a lifetime of celibacy. I remember it well: First of May 1995, the wedding day anniversary of my parents was the day I declared my lifetime promise to be a priest for the Catholic Church. The ordination was so much like a typical wedding except for the fact that my promise was not to ever get married. That day I made two other vows aside from the vow of celibacy: to remain poor and to always obey my superiors. With these promises I was filled with energy, enthusiasm and optimism. I felt whole. I thought I had it all together and I was ready to live a meaningful life.

We were all there to celebrate. Friends and visitors came all the way from Japan, Ireland and New Zealand to witness my solemn promise to dedicate my life fully to the service of the church. My relatives and close friends were proud to have been a part of my life leading to that day when I would begin a life of total devotion to God and the church. I was earnest. I knew that beyond all the festivities, there was before me a life of solitary pilgrimage. Nevertheless, a deep sense of purpose engulfed me as I made my vow in the presence of many people, friends, relatives, mostly those who believe in my personal goodness and determination.

I was only five years as a catholic priest when I fathered my son Francis. That was a disaster. For fourteen years I trained for a life of celibacy. I made a promise at ordination not to marry, not to love a woman, not to have children. With all earnestness I vowed to give my life solely for the church. It may sound fanatic but there was clarity in my choice and the long years of training attested to my resolve. But one day, the day I learned that my infatuation to a Chilean lay missionary would bear a child, all seemed to end. The many years that I was enjoying a "meaningful" life seemed to shift to something unknown, something very confusing. I was lost.

If I am to define "catastrophe" my definition will be close to the feeling of that moment when I learned that my now beloved wife was pregnant. As in all disasters, I was not prepared. I was not prepared for a different life. I was not prepared to give up all the vows that I made at my ordination. I remember clearly when Veronica saw the pregnancy test positive; she went under the sink and cried in panic. She told me that her fear is that she will be alone to raise our child. In our fear, abortion even came to our minds. But we said no. There on that moment, we decided to let Francis, our first child, to live. Indeed, disasters will push us to the limits of our morals, sanity, and even to suicide.

Fate may not be fair that some innocent children get the brunt of the tragedy of a super typhoon or a devastating famine due to a drought. But no one is alien to disaster. All of us somehow sometime in our lives have been touched by a disaster. It may be as trivial as forgetting our lines on stage or as terrifying as a storm surge like that of the typhoon Yolanda, or as life changing as discovering you will become a "father priest"; but all the same disaster is something we were not prepared to take. Nonetheless, if we can recall the events and see that our spirit was not harmed but purified we will know that the benefit of a disaster is fortitude, wisdom, and most likely, love. For those who have experienced solidarity during the darkest time, what will remain in their hearths is unbounded hope. They will have a sense that the most important character of a disaster is that sooner or later it will bring goodness.

More than twenty five years ago, Mt. Pinatubo erupted. My family lived on one of the closest towns to the volcano. On the first morning that we saw the sun after many days of darkness due to ash falling from the sky, Fr. O'Kelly, our parish priest on his Sunday homily gave us the message of hope that after twenty years we shall see our land back to its green luster. It was hard to be inspired by his message because all around us was gray ash like a snow covering the whole landscape. There was no grass for the carabaos, goats and cows, the rice fields were covered with 10 inches of sand, and the rivers were overflowing with gray ash. We were all too scared to look at a bright future. But the priest was right. Nature has its way of healing.

Yes Nature heals but it also teaches. The Pinatubo experience of resettling the Aeta tribe teaches us that relocating people without livelihood provisions will only impoverish them. Their experience teaches us how to better handle big disasters. Therefore, this book is not just about the post catastrophe celebration of survival. This book is about the preparation we have to make having seen a disaster coming. We will not just wait for a disaster to come. We will prepare. Unlike most of the disasters that caught us unprepared, there is the big one, Climate Change. Climate Change has plenty of warning signs and even real catastrophes of shocking magnitude, like Yolanda, to forewarn us. Our collective memories of disasters in our lives (Pinatubo, Yolanda, Ondoy, Leaving the Priesthood, forgetting our lines on the stage, electing despots, etc.) should lead us to a more deliberate preparation for this big one. True, disaster is even more of a disaster if we did not learn from it.

More importantly, catastrophes are occasions to discern intensely what good life really is. Since there is an opportunity to rebuild broken communities, broken structures, and broken lives after a disaster; we can ask ourselves what should be the way of life we should have in the future. Indeed, we can even design our resettlement areas even before the big one happens. Indeed, we can plot our prevention, mitigation and adaptation strategy because the disasters taught us not to fear but to understand.

Global Warming has shown catastrophic impact on human living. The changes human civilization brought to the chemical, geo-physical, and biological structure of the planet resulted to irreversible consequences. Rise in atmospheric temperature, rise in sea level, extinction of species, and extreme weather are phenomenon that we can attribute to Global Warming. What many experts were predicting, such as epic floods and mega storms, are now being felt by common people. Apocalyptic events are not out of the imagination.

Science already identified the culprit: human made Climate Change. Our burning of fossil fuel emitted more carbon dioxide than what the earth can take. Greenhouse gasses trapped heat in the earth's atmosphere causing the earth's temperature to rise to an enormous proportion. The root of this anomaly is the drive of human civilization for "development". Our very way of life is threatening our survival.

Motivating as many people as possible to change their lifestyle away from material development is the key to the solution of the problem. But we cannot change our lifestyle without halting the present trend towards urbanization. The lure of city convenience is hard to resist when people are faced with rural stagnation. To reverse the trend towards urbanization, we must have a systematic program of relocation. True we cannot just force people to change. But what choices have we? We must forgo our urban settings in order to control our carbon dioxide emission. In short, we need to relocate people to new habitats.

Without models for new human settlements, however, people cannot make the choice to abandon our destructive way of life (nor even to get out of harm's way as in the case of floods). Only models that can answer deep human longings and at the same time care for the earth, we believe, can change people's heart. And the way to convince people to change is to show them what is possible. Hence we are proposing here the creation of Models for Climate Change Adaptation (henceforth we shall call Climate Adaptive Resettlements Earth- Commune or CARE-Commune) in the form of communities that care for the Earth. To be worthy of emulation, such communities of earth care givers must be self-sufficient and sustainable in satisfying most of human needs.

Based on nature's interrelated systems to attain perfect balance, the design of a CARE-Commune includes nine systems each of which addresses specific human needs namely; Forest, Food, Funds, Craftsmanship, Education, Habitation, Community, Energy, and Spirituality. The synergy of these nine systems will bring about a flourishing self- sufficient, sustainable community of earth care givers worthy of emulation by those who choose to change their lifestyle for the sake of saving the planet. We hope that such models will become beacons that will guide us to a new way of settling on the planet.

A CARE- Commune will have a teaming forest with trees and wildlife that can perfectly supply nutrients for the soil that will produce enough food for at least nine families. A CARE Commune is a transitional community, it is not perfect like the forest but it is striving for a just distribution of earth and human goods that are transformed by the creativity of human hands. These CARE-Communes will also be centers for learning about ecological living. They are models for human habitation that does not destroy the balance of human technological progress and nature's evolution. Above all it will be a place to commune with God and learn God's message of hope in the midst of environmental disasters.

An Earth Commune will therefore have all together in a spot nine systems of sustainability:

  1. Food Forest System

  2. Organic Farming System

  3. Green Business System

  4. Craft Village System

  5. Permaculture School System

  6. Green Architecture System

  7. Earth-Commune System

  8. Off Grid System

  9. Hope Enculturation System

True, these nine systems are not new. There are plenty of studies and work already done to refine these systems separately. However, putting them together in one place is ambitious for just one family to achieve. The tendency of our "development" thinking is to compartmentalize our vision of paradise and keep these systems separate for efficiency and trap us to mono-culture of the mind and veer us away from bio-diversity. We need a new spirit that will long for a Paradise that can hold these nine systems together. Putting together these nine systems will bring people of different interests and passions together to care for the earth.

The Aeta tribe's lossof "Kainumayan," well-being, when they resettled to the lowland in the aftermath of the Pinatubo eruption, should teach us a good lesson in creating our CARE-Communes. When the Aetas left the foot of Mt. Pinatubo, they also lost the forest, their source of food, their way of exchanging goods, their crafts, their way of learning from nature, their self-sufficient habitat, their community, their independence from electricity, and their nature centered spirituality. Too often, we only remember their struggle to adjust to our world and forget what they lost. Their lost "Kainumayan," or well-being is also a lost to us. In other words, their adaptation to development cost us a blueprint for our own survival for the catastrophe of Climate Change. "All that is given is not lost," however. Gathering all the wisdom of the tribal people around the world and using the best of ecological science we can re-trace our way back to the Paradise that the Aeta People lost. This quest for a way back to Paradise demands that we breakout of the "development" paradigm that have hypnotized us since the industrial revolution.

Hence, spirituality is a crucial element in the changing of our lifestyle. Without a strong motivation coming from our inmost desire for wellbeing, we will not be able to overcome the powerful destructive force of consumerism, materialism, and individualism that brought our planet to this degree of imbalance. Therefore, integrated on this plan is the mechanics of how to reach the hearts of those who would be interested in the great work of caring for the earth. Religious Pilgrimages that will give people the opportunity to experience creating and operating CARE-Communes will be our vehicle for this transformation to take place. On these Pilgrimages people will see the astounding beauty of creation and the way to care for it. This religious experience of the awe inspiring mystery of God's creation and the living witness of those who are caring for creation, we hope, will bring about this transformation. Taking strength from the encyclical of Pope Francis, with his call for "Ecological Conversion," these Pilgrimages will signal the call for a new lifestyle of earth caring.

This proposal will discuss the Rationale, Goals, Design, Implementation Plan, Timeline, Organizational Structure and Technical Requirements that can propel this project to achieve its purpose. Almost all the elements of this plan can be implemented anywhere in the Philippines where there is available land and interested people for this purpose. Needless to say, this plan is a template for CARE-Communes that we can realize country wide.

This proposal did not come from mere theoretical study of climate change issues. My family actually experienced the change of lifestyle that we are proposing. We started making the plans for the shift in our lifestyle since the year 2000 before the advent of super typhoons and great floods. That time, our place was totally deforested. Charcoal making literally burns the whole twenty hectares yearly. Serving as a Catholic Missionary Priest in Japan, I then conceived of the idea of bringing Japanese Christians to have an alternative pilgrimage experience in the Philippines. The main feature of that Pilgrimage is the appreciation of diversity both in human culture and ecology. The first pilgrims, a group of twenty Japanese young people saw the situation of the poor in the Philippine slums as they reflected on the direction of their lives. The main part of their itinerary was to plant trees on our then deforested mountain. Every year after that there were groups of Japanese youth coming to plant trees together with the local youth groups. But we did not just leave the trees uncared for after they were planted. We protected them from fire and watered them during the dry season. Indeed, we put our hearts, our minds, and, most of all, our hands on the land. The most persuasive proof that what we wrote here is feasible is that, with the small beginnings of these twenty Japanese young people, with the courage and idealism of our Japanese friends, led by Hide and Ai, we are now living in a forest with more than twenty thousand trees!

Eventually in 2005, after my leaving the priesthood, my wife, Veronica, and our three children, Francis, Gabriel, and Matthew settled with me on the site where the trees have grown to the height of more than 9 meters. We are doing organic farming and our house is powered by solar panels and is totally "off grid." We continue to mold our place into a CARE-Communeas we live of the land. With all the blunders and glitches, we can claim that we are living a good life courtesy of nature's goodness. This land thought us, and the many visitors who came to see it, the way to care for the environment. In a way this proposal will also serve as a biography of the land that was transformed from a deforested degraded soil to a self- sufficient, sustainable oasis in the midst a denuded landscape. For it is true that as we transformed ourselves, the land was also transformed into a lush green forest.

True to its character, the "disaster" of leaving the priesthood brought goodness to my life, my family's life, and the life of the earth. Most importantly, by living the priesthood I found what maybe the best solution to our climate problem: Paradise.Leaving the priesthood was a painful passage to the discovery of my life's real purpose.It took one disaster for me to shift my focus towards re-creating a Paradise.

Giving greater glory to God is nothing less than simply participating in his creative action. There is no greater chance to participate in God's action than by recreating the Paradise he originally made. The artificiality of the modern industrial world is not praise to God. It only shows human arrogance; the same arrogance that will soon lead us to catastrophe. "Development" is a diversion from the goal of human bliss.

The Aeta people who survived the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo knew that they lost a Paradise when they integrated to the "developed" world. We who are faced with the big disaster of Climate Change, however, must create a Paradise to survive.

At my ordination day, I made two other vows aside from the vow of celibacy: The vow of poverty and the vow obedience. These two vows are important in creating a Paradise. Without obedience to the will of God as can be discerned from the pattern of nature, we cannot create the alternative to the arrogant "development" agenda. Also, Extreme humility "KababaangLoob" is the true essence of Christian obedience. It is a call that we must answer if we are to Change our Hearts and move away from destroying the planet. Listening to the wisdom of the ancient tribes and rigorously researching on the ways of nature demands humble reverence to the sacredness of God's creation. Without bowing to the convergence of old wisdom and science we cannot begin to heal our broken health, our broken society, and the broken earth.

The vow of Poverty demands extreme courage, "LakasLoob". It is not easy to completely rely on the power of nature to provide for our needs. We can remove the spell of materialism if we embrace a life of simplicity. Leaving behind urban comfort and convenience is a tough hurdle. Nothing less than a firm vow of poverty can do that for us. Those of us who can see the markings on the wall must vote with our feet. Mustering the courage to do so is reciprocal to the strength of the call of the time to love what God has given to us, the precious earth.

There is only one call for all humans: the call to love, the call to respond to the generosity of God in sharing the best of the universe to us. Responding to God's love in kind is what we call in our language "KagandahangLoob." A move closer to paradise is an act of love. Being reunited with sacred Nature as we strive to care for it is the consummation of our love for God. Paradise creation demands extreme generosity akin to that of St. Francis of Assisi. This proposal to create a place for a community that cares for the earth and people may sound extremely utopian and ambitious. Yes extreme courage, extreme humility, and extreme generosity is the answer to the extreme disaster of Climate Change.

On these times of apocalyptic scenarios, the biblical invitation to "come and see" must be upgraded to "come and change". This book is written with that invitation for a heroic stand in mind. Only courage, humility, and love blooming to its extreme can defy the grim prospects of extinction. Human values when consciously employed to save species from extinction is a mighty force. A vision of paradise is all that is needed. In the depths of the human heart I believe is the desire to go back to paradise, to a place where there is life teaming to its greatest flourishing. Where there is diversity that enables humans to attain wellbeing. Extinction, though part of the evolution of life, is now a choice for humans. We can choose not to be the agents of the loss of precious bio diversity. What will take us to consider giving our lives for the earth is an experience of living on a paradise. The land is inviting, seducing us all to a pilgrimage back to Paradise.

  2. ### Rationale:

Why do we need CARE-Communes?

What do we need to adapt to Climate Change? In one word what we need is "CHANGE." We need to change the temperature of the planet. We cannot, however, change the temperature of the planet by lip service. We need generous, courageous, and intelligent actions that will result to measurable temperature change. The change we need is radical, massive, and swift.

Changing the temperature of the whole planet may seem impossible. However, if we know the root cause of global warming, we may have the realization that it is human made and can, therefore, be reversed by human action. Actions addressing the root cause, our civilization's carbon dioxide emission, can reverse the trajectory towards catastrophic heat. Simply put, radically confronting the "material development" agenda of our civilization is a basic requirement for adaptation. Also, to tackle our carbon dioxide emission, the scale of our effort must include not only a small section of human activity but almost all facets of society, economics, politics, culture, education, etc. With a massive response involving millions of people, we may be able to control carbon emission. Above all, the effectiveness of our response will depend on the promptness of our actions. Radical and massive change will not have any bearing when we reach the point of no return. In short, we must act swiftly before it is too late.

### Radical Change

The Philippines, being on the tropical region, now has a yearly average of 38 degrees of heat. On summer time we get as high as 43 degrees. Fifty year ago, when we have a forest cover of about 60 percent of our land area, our average high temperature is about 37 degrees. More than thirty years ago I remember that we can play basketball barefoot at noontime on concrete basketball courts! Now we can barely be out door for an hour even before high noon. We need to change our present temperature back to near 37 degrees if we are to survive. If we all perish at more than 45 degrees, any discussions about adaptation will be moot and academic. To survive we need a significant reduction on carbon emission and a significant increase on carbon absorption.

Although adaptation to Climate Change entails the acceptance of the "New Normal," allowing our carbon emission level to go unchanged would mean allowing the structures that will lead us to two more degrees of heat which is detrimental to our survival. With an average increase of two more degrees it would be impossible for us to produce food, to work outdoors, and to maintain our normal activities without hazard to our health; not to mention extreme weather and floods. Radical change is our path to survival. The best example of the need for radical change is our reactions to disasters. Disaster reconstruction can easily serve to perpetuate the spiral towards rising temperature. By rebuilding disaster sites back to the old design of concrete and iron infrastructure, and thereby putting back up the same power lines and power source, we will be emitting even more carbon dioxide than what we did over centuries before any disaster. Intensive rebuilding operation of disaster sites alone entail huge fuel consumption for transportation and steady supply of material produced in carbon emitting factories like steel mills. The production of cement alone is one of the highest carbon dioxide emitting industrial activity in the world.  Direct action to prevent rise in temperature, as opposed to disaster reaction or business as usual stance, is therefore a vital adaptation strategy. Needless to say, all economic activities, (including the heavy infrastructure rebuilding of disaster sites) that will not reduce but increase our carbon emission will bring us to annihilation that will disable any kind of adaptation. Adaptation, therefore, means not just the acceptance of the "New Normal." Adaptation means radical "Change" on our energy system, land use policy, and our spirituality. Looking at these three areas, energy, land use, and spirituality, we can see the depth of the change we have to make.

Energy System

Without changing the energy system that brought us to this state of calamity, we will not have any meaningful adaptation. It is our energy system that makes up more than thirty percent of our carbon emission. We are counting only the coal and diesel power plants. If we include the maintaining costs of the other mega electric generation plants we will see more carbon emission from all the operational demands of running those power plants. Think of the entire transmission infrastructure that was built to bring electricity to our homes, the power lines and posts, and all the manpower mobilization that is needed to daily run those energy sources. A big part of the energy system is the transportation technology fueled by fossil fuel. If we continue with this energy system, we will heat up the planet to more than 42 degrees before the end of 2050. Thus, we need a revolution in the way we are producing and consuming energy. In short, our adaptation, our life, will indeed depend on how we discard nonrenewable energy. This would further mean filtering of the technologies (the gadgets that have hitherto symbolized our move to progress) that are heavily dependent on nonrenewable power source.

Auspiciously, climate disasters can be an opportunity to change our energy system. We can rebuild to an entirely climate adaptive energy system. Putting up multiple renewable energy systems (wind, solar, water, and bio gas) good for small communities of nine to twelve households can free us from the burden of high capitalization mega power plants. There is no better chance to do this than when all the old mega power systems are brought to their knees in time of climate disaster. What more auspicious chance than the devastation of a super typhoon? This may sound cruel at first but it brings us face to face with reality: We are now in the era of Yolanda and Ondoy. And our hope lies in radical "Change" and not on clinging to the age of fossil fuel domination.

Land Use

Likewise, changing focus radically from industrial activities to agro forestry is another adaptation strategy. Our forest cover, aside from the planktons at the sea, is our best absorber of carbon dioxide. Without a total change in our landscape from concrete cities into forested rural settings we will not survive. That we are going to be destroyed by fire and not by flood is not an outlandish prophesy as each year we are breaking records of heat index.

The creation of micro climates by reforestation is the best defense against extreme heat. Without micro climates where we can seek refuge in time of extreme heat, we will need to perpetuate the vicious cycle of cooling our homes and offices with more carbon dioxide emitting air conditions. With extreme heat it would be foolish to concentrate human population to our cities. We will suffocate. Hence, our land use policy must be changed. Tree planting on more than fifty percent of our land mass should no longer just be a preventive measure to global warming but also a mitigation measure for the harm of direct extreme heat. More importantly, reforestation is our perfect adaptation strategy as it will also assist the other needs for adaptation like food production and creation of new habitats.

Reforestation is an obligation of this generation to the next. Absorbing the carbon dioxide (that made it possible for us to enjoy the amenities of modern lifestyle) is an ethical responsibility and not just another optional leisure. Those who have enjoyed and are enjoying the fruits of the world's technological advancement must pay the higher price for reforestation. Also, to bring back at least fifty percent of the Philippine forest cover would require not just a token but a sizable twenty percent of our national budget. Not only that, every individual, business, corporation, churches should contribute twenty percent of their earnings to agro forestry. After all, the task of reforestation is far more important than the constructing roads and bridges and even more important than the building of municipal halls and monuments and church buildings.

Spirituality

Climate Change does put a big question on the rightness of our modern way of life. Evidently, with the battle against the "development" model, we are facing an impregnable wall. Many climate experts have already given up as they see the avalanche of disasters as the temperature increases beyond predictions. And yet there is no sign of significant movement on our policy makers. We are still under the direction of a relentless economic development agenda despite the fact that this development agenda is killing our planet. There is no mathematical model that will show that the present economic development model can abate carbon dioxide emission. It is even said that we need two more planets to sustain our lifestyle: One planet to put our waste and another to produce our food! If we make a computation of all the material resources we need to replicate New York, Tokyo, or for that matter, Laoag City all over the planet, we will literally burn ourselves out. Let's do the math and we will see the incredible odds we are facing.

Nevertheless, even if our mathematical and rational approach gives us a bleak chance to survive, we need to presuppose the presence of hope in our minds and hearts if we are to attempt to adapt to climate change. Yes we need to go beyond mathematical calculations to the realm of the spiritual. With hope, stemming from a deep Spiritual Conversion, we will have the courage to opt for Renewable energy and Reforestation.

The most important battle will be waged in the deepest longing of the human persons. Letting go of the spirituality that strives only for personal redemption will be the pivotal radical change we have to make so we can embrace the spirituality of trust in the infinite benevolence of God's creation. The spirituality of personal redemption made our vision myopic. Right living became limited by our right relationship with our fellow human beings. With such limited definition of the human good, we abdicated our responsibility to the natural world. As a result despair crept into our society for we can never perfect human relationship under a regime of competition and ecological imbalance. Competition to exploit natural resources led to us to nihilism that makes material gain as the only worthy cause. The most crucial Adaptation strategy, therefore, is Hope. Indeed, the rearranging of our human values and priorities resulting from an earth centered spirituality of hope will be the crucible where change may (and perhaps can only) come.

Renewable Energy, Reforestation, and Eco spirituality are the three radical change overs that we have to make for the sake of our environment. These are radical changes because these will mean turning away from the things that we are so used to and things that we have invested so much on, and things that we desire so strongly. Renewable energy will force us to cut down on comforts that we are so used to enjoy... unlimited lighting and appliances. Reforestation will need more than twenty percent of our daily labor effort in terms of financial resource. Ecological Spirituality will at a minimum cost us three hours daily for prayer, reflection, and study and to the maximum of lifetime commitment to the cause of preserving our planet.

### Massive change

Secondly, the change we need on our temperature level must not only be radical but must also be significant. We do not only need radical change, we need a big change. That is, it has to be a big departure from the level of carbon dioxide we have today. Just the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, not counting the carbon dioxide yet to be emitted, is enough to keep atmospheric temperature rising. Even if we stop emitting carbon dioxide today (an obvious impossibility) we will still need to get rid of the carbon dioxide that is already in the atmosphere. Sorry to say that a few individuals switching off their lights and segregating their garbage will not bring us out of the mess we are in. The destruction of our planet is so pervasive that small good deeds will no longer matter. More than those "cute acts of concern" for the environment, we need a massive Social Change.

On a state of denial, a lot of our policy makers from both the business and religious community and the government still believe that we can continue the way we are living. Without overhauling the whole society, they thought that all we need is a little adjustment on the way we dispose of our garbage. However, despite the allergic reaction of those who are benefiting from our present social system to any kind of social engineering, opposing a massive social change is a choice we may not have. It is evident that the present socio-economic structures were not able to prevent the rise in temperature; it would be foolish to rely on the same structures to protect us from catastrophe. Adaptation means massive change on our education system, on our culture, and on our social structures.

Education

We do not know exactly what new structures should come about. It would depend on the individual consciences bonded together opting to save the planet. Hence such a social change, presupposes an intelligent search for the best systems that would aid us in reducing carbon dioxide emission. We need researchers and thinkers to figure out what social system can be formed based on humanity's historical experience from the practical methods of producing food and building houses and dams to the more theoretical social-economic system studies and metaphysical cultural and religious studies. Never in the history of humanity did the need for integrating all learning disciplines in order to approach one problem occur. Perhaps, apocalyptic times demand greater integration.

The value of authentic human intelligence is all the more important as we face more confusion in dealing with unpredictable weather conditions. Intellectual Conversion, in the sense of bringing back "common sense" in our society is needed to mitigate disaster. We will all be pulled from many directions as conflicting interest vie for a chance to exploit the situation. Education in the state it is in today will not help us think better for the environment. The whole system is gird towards "making it" in the prevailing economic system. Our way of educating must, therefore, be overhauled from studying nature in order to manipulate it to serve human material progress to learning from nature the style of life that will preserve both humanity and the earth. This entails going back to the basics of fire, soil, water, and air. Only when we go back to learning the basic science of life can we shift our focus from anthropocentric material concerns to the concern of the earth. After all, understanding the earth and its behavior, especially in times of calamities, is a principal disaster mitigation strategy. A massive change on carbon dioxide emission cannot happen with the knowledge of just a few select individuals who are interested on the environment; a significant number of people need to be educated on climate issues if we are to engage them on the campaign to change their lifestyle.

Culture

Over the years of industrialization, our culture also shifted from preservation to constant innovation. We have not yet exhausted all the facets of one invention and we are ready to discard it for another. This constant throwing away of products is damaging our planet as we put more energy for production and more waste by consumption. This habit created for us a style of human habitation akin to a machine that eats everything around it and leaves nothing but waste. Furthermore, our cramped consumer based urban settings are vulnerable to the outbreak of diseases and viruses due to rising temperatures. The health system that is too dependent on cures pushed by multinational pharmaceutical companies must be replaced by a community based preventive health programs that have home remedies researched and cultivated proximate to the human habitats. A design of a more permanent habitat that is self-sufficient, sustainable, and easily replicable is needed to replace the polluting habitat that we now have. Before we can do this we must presuppose a change on our cultural values. By giving more importance to conservation against innovation, to prevention more than cure, we will be able to strike a balanced and healthy speed of development.

The cultural force of diversity is slower than the force of uniformity. The force of uniformity because of its efficiency in providing human needs tends to dominate all cultural milieus. Needless to say, the present trend towards rapid growth and development that replaces all cultures to a single, modern, western, homogenous culture must ground to a halt to mitigate climate change. Tribal wisdom that has for many years in the past preserved the earth must find its voice in our technological age. The remnants of the age when nature and people lived together in harmony (the indigenous tribes) must remember what it was like to be sustainable. Mitigation, however, is not about putting us back to our old primitive habitat. Mitigation means changing our habitat so that in the future it will be resilient to Climate disasters.

Society

The community of earth care givers will need to bloom in our murky pond of ecological destruction. Community is always regarded as an important element in the achievement of human aims. However, the value of community was traditionally ascribed from anthropocentric value systems: There is power in number. What many people can accomplish is more than one person can do for himself. For this article, however, the value of community goes beyond number and power. It is about the quality of the human relationship to the earth. A community of earth conscious individuals has capacity to massively implement a bio diversified way of living. By accepting human diversity, we will be promoting diversity of cultures and therefore diversity of cultural artifacts. Instead of one kind of food, we can be having different kinds with different kinds of plants and animals to grow. Human diversity will lead to Bio diversity.

Before we destroyed the planet we first destroyed community. It is selfish individualism and cultural homogeny that brought about this staggering carbon dioxide emission. In the guise of "economic communities" of states and corporations, we have developed a very complex destructive machine. This is very clear on the way we have marginalized the poor people who are now blamed for the garbage dumps and deforestation. We replaced their traditional and healthy diversified community life with our modern homogenous ruthless system where they have no choice but to compete to survive. The migration towards the sources of monetary income is congesting our cities and making our rural areas susceptible to encroachment of concrete and cutting down of greenery. We need a big change back to small intimate communities that will see their dependence on nature for sustenance so that they will value it more than the lure of city convenience; Intimate nonviolent communities that will protect its members in time of disaster panic. The motto is "Think big to think small."

Intellectual conversion affecting the broad sphere of education, culture, and community is our way to Social Change... our best mitigation strategy to climate disaster.

### Swift Change

Thirdly, the change we need should not only be big it must also be fast. The rising of the temperature of the planet is happening at a very fast rate. Our slow disconcerted responses to climate change will not matter anymore when we run out of oxygen to breath. Indeed, we need a swift Moral Conversion; strong emotive forces that can make people decide to change their style of life fast. This kind of conversion must precede the other conversions (intellectual and spiritual conversion). Before we can change the whole society, we must appeal to the basic moral feelings of individuals. Without an awareness of being wrong in the way each of us are living our lives vis. a vis. nature, change will be hard to come by. Without genuine remorse, there will be no genuine change. Nevertheless, if we need to find any meaning to the woeful climate disasters, it is in the fact that it is our only possibility to be awakened from our deep slumber.

Nature has his ways! Climate calamities can bring us to our senses... to a catharsis.

Confronted with the dire consequences of changing the chemical, physical and biological makeup of the planet to the life and safety of those we love, we could be struck by the grave violation we have done against nature. In other words, the harm that befalls the ones we love in time of disaster, can give us a quick insight into our offense against nature. Here we should rapidly be made aware of our offense to nature by the food we eat, by the things we use, and by the means we acquire our possessions. Seeing that our very way of life have affected the capacity of the earth to function properly can make us aware of our culpability.

Food

The moral change should start quickly with the cleansing of our water, air, and soil, the very source of our life. The way we produce food is contaminating our water and soil with chemicals that not only render us unhealthy but are dumping poison to the planktons in the sea. The chemical imbalance we made in the sea by our agricultural methods ruined the beauty of our underwater forest. The loss of colors and the diversity of our coral reefs should make us wonder of humanity's moral poverty. Evidently, a Change of Heart in the way we produce our food could lead to swift changes in our lifestyle that can prevent the further warming of the planet.

Goods

The most graphic way we can see our culpability is through the physical destructions of our landscape because of extensive mining and development. These destructions are mainly the effects of the "extraction mode" in our manufacturing industry. The reason why we need to mine our forests for minerals is to feed the giant manufacturing industry. Therefore, another change of heart that can lead us to a fast change in lifestyle is the way we work and find livelihood. The automation of the manufacturing industry harmed the planet not only with the fuel that it uses but also directly by the pollution it creates as its products eventually become garbage. Returning to handmade crafts can slow down the pace of rapid industrialization not in keeping with the natural evolution of the planet. Human invasion of the planet's worst effect is not only the loss of human lives and properties but the loss of bio diversity. Because of the brutal advance of our human civilization we occupied more space which was originally habitat of other species. If we are to find any reason for deadly disasters, it is that we wake up quickly from the spell of destructive "development." Only a switch in the livelihood of many people can prevent rise of atmospheric temperature.

Money

The most ambitious quick change of heart that we need is in the way we exchange goods and services. The maintenance of the earth killing Global economic system relies on individuals who are dependent on goods that are imported from far away locations. Shortening the distances between consumers and producers will not only reduce emission but also change the epicenter of human activity away from cities to more bio diverse regions. By buying products from our neighborhood we are producing bio mass and returning them to where they belong... to the soil. By depending on local goods we are also encouraging producers to move away from mono crop and to produce different varieties of food source.

A Moral conversion that can change what we eat, where we get our material possessions, and how we acquire wealth can surely prevent our planet from overheating.

With this general look at our need for radical, big, and fast change, we can see three needed conversions: Moral conversion, Intellectual conversion and Spiritual conversion. We tried to show that without these three conversions, we will not be able to adapt to Climate Change. Moreover, we will argue at this stage that following the order of these three conversions is the key to our salvation from Global Warming catastrophe. Creating a spiral, like a vortex, must start from some small move that will spin off to greater movements. Thus we see that a fast moral conversion of a significant number of individuals preceding the intellectual conversion of the bigger society which will then bring about the deeper spiritual conversion that can radically change the temperature of the planet. An authentic spiritual conversion is an active dynamic force that can propagate the right relationship between humans and the earth a hundredfold like seeds.

The need for radical change, massive change, and swift change in humanity's lifestyle is the rationale for CARE-Communes "Climate Adaptive Resettlements Earth-Communes". We need a super model, a pattern that is quick and painless to make in the mainstream of our society.

Seeing these resettlement sites and experiencing their goodness more people can change their lifestyle in the shortest span of time. These super models of sustainability are not only demonstration sites. They are living communities that can act as ready receptacles for people who wants to change their lifestyles. With Reforestation and Renewable energy on an Eco- Spirituality center we can assure that the Change will not only be superficial but radical. With the built in capacity to learn and teach about ecological living, a new culture of earth-caring can be practiced by a community that can effect massive change. Hosting people who want to move away from consumerism and materialism though self-sufficient lifestyle we can swiftly wean people from their dependence on the present economic system.

Our own place here in CadamangReserva has its charm but it is not complete and good enough to make people leave everything behind and "Come follow me," not only for a goodtime but for a lifetime. Thus we need to aim higher. The resettlement sites we are talking about here must have the power to change people's preferences, perceptions, and eventually their way of life. Therefore it must have all the nine systems of sustainability that we will describe in this book functioning harmoniously and giving life and wellbeing to the people who are living on them.

Conversion | Human Value | Target Intervention

---|---|---

Moral Conversion

(Change of Heart)

Quick Change | Chemical | Plankton Propagation

Physical | Urban Decongestion

Biological | Bio-Mass Production

Intellectual Conversion

(Social Change)

Big Change | Pedagogical | Mind Polyculture

Cultural | Green Architecture

Social | Earth-Communes

Spiritual Conversion

(Climate Change)

Deep Change | Technological | Renewable Energy

Ethical | Tree Planting

Spiritual | Massive Replication

The change we are proposing above was not easy even for us. Values often clashed not only between me and Veronica, and between us and the people around us, but more excruciatingly within each of us. We were used to the convenience of modern life. We lived in two of the richest countries in the world. Veronica worked as a lay missionary in England and I worked as a missionary priest in Japan. We were total strangers to the land. We did not know how to grow vegetables and animals. We were even afraid of insects and scared by the hugeness of the cows. Moreover, our neighbors were so entrenched on rice monoculture and chemical farming that we cannot get any good advice. Most of all, there was fear: Fear of going into poverty and not being able to feed ourselves of the land.

That fear was not unfounded. My experience on organic farming was just not enough to be able to totally depend on the land. And the challenge of growing things on a degraded soil was enormous. Above all there was loneliness and isolation because even our friends and family did not understand what we are on about. In all honesty, we declare that we could not abandon the way of life set by our past completely.

Our transformation was not perfect. And even our motives were not pure. We continue to strive for material security. And the lure of city convenience never really left our hearts. Despite all these odds, though, we deeply knew we have a responsibility to address the environmental issue for the sake of our three children. We had little resources to start with but we had plenty of courage. We bravely settled in our little forest many kilometers away from the town and many more miles away from the nearest city. When we look back, we really wonder what gave us the courage, wisdom, and love to follow the unbeaten tract. Our daily bumpy ride to our home (the short rough road to our place) reminds us of the audacity that we owe from the hope of the people who touched our life.

Our courage was lent to us by an Aeta friend, Biding Bulatao. For many years before we moved into our little Paradise, I haughtily lectured him to change his lifestyle; from going to different places for work and selling things from the forest (like wood, seedlings, orchids, charcoal, and sometimes even wild birds and fish) to working on the land like the ordinary farmers. I used to tell him condescendingly that the Aeta tribe had plenty of land up in the mountains but they are now living miserably in the fringes of the town because of the lure of nighttime light and junk foods. We had some lively discussions about our Aeta culture of slashing and burning part of the forest and moving on to another spot when the fertility of the land was already exhausted. Half mocking, haft persuading, I was asking him to do what I could not: Change my own lifestyle.

One day, to my surprise, he brought me to the slope of land where we are living today. He planted rice, banana, and beans on it. It looked so beautiful. He told me then that he finally realized that I am right and so he worked on the land that he brokered for me to buy a year before. Quietly without telling me, he sold his cow, gathered his resources, and went back to Paradise! A real Change of Heart! Biding challenged me to walk the talk and showed me the path towards realizing my dream of living my life in and for the natural world. He died of cirrhosis of the liver shortly after my family moved to the Paradise that he started to create. Had it not been for his courage, we will not be able to embark on the great experiment that resulted to the Nine Systems of Sustainability that we are proposing on this book.

The most valuable help on this experiment was the Ouzumi couple who have been doing organic farming for more than 40 years in Japan. I had the opportunity to stay with them on their farm and learn organic farming techniques. More important than the techniques, however, we owe this couple the wisdom that working with the land not against it is the way to good and healthy life for oneself and others. I remember distributing vegetable to his farm subscribers and listening to the testimony of their gratitude to the Ouzumi couple for their health. I was impressed with the huge carrots, cabbage, radish, and the rest of their eighty different kinds of vegetables all organically grown. His system of producing food works and it works economically too. The couple is not only organic farmers, they are also environmentalists. They are aware of the effect of chemical agriculture not only to human health but also to the health of the planktons on the sea. They are very scientific. They know of the chemical imbalance of our oceans because of terrestrial poisoning. They see that in order for human civilization to survive, we have to secure that our river valleys and flood plain be converted back to organic agriculture.

Above all, the Ouzumicouple are practical people living of the land, growing carrots, planting rice, raising chickens and selling them. They are deeply immersed in the faulty socio- economic system that needs their small but heroic intervention. Their love an kindness to all creatures bear fruit to the wisdom that caring for nature means thriving even in an economic system that needs to be discarded. In the words of Mr. Ouzumi" Why should we kill the insects, we do not even know the purpose of God in giving them to us. Let us discover instead the benefits for which they were designed and we will profit more." Needless to say, The Ouzumi couple is our model for the transitional lifestyle congruent with the values that we hold dear; the values of caring for the earth and caring for people.

Lastly, there was also love from faith to lead us along. The life of Jesus in the gospel inspired us to care deeply for the world. We believe in the Creator whose love for his creation knows no bounds. Somehow, we knew that the Spirit of God will guide us on this pilgrimage back to the Paradise that he willed for all humanity. This big faith will right away be challenged by the difficulties of radically changing lifestyle but we were graced with other people along the way whose values of love and kindness helped us to stay the course. Little did we know then that these values will become core to our proposal to respond to Climate Change.

But most of all there was the land, nature itself, to guide and encourage us. Actually moving into the land, into the forest, sustained our courage. In the loneliness of the relentless rain of August we have mushrooms sprouting from the ground to delight us with its taste. At the heat of the summer, we have cashew nuts. The sun powers our home so we can watch our favorite "Game of Thrones." The love and kindness of Nature and people in a way guided us. They are the Spirit of God pointing us the way forward.

The path to change that we have taken was slow, very slow, when juxtaposed with the speed of the deterioration of the planet. We should have acted more swiftly and refined our model of climate change adaptation so that it could be replicated by many people today. As we write we know that our model is not yet complete with all the nine systems. Our vacillation on many of the projects that we started demonstrates both the challenge and the great possibilities of change. The biggest challenge is the weakness of our implementation because of fund limitations. We are confident though that if there is fund available a complete model will enrapture more people to change their lifestyle radically. Surely, having all the nine systems of sustainability in one site will quicken the decision of people because they will see that most of their needs will be adequately met by a CARE-Commune:while they also care for the planet. They can have a forest microclimate to regulate heat, healthy food on the table, funds to exchange goods and services, art and craft to channel their creative impulse, alternative education, wholesome healthy habitat, community support, energy for relevant technologies, and hope for the future all in one place. In other words, the change other people will undergo is not as slow and painful as the one we went though.

With all the answers to the needs for Climate Change Adaptation integrated in one place we can facilitate the Moral conversion of a few individuals by making the land available for them to actualize their change of heart. Confession of their love and care for nature is not sufficient, even hypocritical if they are not given the opportunity to physically commune with the earth and with the other earth care givers. Thus, in the very initial stage of Moral Conversion a CARE-Commune is already necessary to serve both as beacons and as receptacle for the people who will change their heart for the environment.

For the second stage of Intellectual conversion a CARE-Commune is necessary to school more people to the ways of adapting to climate change. Their skill will be honed here so that they will be proficient in building other CARE-Communes. The intellectual conversion that will take place in these CARE-Communes can solidify the conviction of the earth care givers to propagate not only the concept but the practice of earth caring.

Finally Spiritual Conversion will be manifested in the amount of carbon dioxide that we are able to absorb and prevent from emitting. Carbon dioxide levels can be monitored in a CARE-Commune. By simply measuring the forest area that we put in place and by computing the amount of electricity we have produced in the clean way, we can quantify the result of our conversion. Most of all the quality of life, the meditative hours and celebratory moments when we are refraining from emitting carbon dioxide and, instead, exuding the infinite goodness and healing power of God, will authenticate our Spiritual Conversion. For that we need a CARE-Commune to pray, to plant trees, and to retreat from the bondage of needless technologies.

A disaster can bring a major change in our lives. Surely, those who have lost the lives of their love ones in a super typhoon will never be the same again. Those who have lost homes in a fire have also lost a lot of memories imbedded on the burned things that are precious to them, a picture, a gift from a friend, a book... things that remind them of the happy and meaningful events in their lives. It may take a while before we come to an acceptance of what happened to us on a disaster. "Why me?" is often a familiar question. Acceptance is not easy to come about specially when someone dear to us will never be seen again. Their laughter, kindness, and even their bothersome presence will always be dearer than the empty rooms and open gates waiting for their arrival. Often we can only define the change in our lives due to a disaster with what we have lost. Like the Aeta tribe that lost their Paradise, we can easily forget that Paradise can be regained. Be that as it may, it is not rare among disaster survivors to gain a flourishing of compassion. Many discover capacities for heroism that were lying dormant in their hearths throughout their lives. Suddenly in the midst of a storm they unleashed their desire to give their lives for others.

The images of the devastation of Yolanda, Ondoy, and other countless Global warming disasters can create an overwhelming fear in us. The science is clear on its predictions. Someday, the disaster will be at our doorstep. To me, however, the greater blessing of these record breaking climate disasters is the recollections of my experience of engaging the issue of humanity's wellbeing. Somehow when we see extreme devastation, the need to be needed is awakened and we remember the times when our spirits were full of generosity.

At the young age of 23, I decided to give a year of my life to volunteer for Mindanao. That time Mindanao was at war and it has the image of extreme poverty. (When I got there I discovered that there are places in Luzon and Manila that were poorer than those in Mindanao.) That time I just finished college at the Ateneo de Manila University. I firmly believed that I have so much to offer. It was also just a year after the EDSA revolution. The country just liberated itself from the tyranny of the Marcos regime. Those of us who marched on the streets and yelled for the end of the dictatorship were overwhelmed by the success of the short events leading to the departure of the Marcoses. Our rallies on the streets amounted to something we did not expect; a one of its kind peaceful revolution. There was also a flowering of idealism among young people like me who have seen that even a small act of integrity can change a whole nation's direction. Full of idealism, there was almost nothing in my mind except the thought of giving myself for the wellbeing of others.

Year 1987 was also a tense year for the Philippine Military. The Aquino government just took over from the Marco's regime so the soldiers were still divided and the National Democratic Front was trying to intensify its organization. In the periphery of all these upheavals was the town of Dimataling. During Marcos' time the town was burned because of the war between the Muslims and the military. Not only that, there was also the rebels from the left at war with the government forces and among themselves.

One year in Mindanao changed my life radically. I remember clearly when I was leaving Dimataling, my hometown for almost a year. I felt that I was no longer a child. I remembered Kalis a tall young Muslim warrior who came to stay with us in the Catholic convent when we received threats from the military. This strong quiet figure who was willing to risk his own life to protect us who are not of his own religious group. I also met the young NPA rebels and join them in their signing of the "International." I heard their stories of valor and generosity. Deep inside me I knew that I have become like them, with a heart full of courage. I was ready to face any adversity and death no longer scared me for I have seen it with my own eyes. Yes there was a time in my life that I too was thinking of the common good: A time when the whole universe was my playground. Call it naïve idealism. But it was a time of personal authenticity: a real turning point in my life when I found a community of people who have chosen to live their life based on values that are beyond personal gain. Indeed. "People strive for high Ideals and everywhere life is full of heroism." (Desiderata)

On hindsight, I believe that my choice to go back to the land and create a Paradise was made long before my leaving the priesthood. The decision was made in Mindanao. My moral, intellectual, and spiritual conversion to ecological living has already taken place at the age of 23 in Dimataling, Mindanao, twelve years before I actually landed to be an organic Farmer here in my Cadmang, Reserva. In fact, it was in Dimataling that I came across the book on "Self-Sufficiency" by John Seymour with the Foreword of E. F. Schumacher, the great prophet of economic sustainability. This book made my conversion to ecological living profoundly practicable. Although I have decided to become a Columban Missionary Priest, I always carried with me this book. A sign that my heart was already directed toward ecological sustainability.

The case I am making on this proposal, the need to create a model for Climate Change Adaptation, is born out of my own pilgrimage. Mindanao is an important segment of the Pilgrimage because it was there that I met people of high ideals, people who gave up their lives for the betterment of their fellow human beings. They envisioned massive social change. They may have the illusion that change can be swift but their deep desire for a sudden shift in the hearts of people is something we can learn from now that we are facing catastrophe in a global scale. These people made radical changes in their lives. They decided to move their bodies to conform to their ideals.

So also, with the leap of faith that moved our bodies to our farm, our vision of a changed world where we are neither victims of nature nor its tormentors is translated into achievable goals that can lead others to leave behind their old ways and be nature's partners. As more climate disasters with increasing intensity are happening in the world, these goals became clearer... We will lead the Change of Heart, the Social Change, and the Climate Change by creating a Model for Climate Change Adaptation. In the next chapter we will outline these goals. But make no mistake, the goals can only be realized if we take that first generous step to change our lifestyle. With CARE-Communes dotting the earth's landscape, acting as receptacles, and oasis of hope, people can not only change their minds but their whole being, their society and finally the climate of our Planet.

  3. ### Goals:

### Three Crops in One Field

Where do we want to go? My experience of living in Mindanao thought me with clarity that the wellbeing humanity is closely related to the social change. Much of the problem of human suffering that I witnessed in my emersion to the lives of farmers and fisher folks is because of an unjust social order. The disparity of the rich and the poor is enough evidence to convince me that human well-being can be simply achieved by equitable distribution of wealth. In itself Social Change is an appropriate goal for humanity. But Social Change can find yet a better meaning with Climate Change.

In 1991 I was assigned as a student for the Priesthood in Japan, one of the richest and technologically advanced nations in the world. From the comfortable seat at the Shinkansen, the fastest train in the world, I saw the houses, the cities, and the fields of Japan. It was like a dream. Everything was perfectly engineered to make life convenient. Doors automatically opened up as I walk to get in the shops. Walk ways for the blind people, delicious food on the table, courteous greetings, and impeccable toilets. I was mesmerized by the achievement of Japan to make people's lives comfortable and orderly.

My almost twelve years in Japan is the ultimate challenge to the "good life" that I am proposing in this book. Modern Technological culture has many good things to offer for human fulfillment. The American and Japanese dream still holds sway in our minds and hearts. The goal of attaining self-sufficient simple low impact lifestyle is the antithesis of the modern throw- away technological culture so graphically represented by Japan. It is painful, though, that the very comfortable lifestyle in Japan that captivated me is the very cause of the warming of our planet. It is, indeed, very confusing. On the one hand I can see that development goals can lead to a desirable artificial Paradise like the Tokyo Disneyland. On the other hand, I cannot imagine the whole world turned into high rises and, malls, trains, and highways. It will take another Planet to supply the raw materials for creating mega cities in every in the face of our planet; And maybe another Planet as dumpsite for the garbage those urban sprawl will generate.

On my very first day in Japan, I saw many old good bicycles abandoned along the streets. Coming from a third world country where owning a bicycle is an unfulfilled dream for many children, my heart was broken to see bicycles thrown away. At the language school, together with some of my classmates we organized a campaign to gather those old bikes and send them to the Philippines. We were featured on an NHK program and our activities, like the concert for the bikes; the house to house gathering of old bikes by the young people from the church. On the viewing of the program on National television, one person called NHK and informed us that he will donate 200 new bicycles to the Philippines. He thought that it is not right to give the old bikes!

I still believe that there is a ton of good things in the scientific and technological advancement of humanity. We cannot just throw away all of it and lead people to a Paradise that will not satisfy their needs for material comfort and progress. Therefore we must be clear about our goal. Simplicity of life does not mean hunger, isolation, and stagnation. As in gathering those old bikes, an old technology that still works for humanity, we must discern well in mobilizing the world's economic resource and power for the establishment of a more sustainable future. The shift we are heading to will not happen if our focus is set solely in destroying the achievement of modern corporate system. Our goal is to pick up from it the ways that can help us build a better relationship with the earth.

The objective of creating a Climate Change Adaptation Model, when achieved, will bring about a fast, massive, and radical change in the lifestyle of many people. A CARE-Commune replicated many times in the whole country and the world can tip the point towards reversing the trend of Global Warming. Change of Heart, Social Change, and Climate Change,these three changes in humanity's way of life manifested in a CARE-Commune can reverse the trend towards the urbanization of the relentless material "development" agenda. The "Great Turning" has the possibility to come about because while we create CARE-Communes to change the lifestyle of people, the resulting new lifestyle also creates more CARE-Communes. Much like the multiplication of effective microorganisms in the bacterial world, propagation of CARE-Communes can very well bring back to health our garden earth.

The call for change coming from the voices of the people who have long ago seen the wrong trend we were taking is a movement originating from free will (Change of Heart). When people are graced with the insight that we need to change our lifestyle and are inspired to take action, such a movement will eventually take shape in the social order. We can then organize ourselves into small communities that care for the earth (Social Change). We are not sure of the shape of this social change but it entails a move away from consumerism and individualism to a less materialistic and more communitarian way of living. With this kind of communities proliferating we can see a change in our carbon emission and increase in our carbon absorption, and, therefore a change in atmospheric temperature (Climate Change).

There is however another movement from the opposite direction: As temperature rises new experiences of calamities ensue (Climate Change). Our present institutions, to maintain their relevance, can metamorphose into institutions for the care of the earth. Our military complex for instance can begin to learn how best they can protect our environment. The leaders of our business institutions and churches can also try to adapt to climate change (Social Change). With "climate disaster induced social change", we can also convince individuals to change their hearts and seek better solutions to our climate problems (Change of Heart).

Although these three changes may sound very theoretical we can see the practical implications of this "spiral" of transformation as we progress on our reading of this document. Suffice it to say that we need these three changes and they could come about through the nine systems of sustainability that should operate in the new way of life that we are envisioning. Creating and replicating these nine systems of sustainability in one location can have astronomical impact on the lifestyle of many people thereby reducing our carbon emission and lowering our atmospheric temperature. While the succession of each of these nine systems of sustainability spirals into wider changes in the lifestyle of many people, these systems are also responding directly to the needs of the earth and people. Let us see how it will work!

GOAL ONE

CHANGE OF HEART:

Gathering all our energies to attain Self Sufficiency and prevent further warming of the planet

"Duck Ecology System"

"Craft Village System"

"Green Business System"

Preventing further warming of the planet is a straight forward mathematical objective. Returning to the 350 parts per million of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as in the pre- industrial age is the only way we can limit the earth's temperature to less than 2 more degrees. How to do this, however, is the big question. Binding pledges of the nation states to reduce their carbon emission is an important element on achieving this goal. However, without the move of individual citizens to change their lifestyle from carbon emitting to carbon absorbing, we cannot imagine these pledges to be fulfilled. Demand for fossil fuel based power in the way we produce our food, clothing, and shelter are only a little part of the equation. The greater part of carbon emission comes from the style of life that is providing comfort, pleasure, and achievement to the people of the planet. The goal of changing the temperature back to tolerable levels means changing us, our needs and wants.

Also, our economic system is built on the dependence of many individual on economic growth for employment. Here it is clear that decisions from many individuals are as important as the decisions of nation states. The value system of consumerism has to be outgrown in order for a new economic system to be born. In other words, many individual citizens have to cease consuming and being dependent on the present economic system. On our rough estimate, we need at least two third of the world's population to be self-sufficient in their lifestyle in order to revert to the 350 parts per million level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.

The ratio of people living in cities and rural areas can be a helpful barometer. Although living in the countryside will not mean zero carbon emission. The data is clear: there is so much less use of fossil fuel in the rural areas than on the urban setting. Stemming the tide of urbanization is therefore a key to achieving our first goal. Here we need some people of extraordinary courage to start relocating to new settlements that are designed for rural living with near zero carbon emission. Decongesting the cities will reduce the high demand for fossil fuel for the maintenance of our civilization. Without the Change of Heart and extreme courage from these people, we will not be able to build numerous CARE-Communes. Remember that the models are not only structures but people who are actually changing from carbon emitting to carbon absorbing lifestyle.

Creating this new model lifestyle is the task of our first goal. Here we have three systems that we hope can start our journey. The first system as described below is the "Duck Ecology System" the focus of this system is food production. By changing the way of producing food, one city dweller turned Earth- Commune settler will already reduce his or her own carbon emission to about fifty percent. The "Duck Ecology System" will be able to provide complete diet to the Earth Commune dwellers without using much fossil fuel.

The initial setting up of the system, use of commercial feeds, and the conversion of surplus to funds for the creation of the entire adaptation model with all its nine systems will naturally have carbon emission. But in as short as six months, this emission can be reduced to near zero. The conditioning of the soil and water recycling of this system will significantly absorb carbon dioxide through the delivery of balanced nutrients for the plankton in the sea which absorbs more carbon dioxide than even the forest. More importantly, healthy food can be an attraction for people to radically change their lifestyle as they taste wholeness in fresh organically produced food. Since this system is located between the lowland and the forest (about 15 degree slope) it will serve as a kind of halfway house for those who would like to transition to the CARE-Commune way of life.

The next step to the goal of changing people's heart to prevent further warming is the change in our way of expressing our aesthetic values. Our departure from craftsmanship to manufactured art harmed our planet deeply. We made goods that are not really needed but only to satisfy passing whims. By the "Craft Village System," we are returning to the old ways of producing tools and household materials using our hands. By taming our penchant for useless and carbon emitting consumer products, we will be able to reduce an individual's carbon emission to another 30 percent. Bamboo is an essential part of this conversion. As a renewable resource the use of bamboo (as in baskets against plastic bags) for furniture, house construction and household material can make a significant reduction not only of waste but also of carbon emission. Clay, wood, hem, recycled metal etc. are some of the materials that can make an individual self-sufficient and therefore less dependent on manufactured goods that are putting high demand on our fossil fuel supply. As alternative to cement, metal compounds, and petrochemical materials that emit a lot of carbon dioxide, these indigenous materials while providing our basic needs, can also shift us into more ecological way of life. Most importantly, this kind of Arts and Crafts can appeal to those who are living in urban centers whose aesthetic values are challenged by the saturation of lifeless art characterized by urban alienation.

"Duck Ecology System" and "Craft Village System" can find their highest achievement within an economic system that will value these systems' true worth. We need the third system to accomplish that: "Green Business System." This system will convince more people to embrace a new way of life. The constant insecurity of surviving miserably in the present capitalist system can be put in sharp contrast to the ecological way of life. People will see that there is more security in self- sufficiency. Withdrawing from the competition does not mean defeat but rather a new path to human excellence.

Delivering our goods to the nearest consumer can right away reduce carbon emission. Processing our products naturally can also lessen human impact on the environment. More importantly, marketing our products locally will showcase our true concern for the deterioration of rural agriculture and industry. The supporters and subscribers of our farms will have direct and constant access to the land, making them more open to change their lifestyle when given the opportunity.

The measure for the accomplishment of these goals is the number of people who will have the courage to involve and the funds that will be generated in one year. The 90 "volunteers" are the people who will come to the first "CARE-Commune" for short periods. We will provide food and lodging in exchange of their labor. We will also include in this list the people who will donate to the first "CARE-Commune". Their contribution will be accounted according to the number of hour work it can pay for farm workers. In the model that I designed, a initial seed money of 690,000 pesos to create these three systems can, in one year operation, gain a gross income of 1,160,000.

At this point I must say that the achievement of our first goal does not mean significant reduction of carbon dioxide in the entire planet. That would be outrageous to claim. Ninety volunteers could hardly make a tiny dent on the effort to bring us down to the 350 parts per million of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Our hopeful assumption is that there are other people around the world making the similar movements as we are with the same aspiration to tip the point towards massive social change. While we are making our first model, other people are also on the move making their first CARE-Commune in some other parts of the planet.

GOAL TWO

SOCIAL CHANGE:

Placing structures that will ensure sustainability to mitigate the impact of calamities.

"Permaculture School System"

"Bee Homes System"

"Earth-Commune System"

Change of Heart of a few individuals is a good start to tip the point towards 350 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, we have to go beyond individual conversions to a wider Social Change. Social Change is our next logical goal.

The willingness to move to a new lifestyle meant moving away from individualism to a more communitarian way of life. Sharing the resources of the earth is a necessary ingredient to attain sustainability. We cannot continue with the competition for the exploitation of natural resources that is heating up our planet. Also, structures of inequality are not helpful when we are dealing with catastrophe. It is a magnet to social unrest. New social structures must replace the ones that will not mitigate the effects of climate change.

Here we need an enlightened community to be steadfast on the mission to integrate prevention, mitigation, and adaptation. Desperate move in time of calamities can make us loose our focus on adaptation and prevention and be occupied with mitigation only. Mitigation tends to only salvage the old system so we can return to "business as usual" mode of life. With the three systems for social change "Permaculture School System," "Bee Homes System," and "Earth- commune System", however, we can better mitigate the effects of calamities without losing focus on sustainability. These three systems, by focusing on the ideology of massive bio-mass production, hold the key to mitigation of climate catastrophes simultaneous with changing our social dynamics. By organizing people to concentrate on preparing beforehand their evacuation sites in case of climate calamities we are also producing more organic materials on those places. Since those evacuation sites will be designed to be sustainable in food, medicine, shelter, and clothing etc. for longer periods, they will be a complete departure from the carbon emitting set ups of our contemporary cities and towns. Under the assumption that Climate Change is here to stay, it is a wise mitigation strategy to go for permanent rather than temporary evacuation.

The most important institution to potentially prepare us in dealing with calamities is our education system. Giving people the fundamental ability to see, understand, judge and act will be the most helpful tool of discernment for people especially in a state of calamity when self-preservation and the extreme of power grab can take advantage of people's vulnerability. "Permaculture School System" will teach people strategies for survival by preparation not by reaction. The basic science of global warming can give us insight not only to the culpability of human action but also to the possibility of finding solutions within the human sphere of influence. A school that will focus on gathering all the best practices on agriculture, forestry, economics and all the other disciplines pertinent to ecological living can bring about a new civilization for humanity. By practical strategies for sustainability we will be able to go back to a simpler but climate resilient way of life.

The practice of the ideas taught in the Permaculture school can be actualized by physically changing our habitat. Engineering human habitation so that it will be sustained without more pressure on the natural environment is the aim of "Bee Homes System" With green architecture, we can arrange our dwelling to have food, medicine, and other necessities readily available to us. We can design our habitation using indigenous materials in such a way that they can resist extreme weather. After the one year operation of the first goal we will be ready to accept long term settlers to our Climate Change Adaptation Model. Their habitation will be ready as they transition from carbon emitting to carbon absorbing way of life. Here too we can offer a good Eco-Agri Tourism Package showcasing our Climate Change Adaptive Habitat.

The third system that will complete our second goal is the "Earth-Commune System." As argued above, community building is an important mitigation strategy. However, community work must be gird towards sustainability. To operate our CARE-Commune, we need a good number of "U-turners" people who have decided to abandon the urban setting for a life in the countryside in harmony with the natural environment. These people have to learn to live in a structured community and follow the rules of Nature preservation. Included in this community are the beneficiaries of the CARE-Commune. We will engage in seed and breed dispersals and teach people the organic way of producing food as well as the handicrafts that we are making.

The measure of the accomplishment of this goal is the number of people who will enlist to actually change their lifestyle by changing their location. The ideal group of twenty seven "U turners" will be housed on the climate change adaptation model. They will contribute their labor, talents, and resources for the project. The two years of operation will cost about 2,290,000 pesos and will have an income of 3,700,000.

As was said in the first goal, achieving the second goal does not mean a mass of people suddenly turning "green". A handful of 27 people opting to leave the city and have a new lifestyle will hardly put a dent on our prevailing individualistic society. Nevertheless, that is what modeling is all about. We are not certain that many people will follow suit but as E.F. Shumcher said "I can't myself raise the winds which might blow us or this ship into a better world. But I can at least put up the sail, so that when the wind comes I can catch it." It is incumbent upon those who have been enlightened, few as they maybe, to prepare for the awakening of the rest. After all, replicating the lifestyle of a few is the beginning of all great movements in history.

GOAL THREE

CLIMATE CHANGE:

Going for Replication of Climate Change Adaptation Models.

"Off Grid System"

"Food Forest System"

"Hope Nurture System"

Our Final goal is to Change the Climate, to bring down the temperature to the preindustrial age average. The personal change of heart that we hope can transform society will also be able to change the temperature of the earth. After all, it was human made pollution that destroyed the earth's balance. The three most direct way of changing the temperature of the planet is reduction of Carbon emission by renewable energy, reforestation, and simply immobilizing a lot of people. There is no better way to make people still than a spirituality that delights on just watching the awe inspiring beauty of the natural world.

With the "Off Grid System" we can gain independence from the biggest Carbon Dioxide emitter... the energy industry. To have an impact in the world, we need the "Off Grid System" to be the mainstream power producer. To achieve that without following the same path of consumerism, the communities that will "off grid" should cut down on their electric consumption by choosing only the technologies that are necessary for human flourishing. Creating more demand on electronic gadgets will have the same adverse pressure on our planet's non -renewable resources. Replicating the "Off Grid System" of the first CARE-Communein two other sites will hopefully start a bigger movement towards making our countryside authentic alternatives to urbanization.

Creating new CARE-Communes should start with reforestation. The micro climates that a forest can create will protect us from extreme weather. The forest will also provide the basic soil health and a lot of the food requirement of a CARE-Commune. Each model should aim at 70 percent forest. The two other sites that will be covered by our massive reforestation programs, using the "Food Forest System", should evolve into a more complete earth communes that have all the other systems in place.

The goal of replication, however, will need a higher force for it to be realized. Just sheer human power, with its propensity to destroy nature for the sake of development will not be able to stem the tide. We will need people who are in touched with the mystical reality of God's creation. Their transformation, compassion, artistry, wisdom, steadfastness, charisma, leadership, and spirit will usher us to Paradise. " Creating three CARE-Communesin three years by the hope generated by the "Hope Culture System" is a modest goal for this proposal. These three systems will not generate much income but it will have great impact on the control and absorption of carbon dioxide when realized countrywide and even more worldwide. At a cost of 2,500,000 pesos we can recover 2,800,000 pesos in three years.

Yet again, accomplishing three CARE-Communes will not mean a sudden proliferation of Earth Communes in the entire planet. If that happens though, our planet will be paradise regained. Lofty as the final outcome of our third goal maybe, creating three CARE-Communes is not altogether unrealistic. In fact we have right now one model near completion.

No matter how clear our goals are, many of the things written here will not happen the way we imagined. In the first place, nature has its own way of directing us. This became clear to us when we saw the need to change our very plans even before we begun implementing them.

When we were planning to live close to the land, there were no big climate disasters yet, like Yolanda and Ondoy. In fact, when we were talking about the rising of sea level, many people thought we were crazy. The choice of our location was a mystery to our acquaintances. But there was allurement when they visit and taste our organic red rice, pumpkin flowers, and spring onions, our natural bacon and roasted native pig. Somehow the experience of peace and quiet with the clean air from our then budding forest drew admiration from our friends.

Then a super typhoon hit the north of Zambales in 2008. More than 90 percent of the roofs of all the houses were blown away and many century old mango trees were literally pulled out and lifted from the ground. Because of that first taste of Climate disaster, our plan for a slow quiet life of farming changed. We felt the need to reach out to more people and convince them to take action on Climate Change. When we started campaigning, we were happily surprised that there were people who were already planting trees and advocating for reforestation. But their voices were too inaudible. We thought we needed to influence policy makers to make a move on changing our denuded landscape. They were, however, not ready for the message.

On our desperation, we embarked on the unthinkable: I run for governor of Zambales. Together with a young Aeta tribal leader TubagHugatan, we campaigned on the platform of Advocacy for the Environment. Our goal then was clear: to get into power to effect change. Little did we know that most of the people were not ready. We were not able to convince my very own family to back me up. Even the ones that we thought were educated enough to come to our side were blinded by the lure of money and position from our opponents. But we also found good and dedicated individuals who were willing to put their resources, talent, and time for the cause. An old friend, Jan Abarro, with a band of earth volunteers, tirelessly campaigned with us going to all the towns and villages of Zambales, telling people that we need a leadership that will address the environmental problem. We lost the election miserably. Our only gain was the knowledge we got from our campaign trips of the extent of poverty in the province and its roots from unabated mining, logging, and destructive fishing. I believe I would not have been able to write this book with such insight and conviction if not for those reflective journeys touching our provinces' landscape and people.

After our defeat, we needed to seek a new source of income. Our financial resource was depleted, not by the campaign, but by its aftermath. Another leap in the dark, I withdrew my investment on the Gasoline Station business. A big part of the decision is my falling apart with my brother and business partner who campaigned against me on the election. But the more important mysterious hand on the decision is the desire to rid ourselves of our dependency on the fossil fuel industry for our financial wellbeing. The inconsistency of my stand for the environment and my engagement with the fossil fuel industry brought a lot of discomfort inside of me. My authenticity was in question. The other side of the coin is the desire to put our money where our mouth is: Our passion was directing us to the building of a CARE-Commune.

We invested the money on Ducks. With a blink on an eye our farm became so lively. We had ram pumps installed, fishponds for cream dory fish, rice paddies, piggery, vegetable gardens, and the ducks. All are going well for about two years. Suddenly there was an early rain on May. We have not anticipated that we ourselves will become victims of the very things that we were predicting. Our knowledge of Climate Change did little to prevent it from doing harm to us. We needed to plant rice three times as every time we plant the floods came to take the rice plants away. Our duck house was flooded that the ducks refused to lay eggs. The fishpond overflew and the fish swam away. I tried to show everybody my resilience but I know deep inside that I was about to give up. I told one of my workers, Ryan Dolojan, that there are two kinds of people; those who give up and those who succeed. Little did he know that it was my way of convincing my very self not to give up... in a state of shock, I wavered.

There were times that just to survive we needed to bite the bullet. This was one of those times that we compromised. Sure enough, we learned the lesson that not trusting the power of nature to take care of our needs can lead us farther away from the Paradise that we envisioned. The prospects of financial stability clouded our judgment. We diverted from our goal. For more than about five years, I worked as farm manager for three of the richest people in the Philippines! I was made to believe that they were the vehicles in achieving the goal of creating a Super Model for Climate Change Adaptation. Whatever their motives were, I discovered that a whole hearted effort for the environment will not come from the very people who are benefiting from the destruction of the planet. Their goal is not our vision.

Today I can see that all these moves (running for governor and employing the support of moneyed people) well intentioned as they maybe, led us farther away from our goals. The voices for earth caring were drowned by the forces of ignorance, denial, and sheer self- interest. Indeed, Change of Heart and Social Change are needed before we can Change the Climate. If these conversions are not yet in place among us and the people who purport to support us, our cause will only be made hostage to the economic interest of rich individuals.

The most valuable lesson on the five years that we diverted our focus away from the land is the lesson that success is only one measure of sustainability. Success is not the all and be all of sustainability. In other words, we should not count as "unsustainable" the slower transformation taking place in our heart and the heart of the people around us. Jan Abarro, who was with us on our political campaign for the governorship of Zambales, is now an environmentalist politician, effecting change on his barangay. Some people are now helping me in the farm convinced that we need to prioritize the building of a CARE-Commune above other concerns.

The goals we have outlined above were not in our imagination when we started changing our lifestyle. Those goals underwent an evolution as we met challenges on the way. We learned from our mistakes. Until now we are not sure that these goals can be achieved. So we will not impose these goals on everyone who would like to address Climate Change. Not all well-meaning people can embrace the life in a CARE-Commune. However, our experience thought us that the order of these goals has the best chance to attract more people to change. We saw such fascination with the people who visited us, the environmentalist we shared ideas with, and the people of good will that somehow hoped to solve the problem of Climate Change.

Slowly but surely our design of the CARE-Communes was transformed from a set of lofty goals to a more specific detailed plan that we will present in the next chapter. The illusiveness of success does not mean our efforts are not sustainable. Like the Japanese proverb "KeizokuwaChikaranare," "Continuity is strength," we have transformed ourselves into more resilient individuals capable of paving the path to a more sustainable living. Now, as fruit of our diversions, we have a more comprehensive design prepared for a blitzkrieg! Three CARE-Communesin three years! A goal we set at the backdrop of our fifteen years of staying on the course despite a few detours.

Nine Needs: Nine Systems

Needs | System |

---|---|---

CO2 Absorption | Food Forest System | Replication

Food Security | Duck Ecology System | Self-Sufficiency

Transition Fund | Green Business System | Self-Sufficiency

Use of our hands | Craft Village System | Self-Sufficiency

New Education | Permaculture School System | Sustainability

Eco- Habitat | Bee Homes System | Sustainability

Earth-Community | Earth-Commune System | Sustainability

Renewable Energy | Off Grid System | Replication

Spirituality of Hope | Hope Culture System | Replication

Three Goals

3 Change | 3 Responses | 3 Goals

---|---|---

Change of Heart | Prevention | Self Sufficiency

Social Change | Mitigation | Sustainability

Climate Change | Adaptation | Replication

  4. Design

Sustainable Living in a Paradise

"Philosophy is the art of a Carpenter." That is a strange saying from Homer! Indeed carpentry preceded Philosophy. Although this proposal seems very theoretical, its very foundation comes from observing the practical design of Mother Nature. It is like a table made by a carpenter who later on talked about sharing on the "Table of the Lord." We can easily get lost in our deep discussion of theology of Christian Eucharist and forget about the table where our food is laid or the food that comes from the labor of our farmers.

I love carpentry it has been my hobby since I was in elementary school. I made tables, chairs, beds, cabinets, frames, tools, lamps. With the help of fellow carpenters, I built my own house. In the many years that I am working with wood, I learned that the best pieces that I made are those that considered the strength of the wood and incorporated the natural beauty of the grain. President Jimmy Carter, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, an organization that building houses for poor people much like the GawadKalinga, was also a skilled carpenter. He said that wood is the primary teacher of a true carpenter. The oldest wooden building in the world, the Houriuji Temple, followed the orientation of the trees that they cut when they placed them on the building. In other words, these craftsmen were guided by Nature in the design of their craft.

We may be able to explain the rationale and goals of a CARE-Commune clearly but if we do not have a robust design that can stand the test of time; we will only have flesh without bones. The structure of a CARE-Commune will depend on its Design. On this chapter we will be like Carpenters drawing our piece on a paper and making scale models of our "ObraMaestra." Most importantly, we will be like carpenters looking closely at the wood, trying to see understand its strengths and weakness, and measuring what will go to waste and what will be the central figure when the work is done.

In the last chapter we learned where we want to go, now let us design the vehicle for the journey. On this chapter, we will describe the design of the nine systems of sustainability one by one. The goals outlined above are fleshed out on each of the designs described here.

Remember that each of these systems compliment all the other systems. More importantly, one system builds on another system not only for fund generation but also for their organic evolution. We assume that all of these systems are placed on a nine to twelve hectare land preferably on a slope of a mountain. The wisdom of integrating all the nine systems in one location is that such integration will give vitality and charm to the organic nature of the Paradise design. A "one stop shop" of self-sufficiency and sustainability is our surest way to our goal of replicating our model a hundred fold. Finally, Only a Spirituality that can open the hearts of individuals and communities to embrace all these nine systems together can give authentic hope to people when they are confronted with apocalyptic events. The dissonant voice of despair is dis-integration, mono-culture, and violence. As the remnants of disasters look for new habitat, the nine systems integrated in one location will show the stark contrast of CARE-Commune life with the discordant development model. A CARE-Commune is integrated, bio-diverse, and non-violent.

As stated on our introduction this design can be replicated anywhere where there is land available.

  1. " Food Forest System": Nature's Perfect Way

There is no solution to Climate Change that does not design for CO2 absorption. Even if we completely stop our carbon emission, we still need to absorb the carbon dioxide already present in the atmosphere. Otherwise, the temperature will continue to rise. Massive Reforestation is our only hope to not only reduce carbon dioxide but to bring back the perfect balance of the earth. Reforestation will prevent flooding, cool the earth, and create an environment conducive to life and bio-diversity. Massive reforestation cannot be achieved without the "Aeta Food Forest System" where people can see that there is no need to slash the forest bare to inhabit it. In this system the human community and the forest must find their symbiotic relationship back to its original perfect balance. Creating a community forest will provide not only food but also medicine, water, building materials and a host of other requirements for cultural flourishing. More importantly a forest is our best chance to produce the "Bio mass" needed to complete the other eight systems. The Forest is our perfect solution to Climate Change. And with earth caring communities, "Earth- Communes," doing massive reforestation we will be able to bring the forest back and preserve it.

The Aeta Food Forest system is designed to plant as many trees of as many different species as possible on a denuded forest. We have broad leaf "Mother Trees" that will give shade to forage plants. We will also have leguminous "Nurse Trees" that can fertilize the soil. We will also generate "Forage Crops" for pigs and chicken to recreate their natural habitat. These trees will also serve as natural trellis for climbers that will enrich our forest. Native pigs in turn will provide manure for the soil and work to cultivate it. We can also introduce deer and fish to the food forest. In as short as three years we can have a steady supply of hummus and water for agriculture. The forest comprising two thirds of the project space can, by way of supporting all the other systems that will give sustainable livelihood for the beneficiaries, reform the community into an earth caring one to assure that that the forest will be taken cared of.

We will create three layers for this design. The highest elevation (a third of the reforestation area) will be planted with banana and cassava to create a cool micro-climate. When the banana trees have grown to about a meter (with the help of ram pumps for watering on the dry season) we will start planting indigenous trees like yakal, apitong, giho, palusapis and other. This part will be the structural forest; it will be preserved as our heritage for generations to come. After three years, when the indigenous trees have already grown to three meters, we will begin to phase out the banana plantation.

The middle elevation (a third of the reforestation area) will be planted with fast growing timber trees like mahogany, mangium, falkata, gemilina, and others. Together with these trees we will interplant annuals like hot pepper, ginger, and taro. We will follow the contour lines for these annual plants. There will be vertical hedge grows separating the approximately one hectare area for each upland farmers. Between this section and the structural forest, we will have a swale that will serve as an irrigation canal for our crops. Every year after eight or nine years, certain section of this area can be cut down for timber. The trees here will be planted closely to allow periodic thinning for charcoal making and round logs harvesting.

The lowest elevation will be allocated for orchard planting. Here we will plant fruit bearing trees. Vine vegetables will also be inter-planted to maximize land use. Another swale will separate this section with the Harvestable Timber section. Vertical hedge grows that will separate each of the households who will have about 2,000 square meters of orchard area. The planting pattern of the orchard will be like the mandala garden of the permaculture system. On this section we will introduce animals like chicken rabbits and pigs.

Essential to the design of the "Food Forest System" is a water collection method. Here check dams connected by swales should be in place. Firebreaks using ruminants that are properly fenced can protect our young forest from wild fires. Most of all the "slash and burn" method of the Aeta people will be used with some modification. With denuded forest we can begin with selective burning and bio-char production and during the rainy season start planting food crops (especially root crops), banana, corn, ocra, and beans, together with tree planting of shade fruit trees and trellis nurse trees. After only a year we can have a "Food Forest System" ready for a more massive tree planting. Here the more than three hectare of a CAME-Commune will be designed to become a nursery for natural regeneration forest and will complete the 70 percent forest allocation for each model. The bio-diversity and resilience of the forest we created will inspire us to accept our own diversity by learning from natural reforestation method of the Aeta tribes.

The most unique feature of the Aeta Food Forest System is the three tiered approach to Reforestation that divides the mountain terrain into three levels along contour lines. The first level is the one closest to the level plain. This level is for orchard tree planting. Since this level is the closest to the place where the houses of the stewards of the forest; the products of the orchard can easily be transported to the market. Hence maximizing efficiency and cutting the cost of maintenance as the live stocks will also be located in the same elevation. The second level is the narrow strip of Harvestable Timber Plantation. This level is for long term profitability as it will take eight to ten years before the timber can be harvested. Nevertheless, inter-planting this level with annual crops as the trees mature, will also rake in revenue for the project. The last level up the ridge is the structural Forest where indigenous heritage trees will be planted. To nurse the young seedlings, we will plant a lot of Banana trees that will give shade and humidity needed by the indigenous tress. Banana and Cassava can also increase the income of the project considerably. By employing this three- tiered approach, we can be assured that only the narrow strip of the mountain will be used for periodic tree cutting. As one of the conditions for this feasibility study is sustainability. This narrow strip of harvestable forest will assure us that the entire mountain will not be compromised for the sake of short term economic gain. The Economic Feasibility of this method stems from the revenue projection from the forest products that can be harvested on the three levels without compromising the integrity of the forest structure. Honey, wood, fruits, bamboo, timber, are only some of the economically beneficial output of this method of Permaculture Reforestation.

The second element on the Aeta Food Forest method of reforestation that we will apply is the sequence of Water reticulation. Here it is not enough to just identify water sources. It is crucial that water delivered to the trees efficiently. This means we have to have a way of retaining the water on the elevation of our choosing. Preventing run off is crucial to the Permaculture way of reforestation. Also, making use of the water before they run off to the plains and to the sea, will have additional economic benefit to the reforestation project. Fish, Rice, Vegetables, and Ducks will benefit from the swales, water impounding, ram pump, and check dams that will be installed for the project. Aside from the economic benefit of the three-tiered approach to reforestation, water reticulation will also have additional benefit other than the care of the trees. The use of swales, a water canal of about haft meter deep and 2 meter wide, will distribute water along a contour line. Swales will make sure that more areas will be utilized for production of forest goods. Likewise, small water impounding with check dams can become fishponds that can generate income for the project. Ram pumps that will function free of power consumption can fill up a fish tank. And at the same time deliver water to the highest portion of the mountain

In addition to the three main swales, contour lines will be made to assure that humidity in the soil is kept on the threes and crops that are planted. Contouring will also prevent nutrients from running off with the water of the rainy season. This method of soil conservation on upland terrain, will assure that the inter-planted crops will survive more than three cycles. Traditionally, the Aeta way of upland farming "gasak" lasts only for about three years. However with the use of contouring, we can extend this to perpetuity. The only limit will be the insufficiency of sunlight as the trees would have grown already to more than 2 meters after thee years.

The financial viability of the permaculture designed reforestation program will hang heavily on the cash crops that can be grown together with the trees. Ginger, Taro, Black Pepper, Hot pepper, vegetables and other crops that will be inter-planted with the trees will assure the sustainability of the project. The average 18 degree slope is ideal for the upland crops that will be rain fed. Most of these crops are annuals that require minimal maintenance cost. The long dry season characterizing the Western Luzon where our project is located can be turned into useful agent for enhancement of soil fertility as it produces a lot of organic materials from dried leaves and grass that will be incorporated to the soil when the rainy season comes. Solanacesous vegetables are also suited to the kind of weather in this part of the country. Tomatoes, Eggplants, Bell Pepper, sweet pepper, are close kin of the cactus family. They are drought resistant as they absorb moisture at night though their succulent leaves.

Soil is a crucial element in all agroforestry undertaking. Without good soil we cannot expect to grow anything. Water maybe abundant but without good soil nutrients, we cannot grow the forest back. The loss of topsoil on denuded forests is the biggest challenge on sustainability. Without good soil, young trees will not compete with grass and shrubs. Many tree planting efforts are brought to naught just because of the lack of nutrients to sustain the plants. To address this problem, we will use a combination of bio-char and microbes that will enhance soil fertility. Bio-char is made from agricultural waste like rice hull and corn cubs that are abundant in the locality. By the process of fermentation we can culture beneficial indigenous micro-organism that will have their cozy home in the many pores of bio-char. With "basket planting" we will not need to fertilize the whole area for tree planting. By concentrating bio inoculated with beneficial organism, we will save a lot of resources and ...

To enhance the fertility of the soil there is a need for massive amount of manure. To accumulate the right amount of manure we will introduce pigs and chicken. The chicken can be distributed to the households and the pigs can be ranched in a fenced 3,000 square meter area. These two live stocks integrated with the reforested area will give a lot of revenue to the project. It will also assure us that the fertility of the soil is maintained.

Finally, a very important component of our methodology is the continuous propagation of seedlings. This would enable our project to constantly recover from fire hazards and other weather problems that can cause the death of the trees that are planted. A permanent Nursery will not only become the monitoring center of the project but will also house the firefighting equipment and our quick response personnel. Obviously, the nursery will be the most water abundant area. It also has the capacity to lift water to higher elevation if needed. Dense planting of trees because of self- sufficiency on seedlings, will be our assurance that we can prevent grass fires. Not allowing highly combustible grass and shrubs to gain dominance of the area will prevent forest fire effectively.

  2. " Duck Ecology System": Feeding people the ecological way

Organically produced food is not only good for human health. It is also necessary for the survival of the planktons in the sea. If we continue to use synthetic chemicals in our food production systems at our river valleys and flood plains, we will end up poisoning the sea and completely killing the planktons that absorb more than fifty percent of the atmosphere's carbon dioxide.

Ecological farming is also necessary to alleviate poverty--- one of the causes of deforestation. Helping poor people to be self- sufficient in food is also the way to decongest our cities and prevent mass migration to urban locations and so lower our carbon emission. Low land organic rice cultivation using the "Duck Ecology System" is designed not only to produce healthy food but also as an adaptive system to the rise of sea level. Ducks are water fouls that can be raised as we lose more land areas to flooding. The art of bio-diversified farming is our way to nourish the planet as well as its citizens.

The main actors of this system are the ducks who will fertilize the soil, provide insect, weed, and snail control to the rice and feed the fish on the fishponds. The housing of the ducks is designed for periodic pasturing. With 900 ducks we can have about 600 eggs a day. One hectare Rice cultivation and vegetable gardening using companion planting is designed to generate healthy food for about 9 families all year round. "Palay-Isdaan," the system of Rice production integrated with fish production will be used. Using companion Planting, we will show that a Bio-Diverse Farm will not only save resources but also create healthy environment and people.

Soil conditioning will be the heart of this system. Using effective micro- organisms, bio char technology and leonardite humus, we will make the soil able to sustain its inhabitants. Smart Agriculture is an important element of the "Duck Ecology System." With our knowledge of Climate Change, we know that we will need provisions for heavy down pours by using green houses. A good water impounding and recycling method should also be in place. Mulching the whole 30 percent of a CARE-Commune area will aid us in the retention of water during the dry season. Three hectares (30% of the total area) will be allocated for this system.

Upland Fish Culture is our way of retaining water in high elevation even during the dry season. Knowing that the sources of water are becoming scarce because of denudation, we will use check dams to control water runoff. These check dams will form a network connected by swales that will keep the water at our desired elevation. Fish can be grown on this water impounding structure. This will assure us not only of additional income but also of added fertility to the soil. Dense stocking will require us to use feed the fish but in turn we will have more fish to harvest. The natural flow of water will aerate the ponds for oxygen allowing dense stocking to be feasible. Locating the "Duck Ecology System" at the same elevation as the Harvestable Forest will mean that we will have a good source of water and at the same time, though gravity we will be able to supply water to the lover elevation where the orchard and animal husbandry area is located. Ram Pumps will be crucial for lifting the water up to this elevation.

Terracing is a very important method to keep water on high elevation. By terracing we will be able to expand our area for water collection as the rice field will be used as another way to impound water. Planting rice on the terraces is an addition to our source of income. Ducks will also be a suitable partner to the rice plants providing free fertilizer, insect control, aeration, and snail control. With rice planted on a 4 hectare area, we can compute that a whole village can be partly self-sufficient on the staple food. Vegetable will be another beneficiary of our terraced water impounding method. Near the rice terraces we can also have high value vegetable usually grown on high elevation.

Soil is a crucial element in all agroforestry undertaking. Without good soil we cannot expect to grow anything. Water maybe abundant but without good soil nutrients, we cannot grow the forest back. The loss of topsoil on denuded forests is the biggest challenge on sustainability. Without good soil, young trees will not compete with grass and shrubs. To address this problem, we will use a combination of bio-char and microbes that will enhance soil fertility. Using leguminous cover crops we will be able to enhance soil fertility. With basket planting, will not need to fertilize the whole area for tree planting and conserve valuable soil asset. By concentrating bio mass inoculated with beneficial organism, we will save a lot of resources and channel expenses to other improvements needed on site.

Growing High value vegetables which are normally grown in higher altitude is a feasible proposition for this system. Using greenhouses, we can produce vegetables that we can supply to the residents of the town centers. But the bulk of our vegetable production will focus on the readily marketable "Pinakbet" vegetables. On a separate feasibility study, we will explore a marketing system that will turn our Duck Ecology System of production into an economically viable enterprise.

  3. "Green Business System": Social Farming with a Face

Successful funding of Ecological Alternatives is needed for building Models for Climate Change Adaptation. Not only that, a "Green Business System" can also be designed to overhaul our economic systems and values by changing the relationship between consumers and producers. The great divide between consumers and producers where each group tries to take advantage of the other propelled the competition that wantonly neglected the interest of the natural environment. As producers extract more from nature to exploit demand, consumers create more waste as they try to get more "stuff" from the supply. This capitalist system, does not consider ecological balance as having prime importance. Ecological balance is always sacrificed for the sake of "development." A system of exchanging ecological value locally; where consumers and producers together participate in producing, packaging and marketing ecological goods and services will successfully reduce carbon emissions. Money then can be used for the creation of an alternative to the development agenda of the few who control the present economic system. With green business we will be able to make use of money (while it still has value) in creating Climate Change Adaptive human habitats.

The "Green Business System" is designed to establish a strong connection between the consumers and the CARE-Commune. We will organize a group of subscribers of the farm who will be educated to the values of health, environment, and community more than the value of money. The modules to be used in the education of the consumers will make them aware of the need to financially support the CARE-Commune by faithfully purchasing their products. In turn the Earth Commune will also make sure that the products they are selling are of the standard of ecologically produced healthy goods. Food Processing is an important design component of the project. The "Green Business System" will generate value added income to the CARE-Commune and provide healthy processed food for the consumers. We will produce dried and pickled fruits and vegetables. We will also process meat to make bacon, ham, sausages and other traditional organic meat products.

Most importantly, we will make peddle carts that will deliver fresh vegetables to our farm subscribers. The peddle cart is a crucial design element of this system. By going around the town showcasing our sustainable way of life we can call attention to the change that can happen given our creativity and imagination. We will also engage in eco- tourism showcasing our care for the beauty of the natural environment and the hospitality of our community. This is a very important component of the Green Business System as it will be the recruitment arm of the CARE-Commune. By promoting the virtually or actually we can connect with people who will be engaged on our advocacy on a long term basis. Packaging and Marketing our products will be the main activity of this system. Our Products will have the trademark "Father's Best" as reference to the hand of our Creator in all our endeavors. One hectare space to accommodate visitors and process products will become the hub of our operations for the entire nine systems.

.

  4. "Craft Village System": Making it through the Rain

Creatively responding to Climate change entails the use of our hands. Although we have achieved great development using our brains, we must remember that most of the achievements in our modern time were also brought about by the labor of the human hands. With the predicted breakdown of our present social systems due to calamities humans must be trained to use their hands in rebuilding their homes, and creating new habitat. Craftsmanship is an important training component to prepare us for climate change induced disasters. But the most important rationale for the "Craft Village System" is the reduction of our dependence on machines and restoring the right balance of personal creativity and "manufactured development." "Self-sufficiency" is our alternative to the complicated economic system that emits more carbon dioxide for the benefit of a few who rely almost sole on their brain power. Using natural renewable materials, art and craft will find their true meaning as expressions of the perfect beauty of the earth.

This system is designed to continue productivity even during the rainy season. By making seedlings of Bamboo on site and selling them to growers within 40 kilometer radius of the farm, we will be able to establish and supply for a simple bamboo tile making industry while we absorb more carbon dioxide. We can also engage in other crafts related to Bamboo, like toy making, furniture, and basketry. Non bamboo based handicrafts and art can then be based in a village where idle time from farm work can be creatively used. Dedicating one hectare for this system will eventually pay off in three years. Here we need to invest on craft houses and basic tools. Also designers and artists for the care of the environment can congregate on this space.

Designing a village of eight to ten families incorporating the designs of the other systems will be an interesting challenge. Concentrating many industrial activities in one section of the CARE-Commune will surely usher in collaborative creativity. Basketry, Blacksmith, Pottery, Woodcraft, recycling, weaving, candle making, etc. when put together in one area will enrich the minds of the CARE-Commune dwellers.

First on the line is "Bamboo." Bamboo planting is already integrated on previous feasibility study; "Aeta Food Forest System." We will assume on this study the presence of different Bamboo species. Foremost of this is rattan. KawayangTinik will also be an important raw material for the Bamboo craft enterprise. Focusing on bamboo tile making, we will need simple tools for cutting and planning bamboo. Gluing them together is a technology that is readily available. Establishing a shop for the processing of Bamboo is therefore first on our list.

Basket making is a traditional practical craft. However, we will need new designs that may supply the new needs of the people of today. We will explore for instance the need for ecological "marketing baskets." As more and more cities and towns are prohibiting plastics, we can create a market for non-disposable baskets. Investing on the training people not only on making baskets but also on designing and presenting them will be a logical move.

Pottery is another enterprise that we will explore. Red as well as green clay are available in the area. We will train people to make artistic pottery as well as functional pottery. One important target is brick making. We hope that the houses in the village will be designed to incorporate clay and other indigenous materials. This effort will surely be considered as a start for the spread of "Mud House" architecture that can be a good source of income for the CARE-Commune.

Blacksmith is an important component of this project. Training the people of the CARE-Commune to make their tools is one way to self-sufficiency. Here we would like to market knives, swords, arrows for souvenirs.

  5. "Permaculture School System": Teaching compact farming

There are many proposed solutions to climate change. Many well-meaning experts on different disciplines have given a lot of thinking on ways to address the problem. However, there are still a lot of people who does not have any clue on what is really going on. The majority of the inhabitants of our planet cannot act to save it simply because they do not know it is in danger. While we have so many graduates on other fields, for example, very few really study the environment. And those who know that we are in danger sometimes do not know what should be done. The design of the "Permaculture School System" is, therefore, not just to inform people about Climate Change but also to make them participate in the search for solutions. A "Permaculture School System" where future environmentalists are trained while they create CARE-Communes is at the heart of our design. In other words they learn about the problem as they create the solution.

Also, with an explosion on information due to technological advancement, there is less and less capacity building on discernment abilities that are needed in changing civilization's direction. Genuine education, one that facilitates discernment, is a powerful tool for changing the society towards earth caring. Demonstrating to would be Ecological Farmers how we can adapt to space and condition pressure from climate change by using efficient farming technology is the design of this system. Using small animals like quail, rabbits, worms, and fish together in a Mandala garden can show that we can produce more variety of plants all year round in smaller spaces. Aqua phonic gardening can also demonstrate the wiser use of water resource. We describe these components of small units of production: "Small is Beautiful." With an area of only about 3,000 sq. meters and employing small animals we can create an Eden that can produce food and income for three families. Permaculture School is the flagship project of this system. This school will provide an alternative learning model that starts with ecological science and ends with earth conscious spirituality. The contrast with the Permaculture way and conventional farming will facilitate discernment for people as they choose their lifestyle.

We will have weekend seminars as well as long term apprenticeship. We will also accept consultancies for other farmers that will be interested on our methods. While honing a self-sufficient community, we can also do research and campaigns to propagate our ecological agroforestry techniques. An important pedagogy of this system is the way we can survive global warming integrating all disciplines intelligently.

There is no better place to start learning how to care for the environment than on the earth itself. "Soil" is the first step in the methodology of educating people to ecological living. Vermiculture is, therefore our first project. Producing sixty bags of high grade fertilizer from vermicasting and bio-char will need housing for the worms and a way of gathering as much bio-mass as possible. Together with the production of organic fertilizer, we will engage in the teaching of basic soil science and soil care.

Utilizing the same building for the worms, we will produce mushrooms on commercial quantity. This will also be a good way to learn about fungus, bacteria, and beneficial micro- organisms.

With these two projects functioning, we can introduce the "small is beautiful" concept to learners. With Rabbits and Quail, we will not only provide food for the worms from the manure of rabbits and quail, but also combine all these products for culinary use. Providing food for the learners is a very good method of teaching sustainability.

Putting together all the other systems, we can come up with a four learning modules. For weekenders (those who want to stay for the weekend to learn), seminars (for those who want to have full day course on Permaculture), One month course (for those who want to learn more extensively) and Internship (for those who want to have mastery of the Permaculture way) are the four learning module we will use. Each of these modules will have a separate input and output financial program. We will also see revenue stream for each of them.

A very important component of this system is research. Integrated into the Administration and General Expenses, there should be a continuing gathering of information about Permaculture and other topics on the environment that will be useful for the content of the modules.

  6. "Bee Homes System": The beautiful way of Inhabiting the Earth

A big change in the way we inhabit the earth especially in the way we built our houses, must now begin. The best model and metaphor for this endeavor is the bee hive where the bees build their habitat close to their source of living and at the same time pollinates their environment. The bee hive design is a sharp contrast to our urban sprawls where human habitation is encroaching at the natural environment. Instead of urban invasion, the "Bee Homes System" limits the area of human dwelling to smaller spaces and increases the land allocated for the natural environment to flourish. Green- architectured homes and villages that considers electricity, food, transport, education, health, etc., in line with ecological balance is needed for us to reverse the trend towards urbanization. Energy efficient housing with passive cooling and homebuilt energy source will be the design prerogative of this system. Mindful of cost of materials to the environment, we will use recycled and indigenous renewable materials to build houses.

Built in obsolescence is heating up our planet as we create more products that will be discarded as soon as we get them out of our shopping bags. Designing villages that are more self-sufficient is a necessary move for adaptation to climate change. Making humans understand the limits of our environment in satisfying our wants is one of the purposes of creating the "Bee Homes System." The reason why we are destroying our planet is our false sense of the unlimited capacity of nature to yield for human wants due to the loss of our proximity to the sources of the things we consume. The "Bee Homes System" will endeavor to make our basic needs available where we are located.

It is also important that our dwelling places be adaptive to rise in temperature, sea level, extreme weather and other climate change phenomenon. One of the most serious impacts of climate change is on the health of our population. Already the vector of new diseases and viruses that can be attributed to global warming is increasing steadily. A big part of our effort to create new habitats is the integration of home remedies and research facilities for alternative medicine. A "Bee Homes System," abiding by nature's pace of evolution, can redirect humanity's irrational rush to "progress." Indeed, with human habitation designed for a peaceful life we can make the big change in society that we need in order to slow down our surge to "Progress".

Using the combination of "Chicken Tractors" (movable chicken houses!), Flower and ornamental gardening, Bee keeping and Trellis planting, we can create a spot where people can say they would love to stay. On this system we will imitate the bees whose food is gathered from their environment and in return they pollinate and make plants flourish. We will show what can be done to landscape our homes in the ecological way, i.e. we integrate ornamental and flowering plants with food crops and herbs for home remedies. We should also have facilities for research on alternative medicine and climate science. Green Architecture will not only provide Global warming resistant shelters for people but also economically productive households. Above all, these habitats are designed to absorb evacuees from climate calamities.

Building a Model Green Designed House will be the first move of this system. Gathering indigenous renewable materials like cogon, bamboo, rattan, wood, clay, etc. we will build a Youth Hostel that can house up to twenty visitors. The indigenous lodging house will be equipped with solar electricity and rainwater gathering technology for electric power generation. It will have its own biogas digester that will be used for cooking and high grade fertilizer making. The youth hostel will provide good income to the system and at the same time will cater the need of the community for support from other people who are interested on Ecological living.

Aside from the big Youth Hostel, we will build nine houses for selected members of the community. These houses will also follow green design using indigenous materials. They will be adaptive to the changes due to climate change. These nine houses will serve as Bed and Breakfast houses for visitors. They will have their own small "self-sufficiency" gardens. The host families will be trained for entertaining visitors who will be accorded a tour of the CARE-Commune.

Bio-Char is one project that can be integrated with the Green Housing system. Making fertilizers and out of agricultural waste products will be the focus of these nine households. They will also specialized in making Bio-char bricks that will be promoted as building material adaptive to extreme heat. The nine houses will showcase Green Architecture that can also be a source of income as we promote business for indigenous materials like cogon thatched roof, bamboo tiles, and bio-char bricks.

Bee keeping will be an important component of this system. With the bees around we can expect more flowers blooming. As well as Honey, flowers and ornamental plants can also be a good business. Bee keeping can also be one of the learning modules for the "Permaculture School System."

  7. "Earth-Commune System": A new way of cooperating with each other and with the earth.

Community is the missing link in our relationship with our natural environment. Our earth-destructive way of life was brought about by the erosion of community life. As competition becomes the norm in our economic system, the values of individualism dominate because they are more efficient and less cumbersome than relating to a community that has its own warts and dysfunctions. However with the impending breakdown of highly organized civilization, we need to go back to the simple neighborly relationship between people. Communities that are earth centered can be more tolerant and prepared to meet the challenges of conflicts arising from social breakdown because of disasters. An "Earth-Commune System" that can open people to accepting and celebrating differences and uniting towards the common good must be introduced in our society. An intellectual enlightenment on the role of the human community for the earth can unite us all toward the goal of saving our planet.

Organizing our community into a cooperative is the first step. Unlike the tribal structure, a cooperative will focus not only on the proper distribution of wealth in the community but also on the generation of income. Building on the refinement of the tribal system in caring for each other's welfare, the cooperative will help the tribal people adapt their own traditions to the modern economic system. They will learn about accounting, financing, and other business concepts that are hitherto alien to their culture. The design of the cooperative will help them discover the old wisdom of the tribal organization as they assimilate modern economic values. Shared responsibility towards the environment will not, however, be compromised because the products that the cooperative will be dealing with are forest products. Furthermore, the activities they will be engaged in will all have relationship with earth caring.

A half hectare Community Garden is an important component of the design. The design of this one five square meter is the microcosm of the whole CARE-Commune. We will organize the community to cooperate with each other in bringing about a flourishing site where each have their small piggery, fishpond, duck run, mandala garden, herb house, and raised beds, and goat range. With these family gardens, we hope to communally manage water resource, waste disposal and recycling, and marketing of products. This system will apply all the principles of the other systems and introduce elements that can be seen in the CARE-Commune in smaller scale.

Another important component of the Earth Commune design is Recycling. Mobilizing the whole community not only on recycling their own waste but also on gathering and reusing the waste of a whole town for profit will be a good revenue stream for the community. Just imagine the organic waste that can be turned into high grade fertilizer by the process of fermentation. It is common knowledge that Junk Shops in our country are lucrative businesses. Mobilizing the community to gather waste for recycling will have the same or even more impact on the community purse.

Finally the design of an earth commune should include youth development. This is one of the most untapped sectors for reforestation. Motivating the youth group of the community to care for their own future is a challenge that can be accomplished by training them to perform as a theatre group. Both the content and the process of creating a theatre group will avail the youth living in near the forest, the necessary ideology for earth caring. But not only that, theatre can also be a fund raising activity. With good investment on promotion we can perform outside the confines of the earth-commune and create a platform for the advertisement of our forest products.

The people living in an Earth-Commune must be able to imbibe all the principles of Ecological farming deeply. A team of nine people who are spiritually motivated to spread the principles of Ecological farming will be trained to build, operate and replicate Ecological Farms in other places. A formation program to equip these nine people who are involved with the design, creation, and management of the enterprise will be created. They will not only be taught to understand but also to live by the principles of Ecological Agriculture.

The very first step in the building of an Earth-Commune is organizing. Without an organized group we cannot achieve the vision of having a community that will care for the forest. As prelude to community organizing we will need to learn the basic data of the history and the present needs of the community. A survey of baseline social data, population, demographics, income level, skill level, education, etc. will be needed to assess the areas to focus on and unite the concerns of the members of the community. A series of seminars on Permaculture will give the community an overview of the necessity for community efforts for a successful reforestation. Introducing the cooperative idea to people may start with a focused group of upland farmers. A core group of interested people can then be organized to pioneer a cooperative for the purpose of implementing the "Aeta Food Forest System." that will generate income for the members.

Community gardening is a logical step that will go hand in hand with the "Duck Ecology System" and the "Green Business System." At this stage we will see that there is a growing demand for labor as the CARE-Commune Project gains momentum and increases the number of enterprises it engages on. With the community garden on the move to productivity through cooperative organization, we can expect more people to join the cooperative as they see that their agricultural products can have a ready market.

The youth of the community must not be left behind. Their idealism and energy can be harnessed to the benefit of reforestation. With proper education on Permaculture Principles, they are one of the most potent forces in the community. Theatre is one of the most effective ways for them to participate and at the same time learn deeper about their identity and its relationship with their natural environment.

Also, the earth commune system must have a way to connect with the community at large. Going around gathering waste for recycling is the best way to propagate the idea of Earth-Commune. This activity is both a social promotion gimmick and an income generating enterprise. We can promote environmentally sound response to the problem of waste mismanagement and at the same time develop the CARE-Commune identity as a group who cares for the earth and are deeply engaging the issue of Climate Change.

Finally, organizing yearly planting and harvesting festivals can be an income generating endeavor. By showcasing their forest products the community can find many more clients who will be able to support their reforestation efforts as they extend to other areas for tree planting and caring.

  8. "Off Grid System": Using water, wind, and the sun to power our gardens.

The people who will actively work on the CARE-Commune cannot just abandon their present quest for material wellbeing through modern technology outright for the sake of the environment. In fact, there are advances in technology that will empower them to transition into a better relationship with the earth. Harnessing renewable energy will help them to continue these good, earth preserving, and human enhancing technologies. With wind, water, sun and bio gas, we can create an "Off Grid System" that can guide them in discerning which technology is worth carrying on to the future. Recognition of the limits of the earth in providing power to human pursuit will enable them to prevent unnecessary energy consumption. With renewable energy they will maintain their almost zero CO2 emission. Therefore, a system of combining all possible sources of renewable energy must be made operative in the habitat of the people doing a Permaculture based reforestation. With the "Off Grid System" we can continue to serve our needs to develop without destroying our planet. Most importantly, a shift in their energy system can lead us to a venue for discerning more intelligently which of the technologies we are now using can really bring them to happiness. The design of the "Off Grid System is, however, not only for showcasing sustainable electric generation but more importantly for responding to the need of a community for comfort as they engage in the work of reforestation.

"Off Grid System" is a hybrid design. It is a combination of centralized power generation and household based power generation. A centralized power generation will require distribution lines that will deliver electricity to the households. To mitigate the cost of distribution, we will locate the waterwheel(s) near the places for higher electric demand. The Craft Village System, the Duck Ecology System, and the Permaculture School System whose feasibility study we dealt with on other documents, will benefit greatly from the electricity generated from the waterwheel and wind turbines. We will need to strategically locate these other systems so that they can have easy access to the power generated by the centralized plant. As the wind turbine and waterwheel can generate electricity both during the day and the night, we will need to store their energy into batteries. We can also have a place for people to bring their own small batteries for charging. Handmade wind turbines can generate electricity to light up a whole village on windy season. A waterwheel that can generate electricity during the rainy days can be integrated with a solar power system that will use the sun during dry season. Bio gas digesters can also generate power while transforming bio waste into good fertilizer. All these sources of energy together will make a village self -sustaining and able to keep up with humanizing and ecologically sound technologies. The internet is a valuable resource in DIY way of producing energy. Coupled with sufficient funding, ingenuity on this field can free us from the burden of high electricity cost.

The significant difference of the "Off grid System" from other renewable energy program is the size. Our approach to electric generation will be a mixture of centralized power generation and household based power generation. Instead of investing on the infrastructure for distributing power from a plant to the houses, we will create an independent system for each of the households. However, for the big common structures like the Youth Hostel, Retreat House, and other buildings we will make use of the centralized power generation of the waterwheels that are strategically located to supply areas with bigger demands.

We can start the Off grid system by installing solar panels on the nine houses designated for the "Green Housing System." These panels will be able to provide lighting for the houses using batteries that are charged during the day. There is an option for the installation of inverters. But the basic setup will be for each of the nine households to generate Direct Current electricity for lighting and simple home appliances.

Three Wind turbines can be stalled on the ridge of the mountain closer to the Craft Village area, where electricity will be needed for industrial activities. It is ideal that the electricity from these turbines are stored on batteries but in as much as it can be used during the day, the community must devise a system for utilizing power when there is more supply. A charging center can be installed where people can bring their batteries to be charged.

The Final enterprise for the Off Grid System is the mini Hydroelectric Plant. Made from indigenous and recycled materials, the waterwheel can generate power for the whole community.

  9. "Hope Culture System": Making Peace with the Earth.

With violence, we cannot move forward. Peace is the only way we can survive. Healing wounds of relationship is a necessary step towards focusing our energies away from petty anthropocentric bickering to a more earth centered existence. One of the most serious effects of climate change catastrophes is the emotional shock that ensue after people loss lives and properties. Although there is no way we can cushion the pain and the unrest that will come, we can prepare ourselves by training on nonviolence. A system of obtaining spiritual healing by communing with the awe inspiring natural environment needs to be made available to all who live in the planet. "Hope Culture System" can draw up spiritual energy from our deep well of life enhancing religious reservoir as summarized by the recent papal encyclical "Laudato Si." Authentic Hope will be the product of a spirituality rooted on the appreciation of God's design: Paradise. All our material resources must be used for this endeavor of returning to Paradise if we really want to address the apocalyptic character of climate change. Humans will be capable of total self- giving if and when they get in touched with their deepest desires.

A center for reflections on the events taking place as we experience Climate Change more dramatically will be the centerpiece of our design. Conducting Eco-retreats that will help people understand Climate Change and predict its outcome on the future and prepare them psychologically to handle catastrophic realities. These retreats will also introduce our clients to the alternatives that can be done to combat Climate Change. They will also experience on these retreats a community that is actually doing something to address the problem.

Counseling is also another enterprise built into the system. By training some people in the community on pear group counseling, we can have a small group of story tellers and listeners who will be able to communicate with our clients and serve as their guides in navigating through the new reality of Climate Change.

Integrated with this system is the alternative healing hand of the CARE-Commune. We will cultivate a herbal remedy garden together with healing huts to cater for those who would like to be healed and heal others by the natural way. We will offer courses (long and short) for those who will be interested on the deeper meaning of Climate Change Adaptation. The highlight of these courses is the "Spirit of Hope" that humans must cultivate to adapt to the new reality of Climate Change. The overall theme of this system is "Healing humans to heal the Earth." With this system in place we will be ready to build Climate Change models and train people to build them anywhere anytime.

Even if we have set up the entire infrastructure and have succeeded in achieving all our set goals, the CARE-Commune is still vulnerable to the changes in our climate. The forest that this program will create will depend on the people who will care for them in as much as the people will depend on the forest. But the care of the people does not only revolve on their material needs. We also have to see that their spiritual needs are met. Most of their motivational strength will come from their hope that what they are doing will impact the lives of many people.

There are three enterprises that will anchor our project to the design of nature to care for the holistic well-being of the people who will take care of the forest and those who are willing to join them.

Holding regular eco-retreats in the premises of the CARE-Commune will not only educate the beneficiaries but also spread their good practices of caring for the earth. These retreats will deepen the commitment of all participants to the cause of the environment.

Wellness, if practiced by the community, will lead the community to healthy living. Extending the experience of natural healing to visitors and learners will also rake in income for the community. More importantly it will serve the wider society by spreading healthy simple lifestyle to many people.

Finally, Personal authenticity will be the final answer to despair. Permaculture is offered as an alternative to the hopeless efforts to reforest our degraded environment. Climate Change to many people is something that we can do nothing about. As we see more and more how futile our small efforts are to the gargantuan scale of the Climate Change problem, we can easily give up and say we will just continue our way of life. But there is an alternative. We can change our lifestyle. Counseling person by person, we hope, can achieve the goal of changing the whole society. A permaculture based reforestation program can convince people that another way of life is not only feasible by desirable. Indeed, when we changed our ways because of the forest that we experienced, we can say that the forest can save the world too.

Every year we are threatened by enormous grass fires. Every year we feel a mix of anger and sadness when we see the small trees burned down and whole mountains turned black. But even on its decimated form, the farm never failed to inspire awe and reverence. The regenerative power of nature is beautiful. We can never design better than the one who designed nature. Now that we have the trees standing tall and the stream flowing again, we feel like we are in Paradise. Without us knowing, our going back to the land is God's quiet way of healing our hearts. True we will never be completely at peace. There will always be the temptation to go against nature and follow the destructive human design. But once we go back to nature its design will always call us back to simplicity and beauty.

Nonetheless, we are not blind to the destructive force of nature. We saw our trees destroyed by strong winds when there are typhoons. We saw our dams broken by the big floods our swimming pool filled with mud by a land slide; we saw our grass turn brown when there was drought; we saw our human nature tear us apart. Nature can be harsh but then we can be sure that it is humans that provoked it or, simply, humans cannot take it.

Our farm is not alien to disaster. In 2012, we nearly lost everything. Our rice failed three times because of flood, our dams were broken, even our cogon thatched roofed house was leaking like we did not have any roof. Many animals died and our ducks refused to lay eggs because they got so wet. Despite all the suffering, we had wild mushroom and pako (fern for salad), and banana and bamboo shoots, we have frogs and eels and snails for food. Nature provides. And most of all the trees were lush and green after the rain.

We designed our CARE-Commune the permaculture way: A design that is based on nature's way. The design that we described above is not the picture of the best design there is for a CARE-Commune. There are many elements still lacking. We cannot possibly imitate nature as we also try to satisfy human needs. This is a testimony to the grandeur of nature and the feebleness of human mind. But the key here is that we continue to learn from nature's design. When we say "nature provides", we also mean that nature will provide the design inspiration for us. The greatest learning we have in creating a CARE-Commune is that we always make the mistake of doing too much. Had we allowed nature to work its way we would not have used too much carbon dioxide and reduced our ugly obtrusive design.

The very first project that was made in our farm was the chicken house. We located it very far from where our house is now. Since then, from that location we moved the chicken house four times in three years! Until, finally, we decided to make them completely free range. Our hunter neighbors, to our disappointment, were the ones who benefited from the chickens that became wild. For the future we know better. We will design "Chicken Tractors," mobile chicken houses that will fertilize our gardens, make our chicken semi free range, and help us collect the eggs.

In nature all the animals are running wild. That is the best design. However, we cannot transition to paradise without first transforming human designs to natural designs. Today's modern chicken farms have so much flies that the neighboring communities has to eat under mosquito nets to keep away the flies. We are daily eating the meat that comes from those poultries that raise chicken in only twenty five days. The normal mature age for chicken to be good for our kitchen is at least six months. They stuff the chicken with so much antibiotics and growth hormone for them to attain the commercial weight after twenty five days. The same is true with fish, pigs, and cows. They are grown in the unhealthiest way. We need an alternative design for mass food production that will not destroy our health and the balance of nature.

Over the years, our rice paddies and the fish ponds were all literally carved by our hands. ClideCucueco my most faithful friend and supporter lend me his backhoe for almost a year to do the earthwork as we realized that it will take up a lot of our energies if we will not use heavy equipment to work the land and recover its fertility. I wanted the rice paddies and fishponds way too much in the beginning because I was aiming intensely on food self- sufficiency. And rice and fish was like a trophy dangling before me. So we used the back hoe to dig and to flatten some areas. At hindsight we are realizing that we lost a lot of high grounds for vegetables! Had we done more terracing we could have saved money and time and created a more beautiful landscape. Had we just situated our ponds where there was plenty of water instead of placing it close to the house because of human design taste, we could have developed better fishponds. These are just some of the examples of the tension between human and nature design.

There are also examples that show following nature is best; like the contouring of the trees as we plant them; mixing the different species of trees rather than mono culturing. In the beginning, for lack of knowhow, we planted trees in line with exotic species like Mahogany and Acacia Mangium predominating. Later on, we learned about nurse tress and pioneer trees as well as succession planting. We first planted the fast growers to create shades for the native species that are less tolerant to the heat of the sun. We planted leguminous trees like Lucerne to provide nitrogen to our soil. These ways of nature worked so well that now we can see a forest regenerating on its own.

The design we wrote above is a product of a lifetime of experimentation... a life time of research and listening to the wisdom of many people. Above all, it is a lifetime of simply being astounded by the beauty and intelligence of nature's design.

We cannot help to include on our design of a CARE-Commune the part about enculturation of hope. We believe that hope is not only a product of human apocalyptic imagination. Hope is biological, physical and chemical. Hope is written in the way bees were able to organize themselves to pollinate thousands of flowers. The multiplication of effective microorganisms in the process of fermentation, the survival of beneficial microbes when mixed with milk is testimony to the design of nature for flourishing. One seed of rice can become more than a thousand seeds. The miracle of storing so much information in a small computer chip is also witness to the capacity of God's creation to manifests God's genius. As we face a daunting ecological apocalyptic time, hope is there in the hearts of talented, hardworking, compassionate people. Hope must be an important part of our design. With these seeds of Hope let us now turn to the details of how to connect the dots of the design above into an intelligent congruent plan of action.

  5. Implementation Plan:

An Intelligent Path to Recovery

Father RoqueFerriols is a brilliant Filipino Philosopher who taught Philosophy at the Ateneo de manila University. He taught Philosophy in the native language, Pilipino, in an effort to bring his students closer to the truth in their own language. I will not remember all the things that he taught us. But I will not forget him loving the truth and giving his whole life to teach us about opening our minds so that we can rid ourselves of the blindness that separates us from the truth. He introduced me to the book "Small is Beautiful" by E.F. Schumacher. The claim of this book is simple: Love for the truth can lead us to a better way of loving our fellow human beings and nature. Rigorously studying the assumptions of our present economic system, will lead us to an economics that will take people's deep desires met. A lot of the mistakes in our society stems from the refusal to rigorously critique the way of life we are taking. Development is no longer critiqued everyone just accepted it as the right path.

"But how is it to be done? What are the "moral choices"? Is it just a matter of... deciding how much we are willing to pay for clean surroundings? Mankind has indeed a certain freedom of choice: it is not bound by trends, by the 'logic of production, or by any other fragmentary logic. But it is bound by truth. Only in the service of truth is perfect freedom, an even those who today asks us to free our imagination from the bondage of the existing system fail to point the way to the recognition of the truth."

Schumacher argued farther that

"Out of the whole Christian tradition, there is perhaps no body of teaching which is more relevant and appropriate to the modern predicament than the marvelously subtle and realistic doctrines of the four cardinal virtues prudencia, justicia, fortitude, and temperentia.

Planning our step back to Paradise would need as much intelligence if not more, as the achievement of material development agenda. In the same way that we employed great talents to create the mega cities and the complicated web of technological urban landscape, so must we to employ learning and the desire for the truth in order to go back to paradise. Dismantling the achievement of the modern industrial complex is not an easy task. Although we know that we cannot survive if we continue the way we are living, the demise of the materialistic lifestyle cannot happen in an instance. We need a rigorous dedication to the truth in plotting the reversal of the myth of progress.

If we become too idealistic we will not be able to convince those who are enchanted with modern technological convenience. Their fascination will outweigh our pie in the sky proposal. If we become too practical, however, we will employ the same efficient technologies and way of life that brought us to this state of ecological imbalance. Embracing the methods of the development agenda to achieve our goals can detour us going to the same destructive relationship with nature. We will need an intelligent balance.

Buddhism has a beautiful metaphor for an enlightened way of leading people to the right path. Human beings are like children playing their toys under a house that is burning. No matter how you try to convince them and yell at them to come out of the house on fire, they will not go out because they are on a trance playing their favorite toys. So we need a cart full of goodies to bring in the house so that they can play with it and ride on the cart which we can then pull out of the house on fire. Intelligently dealing with the present crisis needs an intelligent creative way to seduce humanity out of our destruction. We must plan not only for the paradise that we are going to build but also for the steps to get people to better place we are proposing. In other words, our Pilgrimage to paradise is an intelligent process and not just a successful result.

Pilgrimage to Paradise will involve first of all studying the Paradise that God made. In my estimate there are only five percent left in the world where we can see the original Paradise that God made. The remaining rain forest and the coral reefs, and other pristine parts of the world must be preserving employing all our might. Preserving the Original Paradise will require a vigorous campaign based on rigorous research. If we are going to create a Paradise where people can Pilgrimage to we must closely and truthfully look at the Original Paradise that God made.

The Paradise inside us is also important to study. Neuroscience, psychology, sociology, anthropology, these studies attest to the efforts of the human to be better. It is amazing to learn what we have become. Humans, although we are the main agent of the destruction of the planet, has so much to offer in saving it. Learning about the paradise inside the human heart is a task that demands refined human intelligence.

These two paradise, the paradise in us, and the paradise originally made by God if put together harmoniously can create the third Paradise, the one made with the human hands. Jesus in the murky swamp of human dysfunction is the best model for the Paradise that humans can make. After a hundred years of Jesus's death, his legacy of gathering his twelve apostles to a community of love blossomed into countless monasteries in Europe that became centers of learning and human wellbeing. The personal authenticity of Jesus will continue to shine as humans continue to rise above the ashes of its failure to bind together in doing what is right.

This chapter will discuss the nine steps back to the Paradise. The Apex of these nine steps is on the fourth step: the creation of a Permaculture School System. This system will be the truth seeker of the CARE-Commune. The three steps leading to the creation of a Permaculture School System will also serve as the materials for learning, the syllabus of sustainability. A research facility that can gather recent data about sustainable ecological living will also established on this system. Experiments on the alternatives to the destructive development model can also be done on this system. Above all the Permaculture School system will introduce people to a discernment process that will lead them to a choice in lifestyle for the future. Laudato Si together with the CARE-Commune curriculum will be an important tool of this step.

A scholarship Program for those who are going to work on creating CARE- Communes is a crucial mechanism for the establishment of the sites. The nine steps outlined on this chapter will need initial funding as well as the "Paradise ideology" explained above. Appealing to the intellectually enlightened and financially capable people who are concerned with the environment, we will mobilize funding for the initial sustenance of the creators of the CARE-Commune.

An important part of nature's design is "succession": Each species causes its own demise as new specie dominates. Stability takes place when we do not allow a disturbance to prevent the succeeding specie to bloom and reach its niche. Diversity is promoted when more layers of species are created. In permaculture parlance this is called "stacking." Our implementation plan would like to use this design option. As we achieve one goal we should understand that is will be succeeded by another. At the same time we should take care that the achieved goals will not fade away but serve as the foundation for all the rest.

Funding is a big issue in achieving these goals. In the past we were not only timid in soliciting grants, we literally put that activity aside. We simply concentrated on changing our lifestyle and engaged full time on the practical arrangement of the change. The other big problem was that we are not competent fundraisers. Having said that, we must pursue fundraising more vigorously but we will not let the absence of funds cripple our alternative to catastrophe. We can see in this plan that all we need is a million pesos to create the spiral that can create three CARE-Communes. Hopefully, these three models will also multiply and attain exponential replications.

GOAL 1: Change of Heart: Responding to the three most basic needs; food, craftsmen, and money in the task of Preventing Global warming. The immediate output of this step is gross earnings of about one million one hundred sixty Pesos in one year from an initial investment of six hundred ninety thousand pesos. The desired outcome of the three steps bellow is the enlisting of the Pioneering ninety volunteers who are willing to donate part of their time for the effort to establish the first three models of Climate Change Adaptation in the country.

Step 1: "Duck Power System"

"Food is the way to the heart" Re discovering the joy of producing food the ecological way will convert many people to do agriculture in an earth caring way. We can make this big step out of our comfortable houses with our television and gadgets by first allowing organic food to be on our table. Enjoying healthy tasty food from the garden will awaken our sense of taste that the artificial chemically laden diet killed. Making our sense of taste and zest for nature's fruits alive again will surely give us the courage to move our feet and step into the gate of paradise. At the gate, what awaits to welcome us is the humble soil. The best way, the most intelligent way, to start creating our Paradise is with the soil. With the help of our earthly friends, the worms, we will make 300 sacks of organic fertilizers, a good start for a garden that can provide vegetables, rice, fish, duck eggs and meat for 25 people all year round. Bio- char can create homes for effective microorganisms and sequester carbon to the soil. The application of Leonardite to our soil is a revolutionary technology that uses highly soluble fossil humus to recover soil fertility permanently. Use of Effective and indigenous microorganism is also an essential ingredient to our farming technique.

After the soil, vegetable is our next target! One haft hectare of vegetable garden is an easy task for nine people. Starting with a pinakbet garden we can progress to producing solanaceous (cactus like plants that are tolerant to water deficiency) vegetables and then high value crops like lettuce and cabbages. Companion planting and "stacking" will assure us of all year round vegetable supply. Fortunately, there are many guidebooks for organic gardening available to us. But always remember the old wisdom of ancient gardeners "The Shadow of the farmer is the best fertilizer" Our daily presence in the garden is the assurance that the plants are fed properly with good soil. Good soil equals good plants, equals good people.

Self-sufficiency on rice will give us food security and extra resource to pay our workers. Integrating fish and rice will maximize our land use and assure fertility to the soil without using chemical fertilizers. The palayisdaan system will also irrigate our land. Self-sufficiency is the goal of the Change of Heart. Self-Sufficiency, the term used to describe a lifestyle that tries as much as possible to produce what is consumed. This lifestyle goes directly against consumerism that is causing the death of our planet.

Finally we will have ducks. Periodic confinement and pasturing of ducks will rid our rice of snails and insects, fertilize our soil, and provide protein on our tables. Starting with one hundred ducks will only need simple housing and the culture of snails. As said in an African proverb. "There is no infestation of snail, only a deficiency of Ducks." The deeper wisdom of this African proverb is that by employing the aid of nature itself, we will able to heal it.

On this step we can change our mono crop agriculture into bio diverse farming system that includes vegetation, fish and ducks. For the four months of this step, we hope to gather and train the first 30 volunteers. The income target and the expected outcome of 30 volunteers participating on this first step is carefully estimated based on our experience of creating the "Duck Ecology System." A more detailed discussion on the technical infrastructure needed to create this system is written on chapter 8.

Step 2: "Craft Village System"

"We can feel our heart by the pulse in our hands." Using our hands again will lead us to a new lifestyle. We can cut our overdependence on things that are made by factories and so reduce our carbon emission. Re discovering the joy of getting in touched with our creativity will call us back to earth. The best material to start is Bamboo. Then we can progress to creating other products that are of practical use in everyday life.

Baskets that can replace plastic bags for our farm products, kitchen utensils made of bamboo, house furniture and toys, even a windmill made of bamboo when skillfully made can give our earth-commune dwellers pride and satisfaction on the work of their hands. The greatest achievement of the second step is the small scale bamboo tile making industry.

Art will be an attraction for people to follow us on the path of low impact lifestyle. With bamboo, grass, clay, and other renewable resource, we can build our own art gallery showcasing the artistry and creativity of our community members.

Recycling is another area we can work on. Using metals, plastics, wood, and other materials we can create art and crafts that can be useful for daily life. We must care not to make things that will eventually become waste. This means creating heirloom products that can be passed from one generation to the next.

With all the crafts that can be made by a community of ten families we can create a whole village; A blacksmith shop to recycle metals, a weaving house to make cloth, a candle making house, a toy craft shop, a house for pottery, etc. Each family in the village can produce a craft that will occupy their time when they are not producing food and caring for the forest. Integrated in the design of their houses are their work places.

On this step we can change from polluting manufacture industry to a slower but gentler hand craft industry using indigenous, recycled, and renewable resources. Also on this step, we hope to gather and train 30 more volunteers.

Step 3: "Green Business System"

"Where your treasure is there your heart will be." Consumers, who care for the life of the producers and the quality of products, will more likely be supportive of the endeavor to create goods that are ecologically made. They can also put more pressure on producers to produce products that will not harm the natural environment. They can further encourage products that will enhance bio-diversity and create more bio-mass. By direct marketing both the producers and the consumers can influence each other to go green. Indeed, changing the way we do business is a big step towards a change in our values. Health, environment, and community can have values that are more important than only economic value.

There is no better way to start than with an electric peddling cart of organic vegetables and other homemade goods. Without carbon emission this peddling cart will send a message of change to the consumers: you get more out of your money with ecological goods... you get your health back and you get your earth back!

The most important activity of this step is the organizing of the ecological consumer's group. This group will be made aware of the importance of Climate Change Adaptation. Understanding the plight of the farmers who are struggling to combat climate change will be part of their orientation. With this understanding they will become subscribers of the Climate Change Adaptation Model and not just buyers of farm products. As they appreciate the added values of the products they buy they will pay regularly and even participate in improving the quality of the goods we provide. On our estimate, one CARE-Commune can have as many as thirty subscribers. The closer they are to the farm, all the better. With the income from the sales of the farm products, we can feed the people working on the CARE-Commune. In one year we will have enough funds and goodwill to tackle our second goal: Social Change.

A big part of this step is food processing and preservation. Knowing that almost a fourth of the public's electric consumption goes to refrigeration as we needed bigger and bigger freezers, old fashioned food preservation can encourage our consumers to cut down on their refrigeration consumption (it can even add flavor to our farm products).

With this step we hope to complete our ninety pioneer volunteers. This step is clearly not the "business as usual" business. We will be shifting to green business that will create bio-mass as the products we produce and our clients consume are from only one third of our land area, all the rest is forest.

These first three steps aim to recruit 90 volunteers in one year. These ninety volunteers can work in our first CARE-Commune even for just one day. Some of them will be in our place for a weekend. Some can stay for a week or more. We will raise funds for the food of these volunteers and the implements that they need for their work. More importantly we will create a program for them to have an excellent positive experience of earth caring. The Climate Change Scholarship Program is an important offshoot of the first three steps. We will start to develop this scholarship program from the time we publish this book. Finishing these three steps means the beginning of the high maintenance phase of the CARE-Commune. While we maintain the gins of the first three steps, we will set up for the next Goal: Social Change.

GOAL 2: Social Change: Responding to higher needs; knowledge, housing, and community to mitigate catastrophes. The desired outcome of the three steps of Goal 2 is the enlistment of 27 people who are willing to change their lifestyle completely and live in Earth-Communes.

Step 4: "Permaculture School System"

"The mind is the way to other minds." There is no better way to change society than education. However, there is a lot of unlearning to do before we can use the potential of education to change society. Education has to change first before it can change society. We need to unlearn mono culture "development" as the way to human happiness. Opening up to the science of the earth, water, and wind can bring us back to the awe inspiring majesty of creation. The system of bio diversity and evolution can awaken us to the superiority of the natural world to human achievement.

As we move on to step 4, we will need fund raising mobilization because we are going to support the livelihood of 27 "U turners and create a school for them. Setting up a Climate Change Adaptation Scholarship Fund is an integral move of step 4. On this fundraising, we will try to first educate the people (especially those who are emitting more carbon dioxide) we know. We will further make them aware of their big role in reversing the tide of Climate catastrophe. With the Climate Change Adaptation Scholarship Fund, we will be able to support the labor and material requirement of a Permaculture School. The people who are learning about Climate Change Adaptation will also be the ones building our models. A mix of local people and would be "U-turners," (people who decided to move away from urban setting and embrace rural life) these scholars will become environment experts to lead us in the age of global warming.

The main project of our scholars is the building of their own school using indigenous materials like bricks and bamboo. They will be involved in the designing process of an aquaculture project, mandala garden, and compact farming methods. The center piece of this step is the "Small is Beautiful Farm." On this One thousand square Meter farm, we will raise small animals for high protein yield like rabbits, quail, and worms. We will also have mushrooms, Effective Micro Organism culture, and seedling Production. The three months scholarship program can extend to another 3 months of maintaining what was built and learning other concepts relevant to Climate Change Adaptation like energy, spirituality, community, economics, etc.

On this step, we hope to recruit and train 9 apprentices to the program who will actually live and work with us in our first CARE-Commune on a more permanent long term engagement.

Step 5: "Bee Homes System"

"The beautiful mind that can see beauty can make beauty." Another Society changing field is architecture. Once we change the way we inhabit the planet, social dynamic also changes. If we for instance are able to make houses that are designed to produce food and deal with health issues, we will be saving more carbon dioxide emission. Now the environmental problems are more of a design and engineering problem. The economic, moral, and political, and even scientific debate is almost over, what we are faced with is how to build our new habitats. With green architecture we will be looking at not only housing per se but also energy, food, recreation, health and a host of other issues that impacts human habitation.

Before we build our houses let us first build some bee boxes. Observing how the bees live and create their living space we will know nature at its best. The bees do not only collect the sweet nectars, they pollinate the flowers so that they can produce more plants. In the same way we will also build our homes so that we can contribute in bio-diversity and bio mass production.

On this step we will make the super model of self-sufficiency, the chicken tractor: A mobile chicken coup that will fertilize our vegetable and flower garden. A small bio-gas digester that will process the manure from our small animal farm (rabbits and quail) and provide hide grade organic fertilizer to our orchid garden will be put in place. Hydroponic garden designed to mimic the ecosystems of marshlands can provide us a Climate Change adaptive food production right at home.

Finally on this step we will create our homes with green architecture. Using methods that will employ passive cooling, solar power collection, rain water collection and wind harnessing, we will build model houses that will be safe to fire, flood, and storm.

Health is wealth! Integrated in building new habitats is the home remedy garden that will grow 27 different herbal cures for maladies that can be remedied at home. Integrated in our housing program is the research clinic that will have the facility to learn about diseases and their cures.

Engaging on this project, we hope to recruit another 9 apprentices to live and work for us on a permanent basis. We will invite visitors to see and live on these houses for them to realize that there is comfort in zero waste and zero emission. After one house done, it will be easier to replicate it.

Step 6: "Earth Commune System"

A community that cares for the earth is the best attraction for people to change. Experiencing a joyful group of people making meaningful effort to care for the earth and their fellow human beings can give courage to people to abandon their death dealing way of life. Organizing a pilgrimage where people can help build and maintain eco-communities is an important step in eventually changing our society. Through this pilgrimage we hope to complete our 27 "U" turners who will completely leave their "Material development" mode of living to be "earth care givers."

The first move on this step is reaching out to religious groups to recruit participants. The social media can also be of help on this gathering of participants. As in all Pilgrimages, the logistics will be simple. A combination of walking, biking, boat ride, and bus rides will link together the novena of nine stations that will have specific themes to tackle.

This nine days initial formation program will be followed by a month of intensive Climate Change Adaptation Model making course for those who will be interested to give part of their life for the project.

After this course, we will choose the 27 "U-turners" who will create the 2nd Model of Climate Change Adaptation. They will have a three month course before they make a commitment for three years to work on the project.

On the second step, we built the craft village. By the time we get to step six, "Earth-Commune System" the infrastructure of the craft village have evolved into a community of individuals united in the task of Climate Change Adaptation. This community must already have a forward look at creating other communities of similar purpose. The pilgrimage will showcase our first Earth-Commune as a model for a community Program. We shall have a community theatre group, earth liturgies, study groups, community gardening, sports, art and crafts exhibits and other community activities that will not only show the richness of our experience but also the natural environment that we helped to recover.

GOAL 3: Climate Change: Moving our bodies to Adapt to 42 degrees temperature by creating Forests, off gridding, and culturing hope. The desired outcome of the following three steps is the creation of three Climate Change Adaptation Models that will serve as the three centers for the new ecological lifestyle.

Step 7: "Food Forest System"

Return to Paradise entails reforestation. Mobilizing the local people to Plant trees on public Lands is our answer to the inefficiency and corruption of Government agencies tasked to reforest. By systematic Programing of Massive Tree Planting with Students from Private Schools, we can Plant a million Trees in one Year. The best place to start is with a compact food forest designed for natural regeneration. Such a model can then be replicated by all the groups who would like to join the "Adopt a Baby" forest program. On this step we will choose a farm that we will begin to convert into a Climate Change Adaptation Model. We will make the necessary evaluation and planning of the site before we make the agreement with its owner.

On this step, the activity will focus on another site, the 2nd CAME-Commune. The location will depend on the availability of land. We hope that it will be in the northern most part of the country. The first move is the creation of a bio-diversity nursery. We will also open the place as a learning venue for reforestation.

The "Food Forest System" will be put in place on in as short as one year show casing the achievability of recovering our forest cover quickly. All the learning we gathered on our journey will be used with more precision. In a sense we will come full circle. Remember that our first entry to Climate Change Adaptation is tree planting by our Japanese friends. Since then we now have more than twelve hectares of forest with trees as high as ten meters.

Step 8: "Off Gridding System"

Not connecting with the big electric companies and producing our own power will demonstrate that we have the freedom to select technologies that are earth and human enhancing rather than death dealing. Our farm will be the test case of complete reliance on renewable energy. The affordability of Solar, Wind, Hydro, and Bio Gas will convince many people that reliance on nature does not mean going against human progress. The result of this step is the refinement of the first Climate Change Adaptation Model.

Homemade wind turbines will be installed at the ridges of our mountain. Waterwheel will charge our batteries and we will be able to power our small craft village of nine families. On this step we will have the power to convince people that, indeed, there is abundant life in a CARE-Commune. When this step is complete, we are ready to cease being just a model but a mainstream lifestyle. The final step, step 9, is not ours to take but God's. Human power ends when the Divine power takes control.

Step 9: "Hope Nurture System"

One person suddenly changing his heart and opting to live a simple life and moving out of urban center to the a rural area can already effect change in the amount of carbon dioxide emitted in the atmosphere. Those who will realize that God made our planet so beautiful and awe inspiring and reject all activities that is harming the planet can have great contribution in healing our earth. Those who can see that their mission is life is to promote lifestyles that cares for the earth and are willing to sacrifice their talents and resources for the advancement of ecological spirituality can add to the force of people who will work to advocate environmental causes. Those who will be guided by the wisdom and the spirit of Pope Francis' encyclical may create another model for Climate Change Adaptation.

The simple move on this step is the promotion of the three day Ecological retreats to awaken anyone to the courage, wisdom, and love that they are capable of. Here religious groups, churches, even mosques and temples can participate. On this final step, we should cultivate the most important value needed for Climate Change Adaptation: HOPE that enables people to make heroic choices.

The intelligence of our design can be deduced by looking at the spiral movement from goal one to goal three. This style is an imitation of the seed of plants. Starting from one seed we can have multiple plants that will grow more fruits, a hundred, a thousand fold. Enculturation of this biological mechanism to humanity's personal, social, and spiritual movement is an insight we stumbled upon in our engagement with nature. The power of nature for regeneration is really fascinating. We planted only about 20,000 trees. Counting on the average survival rate of 80 percent, we can count only 16,000 trees. But because of natural regeneration, we now have a forest of more than 20,000 trees. The wind, the birds, the rain, and all the rest of nature's survival kit acted to create a bio-diverse, teeming tropical forest.

We have a lot to learn too from the seeds of rice. When we were experimenting with the red rice using the SRI (System of Rice Intensification) developed by a Jesuit from Madagascar, we saw that one handful of rice can turn to 20 sacks of rice! Each seed multiplied literally a hundred fold (more than 9,000 seeds). This system of rice cultivation is very scientific and intelligent. Based on their analysis of the root system of rice plants, they learned that the rice plants that are grown father apart have more robust roots and therefore better yield. They also learned that when seedlings were transplanted late their fastest growing period is missed. If the rice seedlings are transplanted before twenty days after they were sown their growth is maximized. Also, water, they learned, is used to kill the weeds that will compete with the rice plant for nutrients. The down side is that water also deprives the rice with the necessary oxygen for full growth. Understanding nature rather than manipulating it is the key to the two hundred percent higher harvest of SRI compared with conventional chemical rice cultivation.

We are aware that there are many scientific researches done already in trying to prove that Climate Change is real. We owe so much to our dedicated scientist the comprehensive look at the causes of our earth's destruction. The many people who articulated our ecological problem in a very intelligent manner is praiseworthy. However, we need now to move quickly to a working solution. Time is running out. And it is auspicious that we have individuals that were inspired to implement solutions on their own initiative and creativity. However, we need to acknowledge that the intelligent path now is to change the lifestyle of an entire civilization completely. The time for small pockets of "resistance", individuals like us who struggled for many years just to create a tiny oasis is over. We need more people to opt for life against death.

These series of nine steps is easy to replicate provided we have the people to journey with us. Almost all the materials for building a Climate Change Adaptation Model are available in nature. True we need funds to kick start the process but the most important element is the human heart, the human mind, and the human hands. We know in our experience of building our fist model that we have no deficiency of heart, mind, and hands. But we also learned that goodwill is not enough if we do not have a system of forming the minds, the hearts, and the hands in place. One of the most idealistic attempts we made in our journey is our scholarship program. So far we already tried to help five bright young girls to have college education. Out of the five, two graduated. We are not very happy with the result of these attempts. First, there was no clear vision of integrating the problem of the environment with their education. Because of the wishes of the donors to lift these girls out of poverty by giving them college degrees, we needed to reluctantly follow the flawed educational system of the country. We sent them to colleges that taught them the same values of consumerism, materialism, and individualism that ruined our environment. Three of them did not even make it to first base because, I believe, the drive was not there for heroic action to save our planet. Their main concern was to get our or poverty for themselves and their families. Not a bad motivation but we can do more to harness such motives if we can offer a way out of poverty through caring for the environment. In the future we will be needing scholars who did not only learned from the books of traditional schools but from the lessons of the earth itself. A big part of this proposal is the Climate Change Scholarship Program that aims to scholar one whole community together in preventing, mitigating and adapting to Climate Change. An idea that grew out of our experience of educating our farm workers, this scholarship program will not only lend funds to the steps outlined on this chapter but will also lend a rigorously researched data for every one of the steps we take. The scholarship program itself will be our research arm.

We know that we need the series of steps outlined on this chapter to mobilize people. For without a path, our journey will take needless detours. The best lessons from our experiences are compiled to envision the path we paved on this book. It is a path tried and tested --a path that gave us the wisdom to change before Yolanda and Ondoy happened. On the next chapter we will discern the timing of each of these steps based on these compiled experiences. Aware that we are in a time of unpredictable weather conditions, we will have flexibility. But our pragmatism will not compromise the defense of nature. No doubt, our loyalty to the cause of Bio-diversity by Bio-mass production will be tested by time and adverse circumstances. Even so, uncompromising faithfulness to a three year timeline is not too much to risk. Let us go for it.

Goals | Mode | Measure | Lifeline

---|---|---|---

Change of heart | Self-Sufficiency | 90 volunteers | 1 year

Social Change | Sustainability | 27 "U" turners | 2 years

Climate Change | Replication | 3 Models | 3 years

VII. Timeline:

Reading the Signs of the Time:

St. Columban (529- 615 AD), at an advanced age of 82, decided to cross the Alpsto continue his missionary journey. St. Gall, a friend and companion since their youth, due to a sickness asked to be left behind. St. Columban thought this declension as a sign of weakness in faith. As penance he forbade his friend to say the Holy Mass until after his death. November 23, 615, St. Columban died. His friend and faithful companion offered mass for the repose of the soul of one of the great molder of the European culture.

St. Columban was first and foremost a Pilgrim. He left his own land, Ireland, to go to France and wandered around almost the whole of Europe to spread his monastic rule at a time of wars and social decay. In the aftermath of his death, countless monasteries, centers of culture and models of right living, dotted the European landscape.

Pilgrim on the move though he might be, he always left with him vibrant communities of faith and wisdom that brought fertility to the land. Like oasis in the deserts, these monasteries attracted many people to settle near their institutions of learning and imitate the way of life of the monks who served as their guides and protectors.

St. Gall, on the other hand, is the epitome of the caring monks who minded the permanent homes that St. Columban left behind. St. Gall faithfully tended the Garden while his master continued his Pilgrimage. The monasteries were stable self-sufficient communities that produced the best fruits out of the land. In turn, the monastic land produced great men of knowledge and faith, even martyrs.

The extraordinary technological civilization that we are about to loose with the impending catastrophe of Climate Change could not have developed if Europe, the cradle of empirical science, did not flourish in 6th century. We owe it to the monks like St. Benedict and St. Columban with their tradition of work and prayer that the intellectual tradition of humanity was preserved against the barbarian invasions and social decay at the ebb of the Roman Empire. But it was not only the courage of these heroic saints that molded European culture it was also the multitude of monasteries with their system of community rules, intellectual and spiritual pursuit, and agricultural practice that bequeathed our technological civilization.

Heroic Christian leadership does not come from a lofty promise of glory. The saints in the past were not motivated by a future glory but by authentic life in the here and now. Indeed, they were first and foremost fruits of the land. They were down to earth people, practical, physically fit, exposed to the elements, and totally immersed in the political and social situation of their time. They were not just marching toward a glorious future like soldiers on a battlefield who were promised victory. Both St. Gal and St. Columban were motivated by the call of their time to live an excellent life in the here and now, on the land. They read the signs of the times in their generation and responded with extreme generosity.

On the last chapter we wrote the sequence of steps in the creation of Paradise. Here in this chapter we will try to situate our heroic action as we look at the sign of the times. The CARE-Communes will try to emulate, even simulate, the movement of the spread of monasticism in Europe from the 5th to the 7th century AD. The loyalty manifested on the daily toil of both St. Gal and St. Columban to their cause of spreading the love of God in a violent, disordered society can teach us that our "Home" the planet earth is worth all the best in us, our strength, our talents, our whole selves.

When do we do it?

"There is no greater force in history than an Idea whose time has come." As we saw in the last chapter, the sequence of the steps we have to take has an internal logic I called a "spiral." It is our supreme hope that such a spiral will grow bigger and so affect the lifestyle of the whole nation. Although I wrote at the end of each of the past chapters our real experience of changing our own lifestyle, we have not made any simulation of the changing of lifestyle of a huge number of people. On that regard, we are still on the dark waiting for a spark that will bring light to our world.

Has the time come for our idea? The "spiral' we described on the last chapter will only become a force in history if its time has come. And it is only when a mass of people work together for the cause of building a multitude of CARE-Communes can we say "the time has come."

However, while we are groping in the dark, we will remain faithful in the belief that there is a solution to climate change and the solution is here, only there is a cloud of darkness covering it. In the opportune time all will be revealed to more people who will then act upon what they have known. In the meantime, we will continue to put details on our vision; for although the people around us cannot see, we can because we are in touched with the soil, the grass, the water, the animals and all the other creatures that are here to help us survive. The natural world will be telling us when the right time is but it is our duty to articulate the time line we discerned from nature's rhythm. The essence of the hope we discussed at the end of the last chapter is not only founded on the intelligence of our design. Hope is not only about mathematical optimism. Hope is about the certitude in our hearts that living ecologically ethical life in the here and now will help us discern the signs of the times.

Above all, our hope is founded on our deep desire to leave a healthy planet to our children. Francis, Gabriel, and Matthew, and all the children of our world deserve to live in a flourishing planet that is better than what we inherited. Someday they will be the ones to integrate the little information that is left from the remnants of our green planet and the information they get from us. They will be the ones who someday will see that working for sustainability can save our planet.

We cannot preclude a big disaster from the picture. The inevitability of such a disaster is right before our eyes. True there is no sense to human suffering, but if we can find a pedagogical meaning to it, we can say that suffering can awaken us to our responsibility to save our planet. Perhaps it is a disaster that will tell us the time has come.

2050 is an important year. According to a group of scientists, the climate variability will end about the year 2049. This means that we will be experiencing super typhoons and mega floods on a constant escalation. There is no more comparison with historical records for the events will have surpassed all that humanity experienced in the past. Before 2050, however, the "new normal" will have unprecedented consequences on food production, i.e., we will have great difficulties in producing rice and vegetables, our marine resource will deplete, and our modern way of producing meat in confinements will be challenged by extreme heat. Migration due to environmental destruction will be massive and disruptions on our institutions will bring about huge adjustments on our social life.

Apocalyptic 370 miles per hour winds, a meter of water on the flood plains where most of our cities and towns are located, 2 meters rise in sea level, 45 degrees of heat, extinction of many species, disease, and infestations is on sight.

There is a lot of hesitation in describing what will happen in the future. This is due to the fact that we do not want to be branded as irresponsible prophets of doom. But we must summon our courage to the extreme and make our prognosis be known to warn people of what is to come. True we are not infallible, and so we must articulate with great humility the trend we see by observing closely what is happening ecologically, but we should not pretend to be blind. Love for our children should open our eyes to the signs of our time.

When do we do CAME-Communes? We say now.

We have somehow begun working on each of these Nine systems of Sustainability since the year 2000. The start time, the "now", however, will not do us good if we do not have a target date for completion. With the year 2050 on the background, the year 2022 is crucial tipping point in terms of time vis. a vis. the escalation of climate disasters. Also the deterioration of the "greens" of the earth, depletion of both marine and terrestrial organisms, will push humanity to grab the last opportunity to regain the balance of the natural environment both from moral, aesthetic, and practical standpoint. Our guess, or hope, is that by the year 2022 more than half of the human population will be seeking to do something for the environment either because they are victims of environmental disasters or they feel compassion for the victims. Before 2022 then the three CARE-Communes proposed here must already be complete. These three models when given due attention by the media can be a powerful instrument to give courage to people to change their lifestyle.

The Initial building up of the Nine Systems of Sustainability can be done in just about nine months to one year. This means that on this period we can already see the functioning of the nine systems. In roughly eighteen months, we should see the self-sufficiency of all the nine systems, and in twenty four months we can demonstrate sustainability. In three years, that is in the year 2022 we will see two more models coming out from the ground.

Nine Month Quick Model

Month | Project | Activities | Goals

---|---|---|---

1st | Duck Ecology (2) | Duck Housing | Change of Heart

2nd | Craft Village (4) | Bamboo Planting

3rd | Green Business (3) | Duck Egg Processing

4th | Small is Beautiful (5) | Aqua Phonic | Social Change

5th | Green Homes (6) | House Construction

6th | Pilgrimage of Life (7) | Pilgrimage

7th | Renewable Energy (8) | Solar Power | Climate Change

8th | Food Forest (1) | Pig Ranch

9th | Healing Gardens (9) | Retreats

"Duck Ecology System" ranks first in our completion list because of the need to condition the soil, the basic building block of natural life. More importantly, the task of preventing the death of the planktons in the sea due to chemical agriculture is paramount. Making a model for a revolution in our conventional Agriculture system may not have the "spin off" effect we desire but we must try. Producing healthy food may very well be our window to the human heart for its "ecological conversion." This system is also a wise mitigation strategy to deal with food production difficulties because of unpredictable weather. Duck Ecology System," on its move away from monoculture, will set the tempo of our endeavor.

The time between El Nino of 2018 and La Nina of 2020 is the best timing for realizing the "Duck Ecology System". The space before the big rains of La Nina will be a good respite to do well in rice, fish, vegetables, and ducks. October 2018, we should see this system functioning. On or before April 2020 we should see this system being self-sufficient. And around April of 2021 we can demonstrate sustainability if what was set up on October 2018 is still in place functioning without external fund aid.

Bamboo planting can actualize the vision of a "Craft Village System" in two to three year time. The long term vision is to promote bamboo planting around 40 kilometer radius of the first CARE-Commune. Bamboo in itself is 40 percent more efficient than other trees in carbon absorption. While we wait for our own bamboo to grow, we can purchase some for crafts. We hope that the demand we create for bamboo will move the supply side to propagate. With clay for Brick making and other art and craft materials, we can already train our CARE-Commune in the discipline of "Ora et Labora" and hone their creative selves for the journey.

La Nina of 2018 will give us plenty of rain and a lot of flooding. But it is also good time to plant bamboo massively on our first CARE-Commune. By November 2018 with cogon, clay and bamboo we should see the craft village rising from the ground. On or before May 2020, the income from the craft village together with the duck power should be able to meet the needs of the nine families living in our first CARE-Commune. And on November 2021, the craft village should be robust enough to be able to transfer technology to other emerging CARE-Communes.

Although we will not have a good amount of produce in three months, we can practice the "Green Business System" with our duck eggs. We can complete the process from production, processing to marketing. This is also the good time to build our peddle carts. More importantly, we can begin to meet our future farm subscribers and supporters. With this step we will be able to triple our seed fund to be used for the next goal. December 2018 is our target date for the launching of our mobile farm outlet... the electric cart for peddling CARE-Commune produce. By June 2020 we will be delivering farm products to 100 families. By December 2021, the brand "Father's Best" will already be known nationally.

With the accomplishment of these first three steps on our goal to change hearts, we can see the work of 90 volunteers taking shape in a farm of three hectares. We will see structures like a duck house, a craft house, and a food processing house. On the landscape we will see fishponds, rice paddies, and vegetable gardens. A peddle cart bearing the name "Father's Best" will be going around the town selling the first fruits of our vegetables, eggs, rice, baskets and other products from other organic producers. More importantly, from the pool of 90 volunteers, we will be able to recruit 27 people who will be committing to work more permanently for the next goal: Social Change. On December 2021, we should celebrate Christmas together with 1000 volunteers, a group called Zambales 1000, who started with 9 volunteers on December of 2020.

As we maintain the gains of the three steps of GOAL 1, we will expand on our ecological farming by building the school of the "Permaculture School System". Here we will need to demonstrate the wisdom of producing food by small animals like quail, mushroom, worms, and rabbits using small spaces. Compact gardening with low impact on the environment using aqua phonic technology will lead to a lot of topics for the learners of our Permaculture School like water conservation, multi-culture, muti-layer gardening, nutrient cycles, and habitat design. January 2019; the meeting hall and lecture room should be in use. The "small is beautiful" must already be the main material for eco farming studies. By July 2019, we can by this time show that Permaculture is rain proof. On or before January 2020 we should be accepting consultancy and building contracts for CARE-Communes.

The logical continuation of the "Permaculture School System" is the "Bee Home System." Building the prototype of a Green architectured house at the center of the School is the next move. This house will use indigenous materials as well as recycled materials. We will not only imitate the bee hives in our structural design but actually raise bees. Making chicken coops that are mobile for garden fertilization and filling up our home with flowers and medicinal plants will encourage us to a healthy attachment with our habitat. February 2019, we will see our model house finished. We shall, after 18 months, build 27 more habitats and by the year 2022, February, 1000 more of those houses equipped for home remedies and with rudimentary research facilities to counter global warming health issues.

Goal 2 will conclude with a religious Pilgrimage aimed at forming communities to care for the earth. Deeply motivating individuals to give up their present way of life to a more simple and closer to nature way is the foundation of an authentic "Earth-Commune System." With the scorching heat of March 2021 we will have our fist pilgrimage to Ilocos from Zambales. This will result to the organization of two more earth-communes. We will have three more pilgrimages until March 2022 when we will have nationwide program for earth commune organizing.

The accomplishment of Goal 2 will be on the hands of 27 "U"-turners. They will be the first students and first teachers of the Permaculture School. They will see to it that the quail house, the mushroom house, aqua phonic garden, bee hives, the eco-house are all constructed. These 27 "U'- turners will be our first Permaculture Scholars. A big part of this goal is the gathering of funds for this scholarship program. By March 2022 we should already have International network for Climate Change Adaptation Scholarship. March 2019, our first group of scholars will receive their monthly stipend. September of 2020, two more Permaculture schools should be operating.

With Goal 2 accomplished, we are ready to take one the task of directly reducing and absorbing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. There is no better way to start than by completely cutting our CARE-Communes off from the electric grid. The sustainability of the three models we will build will depend on its power independence. We may not be able to complete the "off gridding" of the three models because of fund limitation. But our first CARE-Commune can complete wind, water, sun, and bio gas. The second model can be light and water self-sufficient while the third model waits for funding. April 2019 is the completion date for the three "off grid" power sources for the first model. After eighteen months of functioning, we can replicate our system to the 2nd and 3rdCARE-Communes. By May 2022 all provinces in the Philippines will have at least three Off Grid systems patterned after our first CARE-Commune.

With our target of three CARE-Communes, we can have a total of three hectare forest. With three nurseries we can provide seedlings for our "Adopt a Baby Forest" program for schools, parishes, church groups, towns, organizations, companies, etc. Soon we can have 100 hectares of baby forest planted and cared for by thousands of volunteers. The "Food Forest System" design will assure us that the trees planted will be taken cared of by a community. May 2019, After the Pilgrimage, CARE-Commune reforestation program for Ilocos will commence. October 2020, together with the eight feet tall trees at the second CARE-Commune, 10 more baby forests will sprout. May 2022 we have all the provinces in the Philippines adapting our "Food Forest System".

Our nine months program will conclude with the ecological retreat to be offered to those who would like to get more deeply involved in the replication of the CARE-Commune. The theme of this retreat is personal healing together with earth healing. With this final step spreading to many individuals, we hope to make a significant change in our Climate. Indeed, the human Spirit of hope is the greatest catalyst for us to begin now! June 2019 will be another heavy rainy season we have not seen before. This will be the year we will remember Laudato Si. By November 2020, ecological retreats, physically applying ourselves to the spirit of Laudato Si, should have spread to all the dioceses in the country. June 2022, the year of a big nationwide flood, the whole country will move to higher ground to the CARE-Communes we have created.

This nine month to one year proposal may seem like shooting the star. But to others who have seen development projects get off the ground instantly because of plentiful funds generated by the drive of contractors and businessmen, our proposal is a tiny little toy project. Believing that the time has come for this idea means also believing in the capacity of people of goodwill to see, judge, and act. We should never lose our faith in humanity. Once in the past, "development" was also a good cause. Many people of goodwill, from the World Bank, the Left, the Church, pursued "development" without intention to do harm. Despite humanity's dangerous detour called "development", we believe that it remained loyal to the cause of human survival and flourishing. What humanity missed though is that its loyalty should not necessarily mean disloyalty to the cause of the natural world to survive too. Maybe this time people of goodwill will listen to those whose loyalty to the cause of the environment persisted together with their loyalty to the cause of humanity. Rachel Carson is the best example of those whose lifetime efforts did not go in vain. Her instinct for sustainability prevented a horrifying future for all humanity.

Our loyalty to a cause of the environment is one of the essential ingredients of the "spiral" to attract more people of goodwill. That we "walked the talk" should give courage to other people to do the same. Thus we must be careful about projects with timelines that are not tested in time. Instant solutions from instant environmentalist are as dangerous as the offers from opportunistic miners. Loyalty to the cause of the environment cannot be tested without passage though time. It is also time that will tell if our way of life we are proposing is sustainable.

Through time we will know the extent our will to make our dream for the earth a reality. It is neither in the amount of money nor in the number of structures that we can know that we have stood the test of time. "Keizuko ha chikaranare!" As they say in Japanese "Continuity is strength!" Continuity is the measure of our resolve to live by the values we profess. Continuity means Loyalty to the cause. I know some Aeta friends that have already abandoned the way of our ancestors because of the pressure of development to their culture. Some of them also changed their lifestyle because they were evacuated away from the forest due to the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Among these friends are those who truly see the wisdom of their old ways. Paradise resiliently continued to exist in their hearts and vision. Today I can see the power of the old ways to guide us on our way back to Paradise.

On the other hand, our loyalty to the land will be proven by the reward of loyalty of the land to us. That will take more time than an instant photo opportunity.

We have experienced the land's faithfulness to our wellbeing in the more than fifteen years of our engagement with earth caring. The best testament to the land's loyalty to us is that despite the fact that we have made so many mistakes in our stewardship, we have a home where we have the security that whatever happens we can always start anew. Whatever natural disaster befalls us, we have the fertile soil to grow food. We have a home for the pigs, and the trees for the chicken to roost, a pond for the fish to grow and a place for life to thrive.

Even before we built our house, we already envisioned having a cow ranch. It was a kind of fairy tale imagination that we will have a land flowing with milk and honey. We introduced almost 15 cows to our land 26 hectare hilly land. Then the cows started to die one by one. That was our first taste of heartbreak as farmers. The land cannot take care of more than three cows. Today we have two cows left to tend and the mother already had her 2nd calf! Our forest continues to grow as the pressure of grazing was taken away. Our male carabao wonderfully shares with the cows plenty of salads! They contribute well to the fertility of our land as they turn grass into manure. We are still dreaming of milk from our own cow but we are no longer pushing our dream beyond the limits of the land.

While the land has limits it also has more than enough capacity to give life. When we violate the limit of the land then it will not have a sustainable yield. True also that when we are blinded to what the land can do, we also loose the opportunity to be sustainable. When we have 1500 ducks in confinement on a cramp duck house we spent all our time and energy looking after the ducks. Although it gave us profits in the beginning, we were not able to sustain their demands for feeds, water, and attention. While we have the pond and rice field for them to be useful as feed giver to the fish and pest, weed, and snail control for the rice paddies, we had them confined to their shed. We were tired because the land was not allowed to take its part in caring for them. It was not the right population and the ecological method of duck raising as proven by the fact that we have not sustained the ducks for more than three years. On our CAME-Commune Plan, ducks are very important element for sustainability. With 500 ducks this time, we are confident that our land can sustain them.

Our native pigs proved to be the most sustainable. Feeding only on kankong, ipil-ipil, gabi, banana trunk, darak and our kitchen leavings, our piggery was never empty with pigs unlike other piggeries that become dormant after one or two years of operation. I cannot count how many generations back our pig are now. The same is true with our native chicken. We even have a lot of them on the wild as their population grew some of them preferred to live among the trees. Perhaps in the future we can let our pigs be completely free range too. Remember the Aeta people never had smelly piggeries and poultries but they never run out of pigs and chicken because the whole forest is there poultry and piggery. They never stored food in a fridge for the whole forest is the fridge where they get fresh food every day. That life was possible because they completely trust nature to provide their needs. They need only to wait and follow the rhythm of nature to get their sustenance.

The limits and possibilities of our environment are good sign posts for the tipping point of humanity's return to Paradise. The fifteen years we have lived close to the land have shown us the great capacity of nature for healing. Given a chance, like the return of our chicken to the forest, the coming back of many species of birds (we can count 12 so far) to our habitat, and the lighting hundreds of fireflies at night, nature will bounce back. Sharing our habitat with many creatures not only for a short time but for a lifetime will teach us when to return; for it is not only the fear of the destruction that Climate Change will bring that should make us want Paradise. Our desire must also come from the certitude from experience that nature can take us and care for us.

Setting a timeline for our response to Climate Change is not like the time tables of the development agenda. The end in view of material development is always short sighted. It aims to exhaust all natural resources in order to achieve human prosperity as quickly as possible. It does not set any limit to greed. For our CARE-Communes, the end in view is sustainability. If a system is able to be self- sufficient, i.e. will not need any further extraction from the natural environment, then the goal is achieved. It is true that we are running out of time as we see more disasters ahead. Paradoxically, we are "on a rush to be slow." Yes we are putting all our energies to step on the break and slow down the train leading to our destruction. Let us be clear on this. The infrastructure needed for a CARE-Commune will cost us not so much money but more of our time. The time needed for nature to heal and heal us: The time to feel the loyalty of nature to humanity. The timeline for a CARE-Commune is, therefore, not about the rush for profit but about the chance we are willing to give nature to care for us. This chance is our chance to avoid catastrophe and flourish. We need to move now because there is a chance for us to be part of a great pilgrimage to life.

My favorite saying in Japanese is "Ishi no uenimosannen." "Even on top of a rock, three years." It means that given three years, we can grow something even on top of a barren rock. I based the three year timeline of this proposal to that Japanese saying. This timeline is not a promise for an instant solution to Climate Change. Three years is a hopeful offer to all my friends, acquaintances, and all those who will read this book. We are confident that the rest of humanity will not stop looking for ways to live better on earth even after three years. June 2022 is just a sign post that our journey will be uphill if we did not take the easy course around the slope. On the other hand, it is a sign post that will tell us we did well. It was after three years from the year 2000 that we saw the trees we planted grew to more than nine meters. It was the time when the soil begins to yield vegetables and the time we had roasted pigs on our celebrations. Three years when our courage tuned into the trust that nature will not fail us.

In the more than fifteen years of transitioning to a lifestyle closer to the natural environment, we were not harmed. Instead we were strengthened. We did well. Also, the authenticity of our long journey made us know how to discern what kind of people deserve to be the leaders of our emerging ecological civilization. Indeed, our long partnership with nature taught us the kind of people and society who deserve to call the earth their home. In the next chapter we will try to describe the people who will lead us to our pilgrimage to Paradise.

Three Year Time Line

System | Date Start | Functionality | Self-Sufficiency | Sustainability

---|---|---|---|---

Duck Ecology | June 15, 2018 | October 2018 | April 2019 | October 2021

Craft Village | August 12, 2018 | November 2018 | May 2019 | November 2021

Peddle Marketing | September 29, 2018 | December 2018 | June 2019 | December 2021

Permaculture School | December 3, 2018 | January 2018 | July 2019 | January 2022

Bee Homes | January 3, 2018 | February 2019 | August 2020 | February 2022

Earth Commune | February 3 2018 | March 2019 | September 2020 | March 2022

Off Grid | October 17, 2018 | April 2019 | October 2020 | April 2022

Food Forest | May 1, 2019 | May 2019 | November 2020 | May 2022

Hope Culture | Mt. Carmel 2019 | June 2019 | December 2020 | June 2022

  7. Organization:

Who will do the Great Work?

"So they welcomed his message and were baptized, and about three thousand people joined them that day. And they devoted themselves to the teaching and the society of the Apostles, the breaking of the bread, and the prayers. Everyone felt a sense of awe, and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. The believers all shared everything they had with one another, and sold their property and belongings, and divided the money with all the rest, according to their special needs. Day after day they all went regularly to their temple, they broke their bread together in their homes, and they break their food with glad and simple hearts, praising god and respected by all the people. And every day the Lord added people who were saved to their number."

Act of the Apostles (2:41-47)

Who would suspect that a 2000 year old legacy of the society of the Apostles of Jesus will be relevant for the contemporary issue of Climate Change? When Jesus gathered his disciples he was dealing with an entirely different problem. There was no rise in sea level, no temperature of rising to intolerable degree, no droughts and 350 kilometer wind velocity. There was no problem of Carbon dioxide emission from vehicles that can go across the globe in an instance. But even without a smart phone, he knew what is in the heart of the human person. He knew what humanity is capable of. He must have learned it from his ancestors, who belong to the twelve tribes of Israel almost a hundred years before he founded the society of the Apostles. These are the twelve tribes who had the courage to free themselves from the clutches of an oppressive civilization.

Like the twelve tribes of Israel, we are also on a crossroad. We have to choose between life and death. Because of all our progress, we are rapidly moving out of pace with the natural evolution of the Planet towards our own destruction. And yet despite all our technological advancements, there is more poverty, more displacement of people, and there is more mental suffering in our cities and work places. Materialism, Consumerism, and Individualism, gave humanity false happiness.

To be free from the menace of the "development" pathos, we need communities: Communities of enlightened heroic saints. As we have seen in the last chapter, the spread of the monastic communities in Europe made a profound shift in the direction of human culture that paved the way to the flourishing of our technological world today. From small communities that tried to live authentic human existence in the world that they know, we now have empirical science, biology, medicine, physics, engineering, architecture, hydroponic, internet, computers, astronomy, systematic theology, hermeneutic, etc. Yet again we are called to shift, and perhaps in a make or break circumstance, to a different direction. Perhaps like in the case of Jesus and the saints of the 6th century, community, a vital solution to human suffering, may well be the answer to our present day ecological problem.

Like Jesus in his times, the suffering of his fellow human being served as a sign, a symptom, an indication that something needs to shift. I believe that it is human suffering that prods Jesus to call his disciples and formed his community of healers, dreamers, and wonder workers. In our apocalyptic time, we are again called to form communities to respond to the suffering of people because of the destruction we have done to God's creation.

As I review this chapter, I cannot help but add a modern day living saint's name on this book. He is Pastor Wilson Ignacio. A member of the Aeta tribe, Thor, as I fondly call him, had the privilege of studying in the Asian Rural Institute in Japan for one year. There he learned about organic farming, servant leadership, and technologies for earth caring. Thor lost his beloved wife because of diabetes while he was in Japan. This tragedy nearly put him off balanced but the experience of wholesome community and the powerful demonstration of sustainability at the Asian Rural Institute kept him going.

Since Thor spent all his fortune in trying to save the life of his wife, he was in great debt. His own house was foreclosed by a bank. Often he could not pay for the monthly due of his motorcycle. Although I always hire him whenever I am hired to manage farms, we both had the misfortune of leaving our dreams for jobs that we thought could help us alleviate our financial woes.

When I was hired to manage the ABS-CBN farm, Thor was my farm technician for more than two years. We were victims of our own success. For many years that farm could not produce the vegetables that they advertised on their web site. Our team was able to deliver so much excellent organic products to ABS-CBN foundation office that they had after a while trouble selling. With that success came the problem. Many became interested on becoming manager of the farm. The reason why I had to quit ABS-CBN is, as Gina Lopez, rightly expressed, I cannot work well with her team. Yes because her team is not a community. It is a corporate bureaucracy whose care for the environment is only lip service. Not a single person on his team can say he is living close to nature and dependent on its yield. Yet, so many want to manage it from a distance. Therefore, despite the good will of Gina Lopez, the foundation has a program that cares more about return of investment than the creation of alternative to the materialistic agriculture, industry, and economy of our country. A showcase will never be the real thing. Without a community that really relies on the land for life, the ABS-CBN eco-village project will remain a dream.

Thor and I had another chance with FODC-ATC, (First Orient Development Corporation-Agriculture and Technofarm Corporation). The owner rose from being a poor farmer to becoming the owner of triple A construction company. He became an engineer despite his poverty by becoming a member of a university baseball team. He has nostalgic love for agriculture. However, suddenly after six months of operation he had a falling out with his business partners and he decided to terminate the project. We thought that with more than nine million pesos to start, we are set to create the super model for Climate Change Adaptation. We were wrong again because there was an absence of community. The project was anchored on investment without which it cannot be sustained.

Since we lost that job, Thor stays with me in my farm and we taught eighty High School Students for their Organic Agriculture exposure course. We harvested enough rice to last us till the next harvest season; we had lettuce, tomatoes, eggplants, and our first native pig sausages. Thor, as a protestant Pastor goes to his ministry in a faraway village with his Aeta brothers to talk about salvation from Jesus on the weekend. On the weekdays we read the scripture together with my three sons, our two workers and Jerico our adopted scholar, before going to bed. I could see the excitement on his eyes when he shared his thoughts on the Parable of the sower, he said God will definitely let the good seeds yield a hundred fold because many people need to eat. The community of people who cares for the Earth will be blessed by God because that's God's way to feed his people. Thor is a hardworking, intelligent, loving pastor. He experienced discrimination because he is an Aeta. He is financially challenged but I believe given the right community he will bloom to his greatest flourishing.

Structured Community

Who will do the great work? No matter how good our design and our plan detailed, there is no assurance that it will come true unless there are people who will make it happen. Even if we already have the push from a disaster to move us, still we need to be organized. Goals can only be achieved if we have warm bodies on the ground making holes with their shovels to plant trees. The task of recovering the Paradise that God made cannot happen only with the breaking of the bread, praying, and not even by selling our properties and distributing the money among ourselves. What it takes is people going to the ruined temple of God... the natural Paradise that we destroyed and planting trees, doing organic farming, using our hands to make baskets and clay pots, peddling our green products, teaching about Laudatosi, building bee hives and houses, organizing, welding a windmill, and counseling people to find the meaning of their lives. We need people to do the great work.

Are we going to have a good number of "U" turners who will focus their energies in addressing climate change? Will there be people who will abandon their convenient urban life for the sake of the planet? How many heroic individuals will bond together and attempt to make a difference? Will they succeed in creating the alternative for the rest of humanity? Will their earth centered lifestyle become the norm? We are not certain. That there will be a massive social change when we go beyond the historical variability of disasters is a hypothesis that was never tested. We still need to see massive social change when the predicted catastrophe shakes the foundations of our society.

Uncertainty immobilizes people. But there is no better way of preparing for a catastrophe than making the structures that will enable individuals to claim responsibility for their future. We hope that a handful of individuals will have the insight that it is already time for a gentle non-violent social engineering.

We believe that the search for a better social arrangement can best be facilitated by a structured community. In a structured community where diversity is honored, the best minds, hearts, and skills can flourish. Mimicking the way nature's different elements create and maintain organic systems, we should also organize ourselves in the same way. Nature may not select the best but what survives always have an ingenious way to solve problems. Nature is structured to flourish. Following the structure of nature, communities that are less controlling and more tolerant would tend to be more creative in responding to challenges.

The only historical proof that a CARE-Commune can work are the vanishing tribal systems. Although they are regarded as primitive and backward, it is resoundingly clear that they have survived even the most virulent attack of modern lifestyle to the very core of their identity. Isolated from the mainstream of development, they are dependent on the natural environment for their wellbeing. Thus the wellbeing of their environment is of highest value to them. They are the only ones who still have the memory of the true paradise. All we have today are dreams of paradise like a cut and paste presentation. Even our proposal for a CARE-Commune can be classified as a cut and paste presentation where we gathered the best practices that we encountered. Fusing these dreams of paradise together with the memory of the remaining tribal people, we hope we can come up with a template for the future relationship of the earth and people—a CARE-Commune.

Furthermore, we have to assume that the people who will be working to accomplish the CARE-Commune (Paradise) are not only aware of the Global Warming science but have also made a commitment to address the problem. Our dreams of paradise and the memory of the tribal people of the "good life" ("Kainumayan," in the language of the Aeta tribe) is not enough to face the new challenge of Climate Change. We also need a rigorous study of Climate Science, Social Science, and the Science of the Human Psyche. A CARE-Commune must be committed to the task of understanding catastrophe not to find who is to be blamed but in order to find solutions. Knowing that the breakdown of institutions after disasters will leave a vacuum of leadership, communities that have the more truthful knowledge of Climate Change must fill in. Otherwise our future will be held hostage by the same people who engineered the development model that brought us to this brink of extinction. It is, therefore, crucial that members of a CARE-Commune must have not only the interest but also the practical skill to combat Climate Change. Working on this condition means giving them the facility to gain the skill and a high level of commitment.

A Team of Nine people can implement this project. Each member of the team will have a special talent and expertise to contribute. They will live together in a structured community. The community may expand its membership and metamorphose into a shape that we do not yet know. However, we will try as much as possible to have someone in charge of each of the nine systems.

Team Heart is the ground breaking team. They will focus on convincing individuals to change their heart through Art, Food, and Business. This team will be in charge of finance, procurement, and auditing. Armed with compassion this team will exhaust all the possibilities that the community that generously provide the needs of its members. The success of this team will demonstrate that the community can be self-sufficient. They will project the beauty of enriching the unique talent of all the members of the CARE-Commune. This team must be able to articulate the needs not only of the members but also of the land and the environment.

Team Mind is the maintenance team: This team will focus on outreach to different groups that can cooperate on the enterprise by demonstrating the Wisdom, Design, and Relevance of our endeavor. This team is in charge of planning, articulation, and operations. The decisions of the CARE-Commune is processed and synthesized by the Team mind, they will listen to the input of all the other teams in order to generate decisions.

Team Soul is the guiding team: This team will focus on replication of the forest, energy, and spirit of the enterprise. They will be in charge of, personnel, and leadership, and vision.This team is looking ahead all the time. They are focusing on how to advance the CARE-Commune's agenda. This team is also the animator of the community. Thus they are always on the move either externally or internally.

Climate Change Adaptation Model Team

Assignment | Expertise | Talent | Team

---|---|---|---

Food | Organic Farming | Animal Husbandry | Heart

Funds | Marketing | Business

Crafts | Crafts | Art

Education | Pedagogy | Teaching | Mind

Housing/Health | Architecture | Design

Community | Politics | Enneagram

Renewable Energy | Engineering | Invention | Soul

Spirituality | Meditation | Healing

Forest | Permaculture | Reforestation

Members of the Team

  1. The Organic Farmer. A person who have both the theoretical knowledge of Organic farming and the experience of growing vegetables and caring for animals. He/She must know about bio diversity, permaculture, aquaculture, bio dynamic agriculture, effective microorganism and soil science. Special skill on animal husbandry will be a big help.

  2. The Craftsman. A person who has ability to use indigenous materials for art and crafts. He she must have interest on green design. Must have the awareness of the excellence of nature's design and special sensitivity to the living organic nature of all sites.

  3. The business person. With the ability to promote green products, he must have the conviction that money is only a means to create alternatives to the present system of exchange. He must know the ways of packaging not only products but also the concepts behind environmental advocacy.

  4. The teacher. Must be interested in research of all the data regarding environmental concerns. Must be able to articulate by speaking and writing the ideas and experiences of other environmentalists. Pedagogy from the point of view of the earth could be his underlying principle. He must have as his prophetic message "change of heart, social change, and climate change."

  5. The builder. Must have the skill of building houses that are extreme weather resistant. Paying due attention to the needs not only of the inhabitants but also of the whole ecosystem, he must be able to design habitats that will be self-sufficient and sustainable using indigenous and recycled materials.

  6. The organizer. With Excellent social skill, the organizer must have the power to motivate people and sensitivity to the needs of others. He knows also the political dynamic not only of a group but also of the entire society. Imbued with extreme humility, he must be able to distinguish between true leadership and domination.

  7. The inventor. Gifted in science, he must have a keen interest on alternative energy. He must have untiring zest for innovation and extreme courage to repeatedly try new ways of doing things in order to empower the community.

  8. The healer. Among all in the team, the healer must have the deepest knowledge of the ecological issue. She/he must be able to integrate the inner world of subjectivity and the outer world of objectivity. With deep faith and hope in the plan of God, the healer must radiate love to all.

  9. The forester. Must be aware of the perfection of the natural forest in its ability to sustain life. However, he must also be aware of the extent of the damage done to nature and the way to repair it. Permaculture principles will guide him on his task of reforming the relationship between the earth and the human communities.

The one system of the nine that really need serious attention in the future is the "Earth Commune System." Calling attention to the weakness of community in embracing the ecological cause is the main reason for writing this book. Our land suffered the snail pace of recovery from deforestation and the powerlessness to soar towards it potential to convince other people to change their lifestyle because of the lack of people to work on the project. Some people tried but only for a brief period. The enthusiasm died when we discovered human frailty and the difficulty of getting along with each other. The closest we were able to get to the ideal was just recently, 2015, we had a Muslim, a Buddhist, and a Yogi living together in the farm from different nationalities. We had great discussion on many issues ranging from soil chemistry to the deepest meaning of life. On those late night discussions, it is clear that the greatest challenge in building communities for earth caring is "Diversity."

Before that we had from England Vasu a Sri Lankan Professor and Mick a human right lawyer, they decided to go to Sri Lanka and create a peace and reconciliation haven in Sri Lankan to heal Vaus' war ravaged country. They learned to build clay houses and do organic farming in Thailand and passed on to us a lot of the wisdom they acquired in their travels. With Vasu and Mick it was not diversity that was the challenge. It was the insufficiency of practical skill of Earth caring that came into sharp contrast with great task of building a complete CARE-Commune. Our hearts and out theories were there but there is not enough skill and power to catch up. Nevertheless, the technique of making sun dried bricks that they thought us remained in our vision of the "Bee Homes System" in a CARE-Commune.

After nine years, one of the volunteers for the farm came back to us from Germany. She now has a daughter, Maila. She came back to see us from Germany with her husband. It brought back good memories to us when we were just building our house, in 2005, and starting from almost nothing in the farm. Jana somehow liked the quiet atmosphere of the farm. She came with a group of young people, Jonas from Switzerland and Jamo from Germany. They were so full of idealism and deep desire to build a better world. Despite the heavy rains, they tried to build a clay oven in the farm. For a moment I can see their exhilaration when we were able to share the bread toasted from the oven  But the rain poured down so heavily we cannot find a way to cover it from the rain and from the rush of water rolling from the hill. The oven melted but we felt the brief taste of a community that cares for the earth.

Together with us then was Taku from Japan. He was already with us for about a month and he stayed on for almost a year 2005. He too was young and idealistic but he is also trying to find himself in the world. He suffered the hardship of starting something big with almost nothing. The unending monsoon rain, the mosquitos, the uncertainty, and above all the isolation from the technological milieu that he grew up in, took a toll on his trust that what we are doing is the right way. On our part I think we failed to give him a good program to integrate his suffering with the rest of the natural world fighting against destruction. His expectations were probably not met but if we look at the pictures of his activities on the farm, I can see the enjoyment of his stay. Looking at those old pictures, we can now see clearly that in just ten years the farm have become so green and the trees so tall.

The story of our attempts to build a community will not be complete without Maya and Blackie, our lovely dogs. Maya followed us whenever we go up the mountain to enjoy the view of our place from above or when we go up to put off the grass fire. She was a faithful dog that brought affection to our house. When Maya died we felt a deep sense of emptiness. But I never shed as much tears in my whole life as when we lost Blackie. I felt sorry that we chained him almost the whole of his lifetime because of our fear that he will hurt people. Why so much tears? I guess it is because Blackie is the symbol of the worst we can be with the natural world even with our good intentions. Yes I shed so many tears because of the great love Blackie has given us despite the chain that we have put on his neck. We can say exactly the same with the whole of God creation: we tried to "subdue" the very life that is making us all alive.

I guess, the many failure of human societies to come together harmoniously reflect our detachment from nature's way. For lack of other explanation I will say the same of human families. It is astounding that despite the great benefit of caring for the environment for the family, we cannot harness the great energy of the family for the pursuit of paradise. I can see this in my own family. The people who are closest to me are either unaware of the ecological problem or chose to ignore it. I could not even ask them to help me in my efforts to create the CARE-Commune. Always, there is the suspicion that what we are engaged in is only for our own good and not for the common good. It is strange that even among the environmental advocates, there are very few who are actually on the ground reversing the move towards urbanization... a move should have been doing long ago if we really care for our families and love ones.

As we face the greatest hurdle in human history for the survival of the human species, the basic unit of society, the family, faces the biggest challenge. If we will not be able to harness the power of the family for survival, then we will not overcome individualism, the essential power behind the competitive economic system. Individualism is a product of the breakdown of family. As the values of materialism and consumerism attacks the family, the common goal of creating and maintaining a common habitat disappeared. In its place we have a inordinate drive to accumulate possession in the form of private property. Ironically, these private properties are not even tangible because they are now in the form of money that is only documented by bank accounts. The family is then embroiled into a competition to accumulate possession rather than collaborating to enrich a habitat.

Observing the values of the tribal communities, we can easily see the contrast of an earth centered family with prosperity centered one. An Aeta family isolated from the lowland consumerist and materialist culture is united in trying to understand their natural environment and in finding ways to make it yield for their sustenance. What we regard as idle times or periods of laziness are actually moments of allowing nature to take its course and suiting human activity according to the movement of the natural world. For lowlanders, there is a compulsion to follow the rhythm of the clock and the days set by calendar of human schedule. For obeying the tempo of nature, the tribal communities have more time for each other, for their celebrations, and for contemplating the goodness of God in their lives. Contrast that with the rushed time of the lowlanders that does not allow for true human communication. All their conversations are about the project of creating wealth. The space to talk from the heart becomes less and less as people become accustomed to using words and phrases that are like emoticons taken from a can of worms.

Finally, there is the problem of leadership. The corruption in our present political system is the breeding ground for the deep ignorance of Climate Science. Those who are in power have neither the time nor the interest to learn about the complicated issue of the causes and solutions to climate change. Their main concern is "development" where they can get more money to get into a position of power and stay there. If their motive for gaining power is material progress, then they are most likely opposed to any kind of change in lifestyle that would entail less consumption and more simplicity.

To combat climate Change political power is needed. But such power must be based on a thorough study of Climate Change Issues. Unfortunately, those who are in power, because of their lack of scientific knowledge or sheer opportunism, prefer theatrical rescue operation and relief distribution during climate disasters, rather than addressing the root causes of Climate Change. Their hesitation to quell the tide of rapid development is diametrically opposed to ecological balance. On the higher level of policy making, allowing free enterprise where those who have economic power controls the politicians will simply drown the voices for Ecological wellbeing. Sadly, even popular leaders are elected by the majority who are hypnotized by development. It follows then that even good leaders, who listen to their constituents, would tend to promote the development agenda that their voters aspire for.

The Non- Governmental Organizations also failed to make the radical change. Although there is so much expectation that they will do what the government failed to accomplish. We can always say that their heart is in the right place, and yet why? Their funding institutions are usually the source of unspoken assent to the development agenda. Instead of looking after the interest at the most vulnerable people to Climate Change, they looked the other way. The rhetoric of giving aid to the victims won over the wisdom of radical breaking down of the economic model that degraded the environment and condemned the poor to deeper poverty. Pope Francis eloquently spoke about the relationship of the problems of poverty and environmental degradation. True if we go more deeply into the causes of poverty we are bound to find the environment not only as the cause but also the way out of poverty. The tradition of aid workers deeply immersing themselves to the life of the poor was replaced by office bureaucrats churning project proposals to get funding after funding for projects that are sanitized to suit the preferences of their rich funders. The campaign for Climate Action becomes hollow because we cannot see our advocates really changing their lifestyle and going back to the forest to physically care for the earth.

What we are left with are ragtag disorganized individuals who voted with their feet and had the courage to try a low impact lifestyle. Here the CAME-Commune makes sense as a solution to Climate Change. For the lifestyle of these few individuals to be the mainstream way of living, we need to do massive replication. Although these few individuals tend to shun organization and publicity, we owe it to ourselves to bring them out and let their light shine upon us. As we see more Models coming up and families, groups, companies on their excursions see these models they can have ideas to create their own safe havens in case of climate catastrophes. It remains my dream to have a place available for people to explore their differences and learn from the way nature integrates many elements together in harmony. Such oasis in the sea of individualism may pave the way to a flourishing amalgam of communities of earth care givers. We envision that someday we can have a multi-cultural and multitalented group of people coming together to perfect our CAME-Commune... if possible with our families, our leaders, our aid workers, if necessary without them.

The saving grace in our utter lack of organization to spread a counter development way of life is technology. The internet makes it possible not only to connect disorganized individuals and their causes but to more importantly to exchange important information especially on appropriate technologies of self- help. Windmills, Ram pumps, dried tomatoes, Rudolf Steiner, permaculture... we have them all in the internet. Information can empower all to create our own CARE-Communes. Earth caregivers of the world unite!

XIII. Technology:

Making Things Work

Every month since we moved to the farm, we were paying around three to four thousand pesos for electricity. That is the same amount we spend for food in a month. There were times when we just do not have that money and we failed to pay the bills. We tried to cut down on our consumption but the electric bills remain basically the same. When I got a job as farm manager of ABS CBN farm in Iba, Zambales, the kids moved in with me to the worksite and we come to the farm only on weekends. All the same the electric bill did not come lower. In fact there are months that we had to pay more than four thousand pesos. I thought that there must be something wrong so I complained to the electric company and ask for recalibration of the electric meter. The company re-calibrated and we were getting haft of what we were paying before. I felt cheated! That was the time be decided to save money and buy solar panels. Today we are paying zero amounts for electricity. We are totally of grid.

Being off grid is not always convenient. There were times that our batteries run out of charge and the house become dark at night. There were times that we cannot wash the clothes because there is no sun to power our inverter, the device that converts the twelve volt electricity of out four batteries to 220 volts. We need to turn off our refrigerator most of the time otherwise we will not enjoy watching on our flat screen television. We have water shortage when we compete with the garden plants for the output of the water pump run by a single solar panel. But we learned to adjust. We discover that those times when our lights were off and there is no television, computer, and gadgets, we talked about God and about life's purpose. My children, I know love those moments, when they ask me about anything under the sun in the dark. I most certainly enjoy those moments listening to their questions informing me where they are in their journey of making their souls.

Laudatosi dedicated a good section of the chapter on the root causes of the environmental problem to technology.

We have to accept that technological products are not neutral, for they create a framework which ends up conditioning lifestyles and shaping social possibilities along the lines dictated by the interests of certain powerful groups. Decisions which may seem purely instrumental are in reality decisions about the kind of society we want to build.

With these words of caution from the Pope, we will now try to see how we can equip our CARE-Commune with Technologies that can lend power to our cause. We tried to build up, in our imagination, a CARE-Commune with the assumption that moral, intellectual, and spiritual conversion will occur in the conscience of the human race either because of a disaster or because of an inspiration that Paradise awaits us if we start living ecological lives. Realizing the urgency and importance of climate change prevention, mitigation, and adaptation, people who will positively respond will need more than just motivation and talent to achieve the goals we articulated in chapter three. They will need the technology to act on the plan. I believe that what we will struggle in the future is no longer just the issues of Change of Heart and Social Change. Climate Change will become a design and engineering issue. In other words, adaptation will become a technological hurdle; HOW do we do it will be the big question. We must be careful, however, that the conversions discussed above will control the technical manifestation of the change we are envisioning. Otherwise we will easily slide back to overdependence on technology and eventually to being dominated by the demand for more energy.

On this section we will give a list of the technical requirements for each of the nine systems for them to work and function as one organism:

  1. For a "Food Forest System," we need to build swales, put up a seedling nursery, and set up a solar panel jack pump and or ram pumps. We also need a solar powered electric fencing, to protect the plants from animals. We will need a few digging tools and bolos for clearing. Check dams are important for extending the wet season to two more months. At the same time water management will become a mitigation strategy against floods and the poisoning of the planktons on the sea. The most important requirement of this system is a tree planting technology. The technology must be geared towards bio-diversity and be quantified according to a permaculture based planting succession. Introduction of grazing animals for firebreaks, pigs for manure and cultivation, and birds for vegetative propagation must have proper technical controls like fencing and tethering. The ideal land area for the food forest is about six hectares for a community of about thirty people. This will comprise about 70 percent of the total land area of one CARE-Commune. A fifteen to eighteen degree slope is ideal for our model site.

Swales are about a meter wide and a meter deep canals running through the contour of the mountain slope. We can dig this by human labor or by a backhoe machine. To have one or two of these in an Earth-Commune will not only supply water but also create aquaculture sites and some sort of "Biological Storage" for earthworms and other organism that are necessary for soil fertility.

Applying renewable power sources for reforestation is a potential application of appropriate technology. Ram pump is a very old but efficient technology that can raise water from a stream up to 10 to 12 times the fall. It means that if the water from a stream falls down from the height of about six feet, the pressure of that fall can raise the water to more than twenty six feet. Here check dams, small handmade dams out of boulders, will be useful to collect water before they run off to the lower elevations. Water impounding systems with fish tanks and fish canals will be ideal techniques to retain water in high elevations. "Fishponds in the sky" aptly describe this technique of rain harvesting.

All these technologies are meant for the forest to produce food not only for humans and animals but most importantly for the plants. The bolo is a mighty tool for enhancing soil fertility in the mountain slope, by constantly trimming shrubs and trees and piling them along the contour lines and swales we can control soil erosion and at the same time create cleared space for planting annuals like banana, taro, and ginger. The fertilizer that will come from a teaming forest can robustly supply the needs of the next system.

  2. A "Duck Ecology System" will need at least a windmill to irrigate the land and provide water for the ducks and Fish. Duck house designed for efficient capture of manure and duck egg collection is needed. All the gardening tools and equipment (tractors, water pumps, grass cutters) available can be used on this system. We need a carabao and its implements. Bio Char production will be an important component of this system together with the culture of effective Micro Organisms. Application of Leonardite and Calcium to the soil will enhance bio mass production. Permanent trellises and greenhouses can make our system climate resilient. Use of commercial feeds for the ducks will be necessary before we can produce them on the farm. A water impounding pond is also needed this will also serve as fish pond in conjunction with the rice paddies.

The design of this "Duck Ecology system" is heavily dependent to mechanization. There will be a lot more debates on what technology is appropriate to employ for our food production system. Shall we use plastic mulching or not. Are greenhouses ecologically sound? How about fossil Fuels? Hydrophonics? Smart Agricultural design is very important in the "Duck Ecology System" because our transition to the new lifestyle of the "CARE-Commune" is not an anachronistic return to old fashion agrarian ways. Remember we are completing the whole nine systems not only one. Efficiency is needed in combatting a highly sophisticated technological culture because there is urgency. Sure we can allow agriculture to walk slowly but that would mean its stagnation and demise when it actually needs revival for a timely response to Climate Change.

The Greenhouse technology with hydroponics will be a useful technology to combat erratic weather conditions due to drought and heavy rains. Plastic mulching can make plots resist rain but straw mulching can often do a better job when methodically applied. A combine harvester, tractor, pumps, grass cutters can address the lack of farmworkers. Off course these are very important transitional technologies. The earlier we can rid ourselves with them the better. Or better still if we can find a way to run them with renewable energy source.

  3. Simple power tools for making engineered bamboo will be needed for a "Craft Village System." We also need the technology for gluing bamboo to make bamboo boards, tiles and lumber. A Kiln for making bricks and firing pottery work will be needed. A blacksmith shop will be handy for this system. The craft village system will need at least six workshops; pottery, blacksmith, bamboo craft, basketry, and weaving art. These workshops will also be engineered to house one family and accommodate visitors.

Amazing recent research on Bamboo technology can revolutionize our way of life. Bamboo is the perfect example of appropriate technology. It is a renewable material source coming from a carbon absorbing plant that is very easy to propagate. Serious rigorous research must be made on other indigenous materials just like what was done on the bamboo industry. Unlike agriculture that needs a boost in its technological advancement, industry needs to cut down. The perfect balance can be attained by learning from indigenous materials. Forest Art should be able to compete with the dead and shallow industrial art of the skyscrapers. Although we will not need sophisticated machines for the "Craft Village System," we will need a great deal of human talents. Recruiting people with artistic touch and skill will be vital. Technology in the Craft Village system must not be limited to production of useful artifacts. Music, theatre, poetry and other pursuits that will perfect the human being must also be enabled by technology.

Material Recovery Facility must be installed in a CARE-Commune. Technologies that can give second life to iron, plastics, and other wastes from consumer products must be used in the farm. These wastes can be turned to useful products and materials for products.

  4. Utensils for processing salted eggs are necessary for a "Green Business System". Vacuum technology for preserving food is a vital technological innovation that can help us maximize the organic properties of our food products. An electric peddling cart can be made for the selling of Farm products. Computers and Printers will also be handy for this system to succeed. The technology for pickling fruits and vegetables as well us processing meat will add value to our farm produce.

A box full of assorted vegetable and other farm products distributed to the CARE-Commune subscribers will need a delivery technology. The ideal vehicle is an electric peddle cart. Going around the town, these type of vehicle with the signature "Father's Best" brand can not only deliver products but can also elicit loyalty to the cause of the environment. These carts can also be used to collect materials for recycling. Marketing technology can take advantage of the internet and at the same time facilitate direct contact with the consumers. Selling the CARE-Commune as a tourist destination will also help our campaign for the Change of Heart to the general population. The technology of natural preservation of food products will be helpful in combating the dominance of the middlemen who preyed on the farmers who fear their products rotting.

  5. Aqua phonics garden will need a continuous flow of water. Solar powered pumps will both circulate water and aerate the fish tanks. Green houses are needed for vegetable production. A house and equipment for mushroom and vermin culture are also needed. We will also need cages for quail egg production. A bio gas digester will recycle the quail manure to produce high grade fertilizer for the vegetables. Aside from these structures we will need a place for lectures and a projector for a "Permaculture School System."

The whole CARE-Commune is a closed looped system. This kind of technology is employed in a compact way at the "Permaculture School System." Aqua phonics gardening will combine plants, fish, and quail to efficiently recycle water and nutrients. For this technology to be effective we will need automated instrumentation that will make human labor more fun. Teaching ecological farming using technology can convince learners that caring for the environment can also yield healthy good food for more people with less space and labor. In itself permaculture is a powerful technology that can astronomically change the society away from urban development.

  6. Bee boxes for honey production will not only produce food but will also help pollinate a garden of as many flowering plants as possible. The technique of using bees for fruit, vegetable, and flower production can make our habitat highly self- sufficient. Using chicken tractor technology we can produce enough protein for the whole community. An orchid net house with simple climate control technology can encourage people to live permanently in a "Bee Homes System." Technologies that can save energy and make household more efficient in maintaining comfortable leisurely living must be welcomed. By experiencing beauty at close contact, we hope that many people will decide to stay and settle on a CARE-Commune. Putting all these technologies together in a House designed the ecological way but with technological sophistication will connect our model to the rest of the modern world.

  7. An Enneagram kit will be used to all the interested persons who will join the "Earth commune System" as a guide to a deeper appreciation of diversity in people. A manual on community living explaining the rules governing the earth commune can develop the social instincts of the members for the common good. A website can also help the members be informed with the many data pertinent to Climate Adaptation and be connected with other people in the world that are creating solutions to our climate problems. All group dynamic materials that will render psychological help to community members can be applied on this system together with Non-Violent Communication (NVC) techniques.

It is also important that facilities for relaxation and sports are put in place. True technological gadgets have a tendency to overwhelm not only the young people but almost all generations. Alternative technologies that are more simple, gliding, biking, canoeing are only some of the simple activities that can be enhanced by better technologies that can make people safer as they interact with nature and one another.

The Eneagram, a psychological typology, is a technology. It can uncover people's varied and deep desires. It can also put in the right perspective the differences of attitudes, approaches and temperament of the inhabitants and visitors of the CARE-Commune. Breakdown of community life is a technological issue. You can observe that sometimes instead of communicating directly with one another we tend to be engrossed with our gadgets connecting to people far away or just playing games. More effort must be made in developing technology to bring people together rather than to separate them. With all the sophisticated advancement in technology we have not advanced in fostering peace not only in the world stage but also in small groups and families.

  8. To be truly "off grid" all year round, we must combine three sources of energy, water, wind, and solar. The technology of wind power will be useful during the windy months of December, January, and February. Solar power will not be good during the rainy season of June, July, August and September. Nonetheless, waterwheels will be good on those months together with wind energy during the stormy days. Solar power can team up with wind during the windy season as the skies are also clear during those months. In short, combining all these three sources of power on a small scale can make a community of nine families self-sufficient in electric energy. Six 150 watt solar panels, a 6000 watt inverter, three 200AH deep cycle batteries, three wind turbines, and an alternator and a waterwheel are the cheap technologies we need to invest on for an "Off Grid System."

Electric generation is an important part of an Earth-Commune. Without electricity we will be cut off from the rest of the world and will not be able to engage it. True carbon dioxide emission from electricity does not only come from its generation. The production and use of gadgets that are powered by electricity by itself also emit carbon dioxide. Engaging the modern world does not mean throwing all kind of technology from electricity out of the window. By generating our own electricity we have already cut down on carbon emission. If we make more "intermediate," technologies that use recycled and indigenous materials, we can approach zero emission.

  9. A "Hope Nurture System" is a very spiritual arrangement. It may seem devoid of any technical requirement. However, as we look deeper into the causes of global warming we will find it roots in the dualism that takes away the spiritual in all things pertaining to science and technology. It is not only true with Christianity but also with Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and all the other modern religions that we have made a great divide between the material reality and the spiritual reality. With dualism, technical requirement then belongs to the sphere of the material and does not have anything to do with hope ...a spiritual concept. Climate Change is an opportunity for us to see things in a different light.

As we are faced with apocalyptic events, we will question the very purpose of human existence. We will have a new look at progress and the energy we human beings put for his development. If the world will end, or if the human species will die and the human consciousness will be extinct, then what are we striving for? What is the point of even working out a way to survive?

The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius is a technique of getting in touched with the deepest desire of the human being. It can open us to an understanding of the meaning of our existence vis a vis the existence of the universe. Aikido, Zen Mediation and Yoga are also techniques that can help us get in touched with the inner most power within ourselves to live in harmony with the whole universe. These can open us to our natural capacity to care for the earth. Liturgical Celebration is also another technique to help us form our emotional resilience in handling both tragedy and triumph. These celebratory rituals can open us to the universe of personal commitment to care for all that is given and shared for us by God. Rolled into one building, we can have a dojo, meditation place and a hall for community celebrations.

When we moved in to the farm, one of the main attractions for our visitors is the windmill. My high school friend, Ariel Gozon, built it using a manual for windmill making that I bought through the internet. Frankly, the windmill was off and on. There were times that it performed wonderfully for us but there were many times that it was broken. Sometimes I wonder if it is the sign of the times that despite our faulty craftsmanship and design, we built 13 windmills! Some of them, to my disgrace, are not functioning well. I do not consider myself a good salesman. So I think the windmill is more of a symbol of our hope for renewable free energy that many people are interested to have. The windmills may, however, be posing the same challenge to all ecological technologies: We need to invest more talent and resource in developing them before it is too late. For the farm, we draft our final windmill design which is capable of producing electricity and pumping water at the same time. With this breakthrough, all the mistakes in the past will be paid off.

Today our house is totally off grid. We have nine solar panels in place. With four deep cycle batteries, we are able to use our washing machine, our inverter technology refrigerator, and all the computers and LED television. We are not behind on technology despite cutting ourselves off the grid. On rainy seasons we planned to have a waterwheel to charge our batteries and with a little wind farm of three wind turbines we can have ample energy to power our small scale cottage industry. We have not yet explored bio-gas technology. But with its promise of good fertilizer for our farm, we will install one as soon as we get the funds.

The latest addition to our off grid system will be the waterwheel. It will be an interesting aesthetic addition to our house. As it will not be run by a stream, it is designed to rotate by using rain water. So our whole roof will be used as a water collection panel. We have all around the house fishponds that act as stream for the waterwheel. Although will be effective only on rainy season, we hope to make it a benchmark for the success of our reforestation program. That is, we are able to bring water flowing for our waterwheel even without the rain; it means we have the forest working right. For this we need a swale connecting our streams together. With certitude, our flourishing on this planet will depend on our choice to harmonize human technology with the power of nature like the stream and the waterwheel.

When we decided to settle in our place one technology that gave us confidence is our old Japanese made four wheel drive tractor. This tractor literally tamed our land. If not for this tractor we will not have our rice paddies made. We will not be able to haul materials for our house. And we will not have our fishpond. We loaded so much earth dug out to make on the tractor. The tractor got stuck in the mud so many times and sometimes so deep that it made me cry. Since then this tractor was broken many times. We even imported from US some parts that we cannot find here in the Philippines. Our tractor served both our security blanket for disasters that may need strong hourse power for lifting, pulling, or pushing. Sometimes I even imagine crossing a big flood with my whole family riding on the tractor.

But we also have our Carabao. Since the time we moved into our forest we already had three Carabaos. One of them needed two people for it to plow the field. One to pull it forward and one to hold the plow! The other one was just not trained to do any farm work. We sold those two and bought our hardworking gentle Pauli. We had him schooled under an expert trainer. Now together with our old tractor they ably prepare our rice field for planting two times a year. Thank God we need not choose between the tractor and our Pauli.

We are very eclectic when it comes to technology. We have a tractor and yet we have carabao, we do woodworking yet we are doing forest preservation. We have a four wheel drive SUV yet we advocate zero emission. We have washing machine and we are on solar power. We feed commercial feed to our animals but we are known self-sufficiency masters. We use shampoo, go to the malls, and eat junk foods ... and so on. Rather than looking at this as a dysfunctional way of living. We must see this as a testament to our courage to engage in transition. We know that we are not pure and perfect. Our hope is that the future generation will make the right choice for what technology to keep and what to get rid of. For now we have some clarity that it is not between the old and the new. Nor it is between what is efficient and ineffective. Rather it is between what will produce more bio-mass and what will produce more waste, what will create more bio-diversity and what will just promote mono-culture. Technologies that will clean our air and resurrect our oceans, even if they are to our inconvenience, should now find its way to our minds and hearts.

The great advances in Bio-technology are very tempting in giving fast solution humanity's big problem: Food, Medicine, Climate, Mental health, engineered materials, etc. Some scientists are even suggesting we can chemically fertilize the ocean so that the planktons can grow more and so absorb more carbon dioxide. Miracle fast growing trees that can be propagated massively are now offered as good business prospect. We must be careful of these large scale interventions that will circumvent change in the lifestyle of people. They tend to create new problems because they are applied to big areas across different bio regions without knowing the especial character of each region. Science has already found greenhouse gas emission as the culprit of rising temperature. And we know this is due to humanities lifestyle of wanton material development. Changing this lifestyle of uncritically accepting scientific advancement must now be our main preoccupation. Going to the root of the problem as we find scientific solutions will necessitate local and site specific scientific research. Technologies that come from solving local problems would tend to be more non-violent.

We tend to label technology as neutral; it has no moral value attached to it. We believe though that in the same way that our Spirituality enlightens our morality, our morality also advices our technology. Our technology will also influence our culture, our culture, our society, society our mind all the way down to the biological, geo-physical, and chemical makeup of our planet.  Technology is a crucial player in our journey back to Paradise. Not only because it has the power to do things that we want to accomplish in the speed that we desire but also because Technology can influence the way we live and understand our world.

Technology is a crucial element of any CARE-Commune. All the Nine Systems to function well and attain sustainability must employ technology. This does not mean being fixated on just making things work. Use of technology also means not making people work! In other words, giving more time for people to write poems, think deeply, pray, or simply celebrating with one another and the rest of God's creation.

  11. Conclusion:

Mary Mother of Life

Before 1607, the year the Recoletos missionaries arrived in Zambales, an Aeta tribal leader found a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, in a forest where he was hunting with his three children. Djadig belongs to an aboriginal non-Christian minority tribe. The unique feature of this Marian apparition is that Mary did not appear to a Christian. In fact, strictly speaking this is not an apparition because it is not Mary herself that Djadig encountered but her image on a wooden statue. How the statue reached that far-flung forest is a mystery. But there was no mistake; the statue was that of Mary common in the Christian world. Djadig did not have previous contact with Christianity and therefore did not know that what he found was the image of Mary. He did not know about her in the first place.

"Shortly after their arrival, they heard stories of the miraculous Lady of the Aetas. Thinking this to be part of their anito worship, the priests wanted to see the miraculous Lady. Upon seeing the image, the Recoletos missionaries were amazed. "This is unbelievable," cried the young friar. "It's our Blessed Mother! How can She be here ahead of us!" The older priest said, "She must have paved the way for our coming."

The Aeta people today are one of those tribes that are at the brink of extinction. The eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 scattered their people to different resettlements in the lowland. They were forced to abandon their way of life deep in the forest and adapt to the lowland culture. During the time of Djadig, however, we can imagine that they still have wild animals and fruits in their living forest at the foot of Mt. Pinatubo. Their hunting and gathering way of life must have sustained them for centuries before and after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo 600 years ago! Djadig was probably one of those who have benefited from the goods of the forest and reverently preserved its integrity.

In a sense, Mary chose to reveal herself to Djadig, a tribesman of the animist tradition. Could it be that Mary has a message for the whole humanity and not only to the Christian faithful? Perhaps this apparition has more to do with our future than we imagine.

The CARE-Communes we are proposing on this book nostalgically look back at our hunting and gathering past. It is, in a sense, about "remembering our future." Remembering the time when we have perfect harmony with the natural world. I believe that the greatest message of the Woman, who has an unparalleled openness to God's invitation to journey with Him for the salvation of the world, is to point to humanity where we must go, our common future. Mary the new Eve, at Poon Bato, is calling us back to Paradise. Ina Poon Bato, through the Aeta Tribe and all the other surviving minority tribes all over the world (the Native American Indians, the Australian aborigines, the tribes of the Amazons and Borneo, the surviving African bush tribes, and many more) together with all the other contemporary small communities like the Quakers that are trying to remember the days when we have Mother Nature totally in charge of our lives, is calling us to re-create the original Paradise that God made.

Sadly, we cannot hear the call to go back to Paradise because of Materialism, Individualism, and Consumerism. Without confronting these three evils, we cannot hope to solve the problem of Climate Change. The short accounts of the discovery of "Ina Poon Bato" give insights to how we can disenchant ourselves from these evil spells. This book is proposing the creation of CARE-Communes to confront these three evils that are causing our Planet to heat up beyond its limits. By the cultivation of the three heroic virtues of courage, humility and generosity, these small oases we hope can change the earth's climate back to the right balance.

Extreme courage vs. Materialism:

The Aeta people are animist; they see spirits everywhere, in the rivers, with animals, in a tree. In the days of Djadig, the Aetas relied on the natural fertility of the soil. Unlike us today, they prayed to God for good harvest. They asked the spirits to bring fertility to the soil. They did not use fertilizers and chemicals to force the land to give them what they want. For the Aetas altering the makeup of the natural world was not the way to gain fertility. It is exactly the opposite. Following the natural cycle of rain and dry seasons, the tribal people learned to use the natural fertility of the soil to nurture their bodies. They knew that the best way to live is to have the least disturbance to nature. Modern men and women, however, changed the Physical shape of the earth, erased mountain, and clogged rivers so we can create material things that we often did not really need. One reason why we so wantonly destroyed our planet was that we forgot its sacredness. The Physical, Chemical, and Biological makeup of our planet, when treated as only mater that could be changed at our whims, could be destroyed also by our whims. Materialism removed the spirit from material realities. Devoid of sacredness, the natural world became an object from which humans did not need respectful permission to dispose of.

The "kalaanan," what the Aeta tribes leave behind when they move to new settlements, naturally grew back again in its green luster. With striking similarity with the other tribes in the world like the American Indians:

"Once the Indians abandon the site, a succession of shrubs, bushes, and smaller trees move in, each replacing the other until something like the original configuration of specie was restored. Now the trees growing on the ancient Indian mounds display the same beautiful diversity and proportion of kind that is seen in the surrounding uncut forest."

All the ancient tribes, like the Aetas and the Native American Indians, leave vast areas untouched. These huge areas were not allowed to be occupied for their settlements. They believe that those huge areas are dwelling places of spirits that do not want to be disturbed. By not altering the basic structures of the natural world they can learn the original design of God. Reverently, without intruding, just watching in contemplation at the hand of God in nature is the most valuable heritage of the lost tribes. The apparition of Mary affirmed these primitive beliefs by giving Aetas a venue for the Spirit of God to permeate their lives.

Djadig made that small step to find the voice of Mary that called him and brought great healing and blessing to his community. Indeed, a small move away from materialism, like volunteering to a CARE-Commune can bring us closer to the Spirit of God who created and cares for all things. CARE-Commune can facilitate a Change of Heart, "ecological conversion," by providing a place for people when they decide to leave their materialistic urban life and settle close to land where they can experience God's presence in nature. By allowing us to discover the Paradise design of God and to experience its sufficiency to provide our needs, a CARE-Commune, will breathe the Spirit into our materialistic lives. It will radically change our destructive relationship with the natural world. The message we will get from moving away from materialism is "God will provide." This move is akin to bringing the Mother of God to our home just like what Djadig did.

The first three systems in a Care-Commune are Duck Ecology system (Organic Farming), Green Business System (Peddle Marketing), and Craft Village System (Arts and Craft). Organic Farming, especially bio-dynamic agriculture, can give people profound courage to encounter the raw power of nature to feed both our body and soul. Peddle marketing can connect us with like-minded individuals who value human encounter over material gain. Crafts and Arts from indigenous materials can unleash the power of human creativity in us. Changing our materialistic agriculture, industry, and economy is a huge task that demands courage, "LakasLoob." A CARE-Commune will make our little courageous step to bloom into selfless heroism.

Extreme Humility vs. Individualism:

Before the story about the statue spread to other communities, it first had a profound impact in the community of Djadig.

"He came around and found a woman's image atop a large rock. It was a beautiful lady carved in shining wood. When he gave the wooden image to his wife, she threw it into the fire to show her disappointment in his not bringing food for their children. The fire flared and the kitchen wall caught fire, then the whole house burned down. But the wooden image of the lady was not even scorched. Djadig announced the miracle to his little tribe and henceforth they venerated the beautiful lady."

Unlike other apparitions that spread because of the network of Christian churches, the pilgrimages to Ina Poon Bato spread from the small community of Djadig to the Aeta Tribe at large. It was only in recent time that it became a Christian Pilgrimage. We can even say that it was the Aeta tribe that brought Ina Poon Bato to the Christians! "The medium is the message." The message of Mary on this apparition is contained in the community that found Her. The message is "community"

The Catholic Church is making constant attempts to build Christian communities. We are failing miserably because of the hierarchical organizational structure that we have developed over centuries adapting to a basically individualistic capitalist culture. The urban churches with its absence of community life are now like temples where people come as individuals offering sacrifices to God. Even the churches in the rural areas are modeled to the temple like churches in the cities. The Christian community formed after the death of Christ is a far cry from the churches of today. In this sense we have a lot to learn from the tribal structures of the people who lived in harmony with the natural world. Because of both our success and failures in building communities for over 2000 years, however, Education, Culture, and society are proper areas of influence for the churches and all the ancient religions of today. We must take advantage of this long history of struggle to build genuine human communities by our religious groups. An intelligent critique of our human community, based on our courageous, albeit failed, attempts in the past, is necessary now that we are facing our own extinction.

Not only the Christian Churches, Religions today tend to be aberrantly personal. Revelation is becoming more and more about having a personal private relationship with God without care for other people. The privatization of God paralyzed the capacity of Religion to be the game changer for social change. To tackle the problem of environmental catastrophe, however, we need robust human communities. We must get rid of the privatized individual. We need a culture of selfless dedication to the common good. Wars, divisions, and conflicts can only dissipate the energies we need to cope with environmental disasters. The breakdown of institutions that hitherto served our needs cannot be handled by the very individualism that bought us to this environmental crisis. True human solidarity, stemming from a humble acceptance that we messed up, is the only proper response to such a breakdown of institutions.

Nevertheless, our fragmented modern society can be united to work for the environment if we allow healing to bind us together. Miracles are needed to draw people beyond their prison of despair. Often because of society's diseases and dysfunctions we tend to withdraw to individualism. We need miracles to manifest the special desire of God for us to break out of our own walls and be part of a community. I believe that the healing that occurs in Poon Bato and the wishes that were granted are testaments to the miracle of God's presence in our individual life histories. But it should not end there. We have a common Pilgrimage. That is why we journey together to come to Ina Poon Bato. We pitch our tents together but eventually we come home to the daily grind of our own lives. We are back to our families and communities that need the grace of healing. Indeed, the healing that happened to individuals has a universal significance. It is not only for ourselves that we are healed it is for the people around us those we love and eventually for the earth.

The revelation of Mary to Djadig did not just end in a personal encounter. Djadig brought the image home and it encountered the fire that led the statue to fame. Many people who prayed to the image were healed. Eventually they ask for good harvest for their tribe and their wishes were granted. The plenitude of God's love was shared by many people. Like the tribe of Djadig, who recovered the image of the Virgin Mary from ashes and united themselves to ask for healing and wellbeing, we can also be united to the cause of reversing the trend to our planet's death.

In the same way, by humbly allowing human diversity to flourish out of the healthy life of the soil, a CARE-Commune, can become models for peace and healing. From reforestation to organic farming, to green economy, to humane industry, to alternative education, to ecological habitat and community, to renewable energy, and to hope is the miracle that we want people to witness in a CARE-Commune. Yes from the humble soil all the way to spiritual health is the miraculous transformation that we can witness in a CARE-Commune.

A CARE-Commune aims to unite people of diverse backgrounds to come together and care for the earth. Fostering extreme humility "KababaangLoob," is the task of a CARE- Commune. With extreme humility operating in a community, acceptance becomes the rule and rejection a scant exception. This "diversity rule" is the foundation of a real Social Change capable of reversing the abnormal rise in the earth's temperature.

The second triad of systems in an Earth Commune is composed of the Permaculture School System (Alternative Education), the Green Architecture System (Ecological Habitat), and Earth –Commune System (Community Building). Through its Permaculture School it can impart the wisdom of working together harmoniously for the good of the earth. Through inhabiting the earth with Green architectured habitats, we can unite earth and people in an Earth-Commune. All of these systems need wisdom springing from humility. The same wisdom of Mother Mary in revealing herself to a small insignificant tribe is needed by our individualistic short sighted modern civilization.

Extreme Love vs. Consumerism:

Consumerism is the most potent force blocking us from hearing the voice of Mary to bring the miracle of God's healing into our "home." The Papal encyclical on the environment, Laudatosi, repeatedly talked about changing our pattern of production and consumption. Reading the whole document informs us of the wisdom of the Pope in drawing us out of our enchantment to technological and economic development. The pope wants humanity to shift its gaze and be awed by the beauty and goodness of God's creation so we can take away the spell of mindless consumerism.

We mentioned the Buddhist parable earlier in chapter five. Humanity is likened to children playing unmindfully inside a house on fire. They were so enthralled with their toys that no matter how we call them out they would not listen. So we need to send a cart full of better blessings so that they be in loved with the cart and then we can draw them out of the house on fire.

Djadig's encounter with the image of the Virgin Mary made him forget about hunting. He forgot about his immediate needs and focused on the strange beauty in front of him. He did not know what it is. He only knew that it is not from his own world. Today, we are very much immersed in world of "development" with all its gadgets and amenities. We are mesmerized by the convenience of transportation and communication. Above all, we are hypnotized by the things that we consume. The things that we buy endow power to us like our little toys when we were children. We can control and do what we like with them. Consumerism is in a sense, intoxication with power. The world economy is designed to take advantage of this intoxication. Thus it continuously produces, like a wild machine, from nature things that we want to buy. All the Pollution and garbage that is destroying our planet comes from the things that we are consuming. Not only that we are in a house on fire, we are also fueling the fire with our toys!

Djadig experienced beauty in its most gentle form when he gazed at the mysterious statue of our Lady. Overwhelmed by the mystery, he submitted himself to something more sublime. Perhaps like Djadig, we need to see that there are other important realities that we have to reckon with. Realities of divine nature, such as the mystery of life's evolution, are of greater value than the things we consume. These spiritual realities do not offer us power to manipulate. Instead, they are carting us back to safety. But not only that, we are also being awakened to the greater beauty and goodness outside the house on fire.

When we dive under the sea or walk to the rain forest, we can see the perfection of God's creation. We can see that the infinite expanse of God's love. When we see human beings creating oasis, building brick houses for their community, planting trees and making food and energy to be able to participate in God's creative action, we can see the faith of God in us. When we see the springs of water flowing and our minds calm down and become clear, we see more clearly the path to hope. That is what a Pilgrimage to Paradise is.

We tend to forget that miracles are revelations that points us to the extraordinary every hour miracle of nature, the flowers, the corals, the lightening, the cells in our bodies, and all the awe inspiring beauty and goodness around us. God's salvation is more than just saving a person. God had to be wider than that. Jesus became flesh. Incarnation means that Jesus became a bio degradable material in the universe. He is made of millions of bacteria, cells, and organs that were in an ecological environment. God became part of the universe; God became an instance in the evolutionary process. The Miracle is that God is the salvation of all living and non-living. God is bringing everything to himself for their fulfillment. Our Pilgrimage to Paradise's final destination is God.

CARE-Communes are designed to facilitate these encounters with priceless beauty and goodness. The forest will show us the perfect system of sustainability. The amazing design of God revealed in the forest will make us forget our petty selfishness. The perfect abundance, boundless generosity, of a forest that can provide all our needs will lead us to extreme love. Looking at the fundamental science behind technology can also propel us to exude "KagandahangLoob," the motive of God in making things work. Most profoundly, in a CARE-Commune, we can, like Djadig, commune with the Divine. The idolatry of money is confronted in a CARE-Commune as we gaze at the image of Mary leading us to God the Father who created all things.

The last triad in our nine systems of sustainability is composed of the "Off Grid System" (Green Technology), "Hope Enculturation System" (Ecological Spirituality), and The Aeta Food Forest System (Reforestation Program). These three systems hold the mechanism for replication. They are like the DNA of love. Renewable Energy can lead us to a discernment process on the technologies that we need to discard or improve on. Leading people to hope will provide energy for people to carry on the task of caring for the Planet. A holistic reforestation program will cover the earth with carbon absorbing trees systematically. Climate Change back to the normal temperature of the Planet can take place if countless CARE-Communes will dot the face of the earth.

During the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, the mountain spewed gas and sand that covered a three floor school building and all the villages around it. Who would think that anything can survive? Miraculously a statue of Ina Poon Bato was found floating with the flowing lahar. This book is a personal account of our journey to "ecological conversion," a conversion that led us to the beautiful Paradise where we live in now. We want to share this to many people so that many can pilgrimage toward the creation of countless CARE-Communes so as to bring more communities to peace. At the head of this pilgrimage is Mary Queen of Peace. Her image survived the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991. The Aeta tribe along with her survived that eruption and the one before that 600 years ago. Ina Poon Bato and the Aeta people can lead us in our journey.

The most important benefit of any Pilgrimage is that they point us to what we deeply desire. Materialism, Individualism, and Consumerism are the smoke screens on the human psyche that make us not see what we truly want. Materialism numbs our hearts from the desire to attain spiritual union with the whole of God's creation. It makes us fear the very Source of our survival and sustenance. Extreme courage is what we need to combat materialism. Often we succumbed to materialism because we are afraid to be in the hands of nature, we are afraid to be poor. Our deep desire for genuine freedom is clouded by our fear; making us eliminates the spiritual in material things.

Individualism deviate our minds from our desire for solidarity with our fellow human beings. It takes away our capacity for genuine discernment. It takes away wisdom because it steals from us the desire to know what is important, the common good; the desire to learn from the wonderful system of nature to interrelate all in harmony.

Consumerism subverts our will to do what we are created for. It makes us depart from our profound desire to love and to be loved. Love can be attained by accepting that we are not what we can buy. We are loved by God as we are, naked and without possessions. We need to urgently wean ourselves from materialism, consumerism and individualism. Though long and arduous, through a pilgrimage we get in touched with our deep desires to be free, to know, and to love.

When do we begin?

When are we going to put our acts together? When is the perfect timing to return to Paradise? The rationale for the nine systems of sustainability shows the urgency of responding to Climate Change. Urgency, however, does not preclude deliberate planned action. We do not have the resources, time, and life to waste. Therefore, the three clear goals for the spiraling of a worldwide change in lifestyle are outlined on this book: The change of heart, the social change and the climate change. Admittedly, the aim is ambitious but on this stage of the planet's apocalyptic deterioration, we have no choice but to dream the big dream of the earth: a way back to the paradise that God created.

The nine systems of sustainability is our vehicle for the change to come about and succeed. The importance of our response to climate change demands that we take seriously the design of our alternative. An Implementation plan that will have intelligent details to start us moving is outlined here with the thought that our timeline is dictated by the cry of the earth for change and not our convenient schedule. It is still up to the few of us, pioneers, who felt called to this task to gather our resources and talents and make the change happen.

Solution to Climate Change is not only a technical scientific issue it is also a religious issue. It is hard to believe that God created an earth so beautiful only to be destroyed. It is also hard to believe in a God that will not care to save such beauty. But the earth is not only beautiful it is also good. Good is indefinable but somehow we know that like the earth being beautiful, the earth's goodness can be discerned only by a hearth that have experienced goodness. Despite the ecological blunder of "development" I trust that humanity never lost its feel for the good. Also, the intelligibility of the planet is a perfect match to the curiosity of human beings. Humanity will find its way back to Paradise. We just need to move our feet and start walking. If we listened to the spirit of hope within us while we read through this document, there will be no room for needless hesitation. When shall we move? Now!

For you who are reading this document the "now" might be today. You can start building your own CARE-Commune for your family and love ones. If you find that it is beyond your means to do so, and you still profess your love for our planet, your best channel to support our efforts is to contribute to our Permaculture scholarship Program,and or volunteer your warm body so you can start now!

For my family that "NOW" is the year 2000. It was the year our fist born son, Francis, was born and also the year my Father died. The priesthood was a very meaningful vocation for me. It opened my eyes to the pain of the people around me and this opening then brought me to a passionate engagement with the ecological issue. And when it was time to make a decision on the way of life we will take for the future of Francis and my dear wife Veronica, we chose to take the environment... fulltime.

Right away, we started making the plans and learning permaculture and organic farming from books. I stayed in the priesthood for another five years molding my spirit for the quantum leap. I knew somehow that it will not be easy. As my own father thought me with his life, that we needed to prepare and listen well to our hearts and believe in cosmic forces acting on human fate. With all its warts, glitches, and serpents, we are now here in a paradise in the making. My wife still works in the city, we still shop in the grocery, and use a car for we have not yet perfected our transition and we are well aware that the vast majority of people are yet to follow our chosen path. But the pilgrimage has begun for us. We hope to meet you somewhere along the path. The invitation to "Come and Change" extends to you. Yes the life in a paradise is too good not be shared: The task of creating more of them too exciting to be left for another day.

In one of the accounts of the discovery of Ina Poon Bato, Djadig was hunting with his three sons when he heard the voice saying "Rise Up Djadig, search for me and bring me home." Like Djadig I have also my three sons now with me on this journey, Francis, Gabriel, and Matthew. With my wife Veronica, we can hear the voice of Mother Mary, to search for her true meaning in this world and to bring that understanding home to our land. Marian Spirituality cares so deeply with the changing of our Society to restore harmony on earth. In Her words about the God she obeys she said,

"He has done mighty deeds with his arm. He has routed the proud minded, He has dethroned monarchs, and exalted the poor, He has satisfied the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty."

We may think of the Pilgrimages to Ina Poon Bato as nothing but superstitious popular religiosity, but people come home with peace and healing in their hearts. By contrast, many rich people travel the world and come home to their vicious battlefields; may it be economic or war of conquest. No doubt, bringing home Mary from our Pilgrimage to our community as the Queen of Peace will fare better than the modern technological prowess that have not achieved peace and balance in our world. No doubt, too, the tribal technology of caring for the earth will fare better in achieving our return to Paradise.

Pilgrimage is the best metaphor we can find to articulate our proposal. Pilgrimage is not only a tour where we see things outside of our selves. Pilgrimage is more importantly about discovering who we are. That is what caring for the earth has to offer to humanity--- a window to see what we are made of. It is one thing to be thought that we are made of the Love of God. But it is another thing to discover that this love of God is written all over God's creation. A huge part of creating a CARE-Commune is the adventure of seeing how nature is designed to facilitate human flourishing. But more than the flourishing of human life, intelligence, society, culture, technology, and ethics, there is the blossoming of the human soul every time we engage in something heroic, something beyond ourselves, something of nature, and something of God. This is the quest of our Pilgrimage to life: Our Humanity, our Soul.

APPENDIX 1

Permaculture

"Permaculture was developed in the '70s by Australian Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in response to soil, water, and air pollution by industrial and agricultural systems; loss of plant and animal species; reduction of natural non-renewable resources; and a destructive economic system. They reassembled old wisdom, skills and knowledge of plant, animal and social systems; they added new ideas--- and permaculture was born."

"Although many of the parts of permaculture were familiar, it was the overall interlocking pattern which was different. Unlike other modern agricultural systems, permaculture has been placed squarely on the shoulders of ecology—the study of interrelationships and interdependence of living things and their environment. The result is a new way of sustaining and enriching life without environmental and social degradation."

"Today, there are many definitions of permaculture. The early definition dealt with permanence; later definitions concentrate on sustainable human settlements. One definition of permaculture is:

Permaculture is about designing sustainable human settlements. It is a philosophy and an approach to land use which weaves together microclimate, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water management, and human needs into intricately connected productive communities."

The main feature of permaculture can be summarized as follows:

  * It is a system for creating sustainable human settlements by integrating design and ecology.

  * It is a synthesis of traditional knowledge and modern science applicable to both urban and rural situations.

  * It takes natural systems as a model and works with nature to design sustainable environments which will provide basic human needs as well as the social and economic infrastructure which supports them.

  * It encourages us to become a conscious part of the solutions to the many problems which face us, both locally and globally.

"For you, permaculture can be the creative alternative that our society is not offering. It opens doors to a simple life with better quality, and it is empowering because anyone can "do" it. There are no barriers to age, sex, religion, education or culture. I have taught illiterate people to become very good permaculturists."

"You start small, so the scale and costs are not prohibitive, and weather you have one square meter or one million hectares, permaculture will work. The act of working closely with the earth and taking responsibility for how you treat it, gives greater and greater rewards if, over your lifetime, you build only a simple, non- polluting home and grow your own food, repair and build up the soil, and care for the natural vegetation, you will have lied a full creative and interesting life with great personal freedom, satisfaction and autonomy."
APPENDIX 2

Poverty vs. Environment

"The human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related to human and social degradation. In fact, the deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: "Both everyday experience and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the environment are suffered by the poorest". For example, the depletion of fishing reserves especially hurts small fishing communities without the means to replace those resources; water pollution particularly affects the poor who cannot buy bottled water; and rises in the sea level mainly affect impoverished coastal populations who have nowhere else to go. The impact of present imbalances is also seen in the premature death of many of the poor, in conflicts sparked by the shortage of resources, and in any number of other problems which are insufficiently represented on global agendas.

It needs to be said that, generally speaking, there is little in the way of clear awareness of problems which especially affect the excluded. Yet they are the majority of the planet's population, billions of people. These days, they are mentioned in international political and economic discussions, but one often has the impression that their problems are brought up as an afterthought, a question which gets added almost out of duty or in a tangential way, if not treated merely as collateral damage. Indeed, when all is said and done, they frequently remain at the bottom of the pile. This is due partly to the fact that many professionals, opinion makers, communications media and centers of power, being located in affluent urban areas, are far removed from the poor, with little direct contact with their problems. They live and reason from the comfortable position of a high level of development and a quality of life well beyond the reach of the majority of the world's population. This lack of physical contact and encounter, encouraged at times by the disintegration of our cities, can lead to a numbing of conscience and to tendentious analyses which neglect parts of reality. At times this attitude exists side by side with a "green" rhetoric. Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor."

APPENDIX 3

Cost Benefit Analysis

"Duck Ecology System"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Rice Culture | 40,000 | 80,000

Vegetable Gardening | 70,000 | 100,000

Bio- Char | 10,000 | 20,000

Fish Culture | 40,000 | 60,000

Duck Raising | 120,000 | 200,000

Total | 280,000 | 460,000

"Craft Village System"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Bamboo Farm | 30,000 | 40,000

Basketry | 10,000 | 20,000

Toy Craft | 40,000 | 70,000

Brick Making | 30,000 | 40,000

Candle Making | 30,000 | 50,000

Furniture | 50,000 | 100,000

Total | 190,000 | 320,000

"Local Marketing System"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Salted Eggs | 50,000 | 80,000

Peddling cart | 70,000 | 100,000

Pickling | 30,000 | 50,000

Farm Subcribers | 20,000 | 50,000

Day Tour | 50,000 | 100,000

Total | 220,000 | 380,000

"Permaculture School system"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Quail | 100,000 | 150,000

Mushroom | 40,000 | 70,000

Aquaphonic | 120,000 | 150,000

School | 250,000 | 350,000

Rabbits | 60,000 | 100,000

Scholarship | 50,000 | 500,000

Total | 620,000 | 1,320,000

"Bee Hive System"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Green Inn | 800,000 | 1,100,000

Bio-Gas | 60,000 | 80,000

Chicken Tractor | 90,000 | 120,000

Orchid Farm | 50,000 | 150,000

Total | 1,000,000 | 1,450,000

"Earth- Commune System"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Pilgrimage | 50,000 | 50,000

Goat Milking | 120,000 | 250,000

Community Garden | 40,000 | 80,000

Housing | 200,000 | 250,000

Dispersal | 260,000 | 300,000

Total | 670,000 | 930,000

"Off Grid System"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Wind Turbines | 270,000 | 350,000

Solar Power | 150,000 | 200,000

Waterwheel | 90,000 | 110,000

Windmills | 140,000 | 200,000

Total | 650,000 | 860,000

"Food Forest System"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Nursery | 50,000 | 70,000

Tree Planting | 220,000 | 220,000

Tree Caring | 220,000 | 220,000

Water Impounding | 1,200,000 | 1,200,000

Total | 1,690,000 | 1,710,000

"Hope Culture System"

Component | Cost | Benefit

---|---|---

Meditation Huts | 60,000 | 60,000

Eco-Retreats | 50,000 | 90,000

Earth Warriors | 50,000 | 80,000

Total | 160,000 | 230,000

Three Year Cost and Benefit

Appeal for Funding

To those who would like see Models of Climate Change Adaptation sprouting all over the country, let us do the math! It will take 5.5 million to have a complete model. Thirty percent of that (1,644,000) will be the labor cost for three years. For the First year we will need about 600,000 for our manpower expense. If we will pay for the scholarship of nine people who will learn and work on our fist Climate Change Adaptation Model for a year, we will be able to cover the manpower cost of one year. Three individuals or groups paying 23,000 pesos each for the education of one person on Climate Change Adaptation is a good deal. With 23,000 pesos from 27 individuals and groups we can raise 621,000.

What will you get for the 23,000 pesos?

  1. We are going to plant and care for 100 trees on your name and behalf.

  2. You will receive a box of vegetables three times a year

  3. You will receive one basket of Mango.

  4. You will receive a heirloom wooden toy.

  5. You will receive a copy of the book "Pilgrimage to Life"

  6. You earn the privilege of staying at our Climate Change Adaptation Model for a weekend with free food and lodging.

  7. You will be able to claim that you were able to give employment to one family head.

  8. You will receive 20 kilos of organic rice

  9. We will pray that you may have courage, love, and wisdom to overcome the difficulties of Climate Change

Appendix 4

APPENDIX 5

Scale of Earth-Human Values

The Philosophy behind this proposal for CARE-Communes comes from the conviction that Human Values and Earth Values can be integrated. While humanity strives for its survival and flourishing, the earth can also survive and flourish. The destruction of our planet is rooted in the concept that the nature is the enemy of human race: That for humanity to achieve its goals, he must "subdue the earth." In other words, the earth is only a means for the attainment of human purpose. No matter how we downplay the anti-nature pronouncements in the Judeo-Christian tradition, its anthropocentrism cannot be denied. Other religious traditions will not fare better both in praxis and in theory. After all, the main subject of most Religions is human salvation and not the salvation of the earth.

Anthropocentric as it may be, religion can still be a very important force for change. As we face the greatest challenge in the history of human kind: the apocalyptic extinction of human consciousness, Religion can find its true meaning. Religion will find her own ground for being. On this undertaking, religion will become metaphysical and transcendental again. It will go beyond the realm of facts to the world of meanings. In short, religion will become deeply spiritual again.

Only by going to the depths of what it means for humanity to be an inhabitant of the earth and its very consciousness, can Religion be of genuine service to humanity and the earth. For only then, despite its anthropocentricism, can religion serve the earth: by saving humanity from the mediocrity of being a meaningless visitor of the planet.

If religion continues to serve a different purpose from what it is meant to be, it will remain a misleading diversion. If religion will not come to grips with the values that brought it to existence, it will both cease to inspire humanity and fail to head the call of the earth for salvation. On the other hand, when religion becomes authentic, it can save the planet.

It is the supreme role of an authentic religion to guide humankind to an insight into what are important in life and arrange their priorities accordingly. The place for religion to start then is in the fixing of the way we arrange our hierarchy of human values. To urge us all to go beyond what an individual consider being important to what is important for the rest of humanity and the earth is, to me, religion's most important task. The task of making us more human again is Religions' raison de entre:

To be religious is to be human and to be human is to be earth. To be earth is to care for the earth. We are made with the genes to bring the earth to self-consciousness. We need to believe in this endowment-- in this capacity to be an integral part of the earth. Religion has a path to such enlightenment.

Fatalism can conveniently be our response to apocalyptic events. But a genuine religious experience will find another answer: Hope. When the spirit of hope pervades human consciousness, humanity is able to start from his deepest desire and as it where fix his value system. He is able to focus on what is truly important for all and discard expedient values.

The highest value in the hierarchy then is hope. Despair will not bring us to our deepest meaning. It is only hope that can bring humanity down to earth. The virtue of hope is our method of discovery for what we can be and what we can do for the earth. Stephen Hawkings once said that if there is life there is hope. But it is also true that if there is hope there is life.

I propose here a hierarchy based on the evolutionary formation of human consciousness.

Human consciousness developed from the evolution of life starting from simple chemical arrangements towards the more complex biological organism. The human brain by far is the most complex matter in the universe. Honoring this complexity, we must see the value of the human mind and the emergence of spirituality for the survival and flourishing of the earth where it evolved from. Thus, the evolution of the earth and consciousness is clue to the right arrangement of these values.

Religion will not come about if there was no spirituality. Spirituality will not be in existence if not for the struggle of the human being to find the best way to be good to her fellow human being. Moral value will not be conceived if humanity has not developed a sense of what is fitting and beautiful as she transforms the environment using his creativity. Technical value is a social construct. It is very much about common taste. Gathering to live together is a cultural invention and culture will not be if there were no minds operating. There is no consciousness if there is no brain that is biologically constituted. Without the right geo-physical condition life will not come about. The universe evolved from chemical reactions. This sequence of evolution will give us an insight on how to arrange the hierarchy of Earth and Human Values.

I believe, as in all religions (and now science) that the fundamental particle in the universe is somehow spiritual. For these particles to arrange themselves in order for the human consciousness to emerge is an awesome mystery. Such a mystery opens us to think that values are evolutionary. What precedes one step in evolution is a necessary value for the next to come about. That is the movement of nature.

However, human freedom, in its hope to heal the earth that it destroyed, can move down the scale from hope to the very chemical makeup of the planet. Indeed, humanity can bring back the right proportion of iron in the oceans and absorb carbon dioxide from the air by soil conditioning though organic agriculture.

With an earth- centered spirituality of hope, humans can change their moral standard from just anthropocentric ethics to an earth centered ethics. Hope will close the door to the destructive desperate option of exploiting the earth in order to fulfill human obligation to himself and his kin. It will open the gate to the insight that the innocent victim, the earth, is part of the spiritual whole that must be healed and integrated for humans to be right. Insight into the sacredness of the earth will form an ethics of respect and sensitivity to what can harm the natural environment.

With an earth centered ethics, human beings can shape the technologies that will enhance bio diversity. We can make the choice to abandon the seductive technologies that leads only to human power. Seen through the prism of Bio-ethics, these technologies of power have done nothing but oppress and marginalize those who have no access to it. They have become tools to perpetuate values of domination and violence.

Technological breakthroughs on environmental science can change our social arrangements. Science at the service of the earth will bring inventions that will benefit more people than just a few myopic individuals whose aim is to accumulate wealth for self-aggrandizement. The shift from search for power to search for harmony in the field of science will usher us to a new age of technological enlightenment. Social sciences will find a bridge to natural sciences as technologies, driven by an ethics searching for harmony with the earth; lend their hand in changing social dynamics. Not only in the area of communications but also in the area of food production, disaster response, electric generation, medicine, transportation and a host of other areas can technology impact on social arrangements . Nation states and other man made boundaries can be bridged by the new technologies that will focus on bio- regions instead of just political and economic regional divisions. The independence of small communities from the globalized economic machine through earth caring technologies, will then allow the breakaway of the alternative culture for earth caring.

Earth centered communities will be able to create a culture of earth caring. Today we are saddled with a cultural homogeny of the western industrialized nations. With all the achievement of the western culture, we have seen that it has been the cause of the accumulation of harmful greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. The cause of our catastrophic state is the culture of the industrialized countries that unfortunately have become the standard for all other nations to follow. The counter culture the destructive homogeny is our vanishing tribes. They have survived despite the dysfunctions due to the onslaught of modernity. Now we need to learn from them the way to hold God's creation sacred.

A culture that holds sacred not only human diversity but also bio diversity will give birth to a consciousness full of wisdom and thus able to design a way of life that will conserve the earth. A culture that places prime importance to life will most likely create the right condition for a profound intellectual awakening of the human race. Then we can direct our research and studies on the enhancement of biological life in the planet. We already have the tool of empirical science to uncover the secrets of nature's perfection. We also have the technology to remember and access huge amount of information. The only thing we need is the common passion and commitment to unlock the portal of biological blossoming. The world of microorganisms, plant life, and animal and insect life--- ecology, is summoning us to the path to a more intelligent habitation design.

With bio-mass the very geo-physical makeup of the earth can go back to its pristine rivers, majestic green mountains, and colorful under seas. Bio mass is the single most important direct solution to climate change. It is our only hope to reverse the desertification of the planet from mining and over development. It is also our way to stop the advance of concrete cities. Unfortunately, our urban landscape with its concrete structures dominates the earth disproportionately. The opposite movement must operate: Cities must be engineered to transform into more natural shape. With this green invasion we can bring back the winding rivers that have become straight because of faulty urban planning. A bio mass production concentrated land classification will halt urban sprawl and reforest more mountains. Also, with bio- mass production in focus, we can divert our energies from producing toxic materials to massive gardening.

By returning our geo-physical landscape close to the original Paradise shape, we will be able to absorb the carbon dioxide that already accumulated on the atmosphere causing the temperature to rise. Only with chemically balanced healthy soil from natural landscapes can we grow the vegetation needed to absorb carbon dioxide. More importantly, without this vegetation we cannot nurture the planktons in the sea that absorbs more than fifty percent of carbon dioxide. With the greening of our towns and cities will follow the cleansing of the seas because all the poisons in the sea come from the toxic chemistry of the cities.

Apocalyptic events, taken from the prism of this Scale of Human- Earth values, are not the end, they are the beginning of a new age of Love and Harmony. In the same way Paradise is not just the beginning it is also the completion of Human History. The chemistry of the air, soil, and water, brought back to its Paradise state, will fire up the human heart to its most profound awakening.

Values | Human- Earth Needs | Target Change

---|---|---

Chemical | Food/ Plankton | Change of Heart

Geo-physical | Hands/ Waterways

Biological | Funds/ Bio Mass

 |   
 |

Intellectual | Wisdom/ Science | Social Change

Cultural | Habitat/ Space

Social | Community/ Animation

 |   
 |

Technical | Energy/ Air | Climate Change

Moral | Forest/ Community

Spiritual | Hope/ Peace

Permaculture Scholarship Program

Learning by Doing

The achievement of the three goals above will depend on the level of skill and motivation of the people who will implement the plan. The Manpower cost of the project is about forty percent of the total cost. The people who are interested to help the project but are not able to work on it directly can provide for a scholarship fund that will pay for the cost of the people who will be working on the project directly. It is called a scholarship fund because they will not only labor to implement the plan but also learn the way of caring for the environment. By so doing they will be equipped with skills that will enable them to maintain and replicate the project in other sites.

Nine Topics

These nine topics will give the participants a well- rounded comprehensive practical and theoretical knowledge of Climate Change Adaptation.

  1. Permaculture

Here the participants will learn the basics of "Paradise creation." Designing landscape for maximum bio-diversity will be studied and applied.

  2. Aquaculture

On this topic the participants will learn about food production using the combination of land and water. They will also learn to adapt to rising sea levels

  3. Peddling:

The topic here is economics. The participants will learn both micro and macroeconomics. They will see the power of the poor people not only to survive in the fringes of society but also to build up a powerful economic system.

  4. Bamboo craft:

The practical applications of bamboo material for climate change adaptation will be learned hands on. The participants will be introduced to other the many uses of bamboo.

  5. Rudolf Steiner:

Alternative education is the main topic of this course. The participants will learn how to teach not only children but also adults on how harness human creativity.

  6. Green Architecture:

On this course the participants will learn to build an ecological house. They will participate in designing and creating ecological habitats,

  7. Enneagram:

The participants will get to know their personality type on this exercise. They will learn how other types operate in a group. Here they will find the best role they can have in a group.

8. Renewable Energy:

This course will give the participant a chance to make a wind turbine by hand.

9. Non- Violent Communication:

This workshop will help the participants understand their own personal limitations when it comes to violent tendencies. They will understand that there are techniques available to address people's grievances before they become sources of conflicts.

Cost of Scholarship

Ideally we will need 18 people to learn from and work for one Climate Change Adaptation Model. We will have apprenticeship system where nine of the eighteen are skilled or have mastery of the topics above. They will each have an apprentice. But the entire eighteen people workforce will each receive a daily scholarship grant of 500 pesos. Depending on the group's agreement they will contribute for food and other expenses as the group demands. Part of the scholarship grant will shoulder the material expenses for the learning program. It is understood that whatever infrastructure built from the fund will become part of the CAME-Communes. Donors for this program can monitor the progress of the scholars not only by their physical output but also by interviews. The big part of the cost is tree planting. This group of 18 scholars must have an output of 3 hectare forest of about 3,000 trees.

4 Day Seminar on Ecological Farming

Day One: Soil

This Module will deal with the importance of soil for life on earth to flourish. Here it is important that the student have direct contact with the soil. They will know about soil structure, chemistry and biological make up. We will expand this knowledge by their reflection on their earthly existence.

Activities:

  1. Soil making with earth worms and Gardening

  2. Lecture on Soil science

  3. Group Sharing on the meaning of Life's earthly existence

Day Two: Water

This Module will deal with the importance of water for life on earth to flourish. Here it is important that the students enjoy water as part of life. They will know about global warming and its effect on the sea level and water balance on our planet earth. We will deepen this knowledge by introducing the students to the value of conservation not only of water but of all natural resources.

Activities:

  1. Aqua phonic Gardening with Tilapia, Duck, and Rice

  2. Kayaking and river games

  3. Lecture on Water cycles

  4. Group Sharing on the Direction of one's life using the river metaphor

Day Three: Wind

This module will deal with the importance of air for life on earth to flourish. Here it is important that the students have an experience of the power of the wind. They will learn about the structure of the atmosphere and its power to protect life on earth. We will widen the scope of their scientific insight to include human power to effect change in his environment.

Activities:

  1. Souvenir Windmill making

  2. Mountain Climbing

  3. Lecture on Alternative Energy

  4. Group Sharing on the Future of human society

Day Four: Fire

This module will deal with the importance of the human factor for life to flourish on earth. Here it is important that the students appreciate the impact of human existence to the survival of the planet. They will learn about the ills of chemical agriculture and its impact on the carbon absorption capacity of the planet. We will have a culminating synthesis of their experience with a final workshop on cooking organic food.

  1. Lecture on Carbon Footprint

  2. Brick Making

  3. Bio- Char Production experience

  4. Harvesting/ Shopping on Local market

  5. Group cooking and Campfire

APPENDIX 6

These are the artists' representation of an ideal Climate Change Adaptation Model. Some of the details here are already in place in our farm.

APPENDIX 7

Nine Community Rules

  1. Diversity is Perfection: Rejection is the exception. Acceptance is the norm. The team leader will interview one member each day in order to appreciate each member's unique gifts, difficulties, and possibilities.

  2. Always Help: At the end of each day, we will identify the needs that have to be met the following day and write a list on the needs list. This will make us a more responsive community.

  3. All are Accountable: Every Full moon each member will have to account for his/her consumption and production. Transparency is an important tool to build up trust among community members.

  4. All is Beautiful: Handmade creation exhibit every quarter. A venue for self-expression can make our Climate Change Adaptation Model more beautiful inside and outside.

  5. Humility is Wisdom: Lecture of one member every Saturday evening of a topic of his/her choice. Listening and being listened to is an intellectual exercise for the growth of each member.

  6. Loyalty to the Cause: Review of Enterprise vision and goals every two months. Remembering the reason for joining the community will give members renewed courage and strength.

  7. Joy with All: Plenary meeting every Sunday with community party. Celebrating the achievements of the community will give more inspiration to the members.

  8. Power to the just: The team leader is elected every year. One year is long enough to test one's gift of leadership. It will allow other individuals to try their gift with the assent of the community.

  9. Peace is not only an end it is also a means: Every quarter the community will have a reconciliation evening where we will try to express our forgiveness for those who offended us in any way.

APPENDIX 8

Big Power Plants vs. Community Energy

The total Energy requirement of the Philippines is only 64.52 ton watt hours. Germany is producing 123.5 ton watt hours of renewable energy! We may say that Germany is technologically more advanced that the Philippines that is why they can produce that amount of energy from renewable source. However, all the technologies used in Germany are already here in the Philippines only to a smaller scale. Indeed, all we need to do is to raise the scale of our renewable energy program. Such a move will, however, follow the same pattern of big business investment that will only serve the interest of big organizations. Allowing big investments from multinational companies, whether for non-renewable or renewable source will bring us back to the same attitude that brought us to the present grid system that explicitly promotes more power consumption. The mega cities that big power plants are designed for does not have a place in the change that we are describing on this book.

There is another way. We can engage in smaller scale energy production using diverse sources. Let us do the math: A coal plant will cost more than five billion pesos to build. It will cost another five billion to maintain and operate for at least ten years. The transmission and management cost will be another five billion. These fifteen billion pesos can provide electricity about three million people in fifteen years. The same amount of money when invested on community electric generation can provide electricity to five million people.

The lesser evil on this math is the big scale energy plants. Driving our courage to the extreme, small scale replicable energy systems that can power small communities can help us out of the mediocrity of choosing the lesser evil. The advantages of creating small scale power systems are clear. First: we will be able to provide the energy we need. The shortage of energy is not only a demand problem. There is also a problem on the monopoly of supply. As long as supply is controlled by the economic interest of a few rich companies, they will not have the incentive to provide more electric power unless it is for greater gains.

Second, there is the problem of distribution. The cost of moving electricity on wires travelling so many kilometers creates another burden passed on to the consumers. This can all be eliminated when we have electricity produced in homes and small communities.

Thirdly, there is the loss of opportunity. The awareness that fossil fuel energy is the cause for carbon dioxide emission should lead us to a deeper understanding of the relationship of humanity to the earth. The discovery that free energy can be harnessed from the sun, from the wind, from water, from the bio-gas, and other sources right there on our door step, should teach us that "small is beautiful." We now have the opportunity to change our social structure by changing our energy system. Creating small earth caring communities around a small dam that provides electricity for only nine families, Group of friends building wind turbines for a small community, or installing solar panels on house roofs are movements that can change our present deadly social structure. Cutting these communities from the grid will make them more resilient to climate disasters. When the grid malfunctions we needed to wait for months and even years for the light to be on. With small off grid systems, we are sure we can bring back power right after the storm because our source is just there on our door step.
APPENDIX 9

The Pilgrim Way

First Station: Orientation at the 1st CARE-Commune

A two day orientation at Larry's farm will kick off the pilgrimage. Here we will confront the issue of Global Warming. We will be given the most recent information on climate research. Also we will see the different responses that concerned people attempted to do. Most importantly we will look at the Adaptation strategies that we can use to survive Global Warming. We will plant trees to signal our commitment to continue with the Pilgrimage of life even beyond the 9 day experience.

Second Station: Walk to Ina Poon Bato

Mother Marry is said to have appeared to a tribal person. Our indigenous people are the living testimony to our struggle to survive in the onslaught of "development" Their culture is vanishing before even the extinction of the forest, their habitat. The solidarity of Mary to the Aeta tribe is a prophetic message pointing us back to paradise. Here we will see that our tribal people were fed and cared for well by their environment for many centuries. On this visit to the Healing image of Apo Apang (as the tribal people call her) will help us discern the map of our return to a way of life closer and more dependent on nature.

Third Station: Looking under the sea in Masinloc Bay

On this stop we will reflect on the Beauty and Perfection of God's creation. Looking at the many colors and balance of the coral life, we will see the Plan of the creator for bio diversity. We will also see the fragility of the ecosystem. With a humbler heart we can see the danger of relying on human freedom to manage our planet.

Fourth Station: Boat Ride from Masinloc to Vigan

The focus of this journey is the person of Jesus. We will look at human creativity and our heroism. The Jesus stands out on his creativity in calling people to conversion. His life and death is the masterpiece of God's love. The change of heart needed for social change and climate change will be the theme of this boat journey.

Fifth Station: Walk from Vigan to Pasuquin

The focus of this journey is the Holy Spirit. Wisdom is the grace that we will ask. As we go through the schools and churches of Ilocos we will open lectures on the subject of Ecology and Climate Change Adaptation. We will invite the local people to listen and share on our common concern for survival on our threatened planet. We will seek the guidance not only of the experts on Climate Change Adaptation but more importantly the Wisdom of the Holy Spirit in leading people's heart to what they deeply desire.

Sixth Station: House and Brick Making in Tadao

Building Human Habitats with deep concern and reliance to the Environment that is keeping us all alive is the main point of this exercise. Here we will be involved in Planning for an Ecological Home. We will consider the human health as well as the health of the natural environment. A reflection on the way we have inhabited the earth in the past and in the present will lead us to new insights on how we could live better on our earth.

Seventh Station: Community Sharing

We cannot change our climate back to its normal temperature without social change. By generously sharing ourselves to one another deeply we can discover other social dynamics that are not only economic. We will try to get in touched with our cultural identities and elevate our personal longings so that we can integrate with our community. Here we will use the tool of the Enneagram to bridge the personal and social aspect of the pilgrims.

Eight Station: Hermitage Experience at the waterfalls

The Power of nature to sustain and make humans flourish not only materially but also spiritually can be experienced when we are in solitude. The experience of being alone with nature without material baggage can help us discover the presence of our almighty God in our journey. The power of the sun, water, air and the earth is a reflection of the might of God. Taming our desires for power and relying on the design of God is perhaps the way to abate the destruction of our planet.

Ninth Station: Peaceful retreat at Fr. Tito's

The topic of this retreat is the Christian Way of Hope. Integrating all the Experiences of the Pilgrimage we will come to see the direction of our lives. We will see hope in prism of the Resurrection. The Easter message will be the final point of the Pilgrimage.

Earth Healing Retreat Outline:

  1. "Principle and Foundation": Ignatian view of the purpose of human existence. Awakening to the goodness of God's creation and the giftedness of human beings is the aim of this section. God the Father's infinite love will be the experienced by looking at the awe inspiring beauty of waterfalls, coral reefs, forests, etc.

  2. "Franciscan way of freedom", the way of Jesus is the pattern of what people can do when they are free. Embracing total self- giving as the way to save our suffering earth will be the pull of this section.

  3. "Benedictine Ora et Labora", rhythm of work and Prayer. Connecting our spiritual selves with our physical world. Listening to where the Spirit is blowing by feeling the earth's movement.

3 Full Day Retreat Schedule

1st day: Water Falls Experience: A quiet day on a hermitage proceeded by a hike to the mountain with reflection on the Psalms about the goodness of God's creation and the special place of humanity in God's plan.

2nd Day: Fasting for the poor: Meditation on personal and social sin, greed, and the destruction of the planet and human community.

3rd Day: Work and Prayer: An experience of a farmer's One day work: Following the liturgy of the hours, the participants will experience communal healing sessions, Mass Agape, and festive celebration.

 Self Sufficiency is a way of life that does not depend on the big economic system to thrive. Producing what is consumed and consuming what is produced in a small farm of nine hectares is the ideal.

 350 parts per million is the lower limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere according to most scientists. We have already exceeded that limit.

 "New Normal" means that constant flooding, record breaking storms, droughts, and other weather occurrences that were before considered anomalous are now the normal conditions.

 See Copenhagen IPCC report of 2012.

 There is evidence showing that when trees are cleared to less than thirty percent of the original surface area , other sustainable life processes begin to collapse (Rosemary Marrow)

 The best fund raising for the environment is the Climate Change Adaptation Scholarship. While it trains people to adapt to Climate Change it builds the capacity of communities to Prevent Climate Change. The tree planting that this community of scholars will do is already a direct action not to mention the motivational aspect in their return to natural habitat as they refine their knowledge of ecological science. Funding for these must come from those who are benefiting from the destructive economic system in place today.

 See the outline of our learning course on earth science in Appendix 5.

VandanaShiva's , "Monocultures of the Mind" cogently argued this point. The monoculture that we see in our agriculture system reflects the monoculture that has taken place in our way of thinking.

 See Appendix 2. The Encyclical of Pope Francis "Laudatosi!" stresses this point unequivocally.

The International Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations proposed three responses to Climate Change: **Prevention, Mitigation, and Adaptation**. These three responses correspond with the three conversions discussed in the last chapter: **Change of Heart, Social Change, and Climate Change.**

 "Great Turning" is the term used by environmentalist to refer to the reversal of destructive development ethos.

 The Pope repeatedly referred to Consumerism and Individualism as the ills that cause Climate Change.

 We use the term "Climate Change" to refer to both Global Warming (increase in temperature) and the proactive changing of the climate by people's intervention (decrease in temperature).

 The cost benefit Analysis of our proposal is on Appendix 3. Although it is clear that this proposal calls for heroic stand, we are not discounting the possibility of gaining profits. The best use of any surplus that will accrue from our efforts is the generation of funds for the replication of Climate Change Adaptation Models.

 See Appendix 1

 See Appendix 7

 Our most cogent proof that in humanity's genetic and cultural encoding is the gift to survive Climate Change is the writings of E.F. Shumnacher. Even without prior knowledge of our Climate Change Problems, he had the insight that our Economics will lead us to our own destruction. Prophetic imagination is the most precious talent of our species.

 Please look at appendix 8, a comparative view of off grid and on grid systems.

 One complete model and 2 models with the only the Food Forest, Off Grid, and Hope culture components in place. The other systems will follow as scheduled in our implementation program.

 "Paradise Design" is characterized by high bio-diversity, high bio-mass, and complex interdependence of all elements for stability

 Even as it is, in its incompleteness, our way of life, if replicated one thousand times in the Philippines will already absorb the carbon dioxide emission of 300,000 cars.

 350 parts per million of Carbon Dioxide is what the planet can tolerate to prevent irreversible rise in temperature. We have more than 350 ppm in most of the industrialized countries.

 The Aeta tribe, although falsely blamed for deforestation, have the best method of reforestation. After they "slash and Burn" small areas in the forest to produce food, they leave those areas after about three years will fruit bearing trees and after some years such areas are back to how they were when they got there. We have a lot to learn from their method specially that we have miserably failed in our reforestation programs.

 The dismal failure of the Philippine Government in just the past 8 years using 40 billion pesos attests to the ineptness of conventional reforestation programs. The National Greening Program Failed miserably. It needs radical overhaul.

 We will engage in intensive culture of Indigenous Effective Microorganisms and worms.

Edward O. Wilson, " _The Diversity of Life."_ Pp. 308-326 (Penguin Books, 1992)

 Organic humus found in residues of coal mines. It has an almost magical effect on the soil. Because of its solubility the plants can absorb them quick. We do not need to mine this organic humus as they are plentifull waste products of coal mining.

 Bamboo is said to absorb carbon dioxide 40 percent more efficiently than other trees.

 Pope Francis calls this unbalanced pace of development "rapidification." He identified is as the cause of our disregard for the natural pace of the earth's evolution.

 Enneagram, a personality typology, is by far the most comprehensive typology we know. It considers not only diversity but also the interaction between and among personality types. It is most suited in understanding community dynamics.

 We have detailed estimates of Cost and Benefit on Appendix 5. This Cost and Benefit analysis is not only based on our farming experienced but gathered from other experts.

 About 15% of worldwide carbon dioxide emission comes from burning of agricultural waste. Bio-char kilns can also produce "wood vinegar" a good repellant for garden insects.

 "Zero waste" is not only about the effort to recycle materials. It is first and foremost an effort to control production of non- essential goods.

 See Appendix 5 for the Lesson Plan of a 4 day eco-farming seminar.

 See Appendix 9 on the itinerary of the Pilgrimage. This community building exercise reveal level of authenticity of the participant and also the level of authenticity of the traditions, organizations, institutions and families they are immersed in. Through this Pilgrimage of self-discovery, the participants will discover their great mission to save our planet.

 This step signals our departure from the 1st Model and entry to the creation of the second model. The Pilgrimage is a journey from the 1st to the 2nd Model signifying our final goal of creating three models in three years and our vision of replicating these models in the whole country.

 In Biblical language there is a distinction between "Chronos," Chronological time, succession of events, and "Kairus" the time of God or the appropriate time specially planned by God for some deep reason that has something to do with the revelation of his Love.

 Scientists tend to refrain from making predictions of the future. The limit of their discipline is confined to the facts on hand. Nevertheless, their data, when taken responsibly, can help us save ourselves from disaster.

 This is the Benedictine way of dealing with time. There is time to Pray and time to Work. Learning this rhythm will help the members of the Commune to adjust to their new way of life.

 From the Book " Small is Beautiful" of EF Shumacher, we got the inspiration of using small animals to attain self-sufficiency in protein as well us making manure production more prolific to condition soil fertility.

 Rachel Carlson tirelessly campaigned against dangerous chemicals during the time when they were used like miracle solutions to everything unaware of their hazards to human health.

 Rosemary Morrow calls these the "who and why" questions that perpetuate grievances and the "how and when" questions that carry objectives forward.

 See Appendix IV.

 On our cover page is the picture of Jana and her group with the local people when the oven was finished. That moment remains a memory of a dream of creating an Earth-Commune that will last.

 Please read on the Appendix 5 the Scale of Human Values.

 See the end of Appendix 5

 There are more detailed definitions of Permaculture in the Internet. This one is taken from the book "Earth User's Guide to Permaculture" by Rosemary Marrow, Kangaroo Press, 1993.

 The debate on "Poverty vs. Environment" became intense among aid workers and environmentalists during the 1980's. The Pope's encyclical treated both problems as integrated and needed a more comprehensive approach.

437

