Not everything that unfolded from the pandemic was a disaster. In fact, the isolation served as a time for contemplation and deeper realizations in life. For others like the youths of San Vicente, Ubay, Bohol, the pandemic has also paved the way for opportunities to enter and opened a safe haven from adversities.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, Bohol was struck by typhoon Odette in late December of 2021, leaving 80 people dead and 78 others injured, with PhP5 billion worth of damage to properties. Despite these catastrophes, the young people comprising the UNBA 4-H club in San Vicente continue to thrive by farming and milking carabaos.

The UNBA 4-H club is a group organized through the encouragement of Department of Agriculture-Philippine Carabao Center (DA-PCC) at Ubay Stock Farm Senior Agriculturist Gaudioso Calibugan a.k.a “Gudi” back in July 2021 as part of the objectives of the agency.

The club aims to engage the youth in agricultural business to lure them away from getting involved in unhealthy activitites. The club ultimately teaches its members to value lasting friendships and cooperation while earning for themselves.

Gudi talked them into forming the said group. The membership grew from 18 to 30 individuals, aged 12 to 23 years old. As proposed by Gudi, the group first ventured into corn silage production. In a joint effort, the local DA office and DAPCC provided on-the-job training to the group, from farming to processing corn silage. A chopper and a harvester were also rented out to the group by the two agencies while the Bohol Dairy Cooperative (BODACO) also leased a tractor to assist in cultivating the farm area.

At that time, BODACO also invested a substantial amount to the group to be used as a start up capital for its production. A couple of months later, the group was able to generate 300 sacks of corn silage sold at Php7 per sack, with a total sale amounting to Php75,000.

The group's determination has been unwavering since then, soon enough they ventured into carabao and dairy cow milk production as well. The DA-PCC entrusted them with five carabaos while the DA entrusted eight cows.

Each liter of milk is sold at Php50, which gives them an average of Php8,000 income per month.

Because of the resolve they displayed for the industry, the DA entrusted them with another set of cattle for fattening.

Safe haven

Melvin Sastrillas, standing president of the UNBA 4-H Club described how it was challenging to start from scraps.

“We had difficulties at first because we did not have any previous knowledge or experience in managing a business. Further, we were not sure how we could encourage the other youths to actively engage in our activities,” Sastrillas said.

Despite their rawness in the industry, the group was lucky enough to receive mentorship and regular technical expertise from Gudi.

The members of the group are all close cousins, which makes the work more of a family activity. They have also set rules regarding the sharing of responsibilities and a daily time record to track their attendance and duration of working hours.

“We are having a lot of fun doing the chores from planting to harvesting our corn crops, especially the teasing and jokes shared in between,” says Sastrillas. All of the group members apart from Sastrillas are attending high school and college, which is why the continuous income from their business was truly helpful during the pandemic and after the recent typhoon.

“There is good income from our corn silage production and especially from milk, which is produced daily,” emphasized Sastrillas.

The amount generated helped significantly in supporting their educational needs, e.g., cellphones, which they utilized for their online classes, while the remaining amount was used to purchase groceries for their households.

Faces of resilience

Because of their determination, they were conferred as the 4th placers for the National Excellent Achievers Award (NEAA) in 2020 during the 69th National 4-H Summit themed “RISE of the 4-Her: Reaching Independence, Sustainability, and Empowerment of 4-H club amidst the Pandemic.” They also topped the regional awards category. The award is in acknowledgment of their relentless effort and dedication to the advancement of the Philippine agriculture.

The 4-H club is an organization committed to out-of-school youth (OSY) and in-school youth (ISY) involved in agriculture programs and livelihood projects for the four-fold development of the Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. It provides hands-on trainings and educational activities from government agencies and other volunteers.

Despite the sudden shifts and changes, the young people of San Vicente exuded resilience and self-sufficiency, as manifested in their performance in championing agriculture. The pandemic may have deprived them of many things, but their dreams and determination remain ever-burning and cultivated beneath the roofs of their UNBA 4-H club.