An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) based in the UAE has shared his home garden in Al Ain, which he said he has cultivated for about six years now.
Dante Pineda, 37, said that he has found his love for planting the moment he arrived in the country in July 2014. As an agriculture worker, he said he gained enough knowledge at work of planting and pest control, which he then used to build his own garden at home.
“Nakita ko kasi may mga kasamahan ako na nagtatanim ng mga gulay, Filipino din po siya, kaya sinubukan ko rin,” he said.
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He said he has found relief in his garden, especially at the onset of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, since it helped him save money on food expenses when he got redundant due to the economic impact of the crisis.
“Napakaganda kapag may mga halamang tanim ka lalo na kapag mga gulay kasi bawas din sa gastusin. Kapag may mga bunga na at pwede na i-harvest, napakalaking tulong din ito ngayon pandemic lalo na sa mga nawalan ng work,” he said.
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He said that since he started planting six years ago, he now has a lot of vegetables on his garden—including petchay, kangkong, tanglad, squash, sili, tomatoes, ampalaya, malunggay, and eggplant, among others.
Pineda said that one of his planting secrets is using camel feces as natural fertilizer and mixing it with the soil, adding that it makes the garden bloom even further.
“Ngayon parating na ang winte,r napakaganda magtanim ng mga gulay dito sa Al Ain. Para sa mga nais magtinim tiyaga lang, napakasarap ng gulay. Kahit nasa flat ka if wala kang bakuran pwede ka makpagtanim sa maliit na paso or lata,” he said.
