Layog Country Farm cited by DOT, Mt Prov gov’t for aggie-tourism

BONTOC, Mountain Province -- The Layog Farm Center for Sustainable Futures, Inc. represented by Flor de Lina Layog received a certificate of recognition from the provincial government of Mountain Province during the celebration of the 118^th Philippine Civil Service anniversary on Sept. 3, 2018 in this capital town.

On August 24, the Dept. of Tourism represented by USEC Benito Bengson gave another certificate of recognition to the same farm as first agro-tourism farm in the Cordillera Administrative Region at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

The farm was recognized due to its work and contribution for promotion of sustainable development in agriculture and tourism using the Igorot cultural principles, knowledge and skills.

The Layog farm is a 27-hectare mountainous terrain located in Kayan West, Tadian, Mountain Province.

According to Flor de Lina, the operations of the farm ceased for a few years when their father died, but it was revived by family members to give due respect of their father’s plea, “take care of the land and the land will take care of you.”

As related by Layog, the goal of the family farm was to encourage the youth to care for the environment, and to train the foreign and local volunteers to be Igorot ambassadors world-wide.

Aside from doing volunteer works in the farm, volunteers  are exposed to the life of the Igorots such as, interaction with the people, attending festivals and wedding wherein they can join in the dancing and playing of gongs, eating using bare hands and banana stalks as plates and using coconut shells or bamboo trunks as bowls, preparing and cooking traditional foods, and traditional farming using non-mechanized tools and organic fertilizers and pesticides. During the early stages, the Layog family started propagation of fruit tree seedlings, organic fertilizer production  and vegetable farming, native chicken, rabbit, goat and sheep  raising,  dragon fruit, flower and bamboo growing.

Within the compound is small bungalow that is being used as chapel and conference hall .

A wider conference room and sleeping quarters for guests are still under construction.

Below the road are the “farmacy” or café, and two buildings being utilized as sleeping quarters for guest-helpers.  

The “farmacy” was inaugurated on August 5.

It offers herbal pancakes, lemon grass tea, malunggay/dragon fruit cakes and organic vegetables. 

Layog Country Farm was the first in CAR to be accredited by the Dept. of Tourism-Cordillera Administrative Region as an agro-tourism farm site.

It was certified as farm school and assessment center by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority-Mt. Province and Dept. of Agriculture-Agricultural Technical Institute accredited it as training center for organic agriculture. 

Originally, the farm was popularly known as Layog Country Farm but it was registered as a non-profit and non-stock corporation last June 27.