Nearly 15 years ago, Stairway began experimenting with greenhouse cultivation at its organic farm in Baclayan, high in the mountains above Puerto Galera.
Farming there has never been easy. The steep terrain, depleted soil, strong monsoon winds and heavy rains make growing vegetables challenging, particularly crops sensitive to heat and changing weather. But from the beginning, the farm was about much more than producing vegetables. It became part of a broader effort to address nutrition, education and livelihood opportunities within the Baclayan community.
Improving school attendance and nutrition
When Stairway first began working with Baclayan Elementary School, daily attendance was often only 20 to 30 children, with fewer than a quarter of enrolled pupils attending regularly. For many families, putting food on the table was a daily struggle. In 2011, Stairway began supporting a school feeding program. The effect on attendance was dramatic. By 2018, an average of 196 children were attending school, while nutritious meals became an important part of the school day.
The organic farm played a significant role in that effort, supplying fresh vegetables for the feeding program as well as for Stairway’s Family Home. As recently as 2024, 51% of the farm’s harvest went to the school feeding center and another 45% to the Family Home. But perhaps one of the clearest signs of the program’s success is what has happened since.
Finding a new purpose
Over the years, responsibility for the feeding program gradually shifted to Baclayan Elementary School and the parents themselves. Even as Stairway reduced the number of days it provided meals, school attendance remained stable. In 2024, an average of 178 pupils were still receiving nutritious meals, but the program was increasingly being managed by the school community.
Today, the space is being used for livelihood activities for women in Baclayan, including sewing and baking. The transition had already begun in 2024, when 29 women participated in Stairway’s sewing initiative. A place once focused primarily on feeding children is now helping women develop practical skills that can contribute to their families’ livelihoods.
And just up the hill, another part of Baclayan is being given new life.
Restoration of Stairway’s Greenhouses
Four of Stairway’s original greenhouses, including the nursery, have undergone a complete restoration. The older structures range from approximately 50 to 60 square metres, while a new, taller 120-square-metre greenhouse has been constructed alongside them.There is a pleasing continuity to the project. Harbest, the company that installed the original greenhouses around 15 years ago, returned to carry out the restoration and build the new unit.
The next step is to install raised beds throughout the greenhouses. These will make better use of the available space, improve growing conditions and increase production. The protected environment will also allow the farm to concentrate on more sensitive, higher-value crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes and bell peppers—vegetables that can be difficult to grow consistently under Puerto Galera’s tropical conditions but which have good nutritional and market value.
The farm itself continues to experiment with longer-term crops as well. In recent years, hundreds of coffee and dwarf coconut trees have been planted, reflecting the same idea that shaped the farm from the beginning: finding practical ways in which agriculture can contribute both to food security and to sustainable livelihoods.
The restoration and expansion of the greenhouses were made possible through the generous support of Stairway’s Canadian partner, Roncalli.