One of the niche I started with in Steemit is homesteading. Coming from a family of poor farmers from the province of Bulacan, I grew up with a fascination towards things that grow. However, I tried everything I can to change my path from that of my family. I did not see a bright future in agriculture, not in the Philippines at least. I grew up seeing this sector neglected, taken advantage of, and circling about a cycle of debt. I selfishly wanted a better life for my family. 

As it turns out, my secret love for agriculture did not go away. Some of my earliest posts in the platform were about growing crops from seeds. **@dandalion** and I maintain a small vegetable garden at a vacant lot beside our residence, and a Facebook group we called **["Urban Farming Philippines"]()**.  We have been able to grow eggplants, okras, tomatoes, varieties of peppers, papayas, and squash quite successfully; and the Facebook group now has 948 members.

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We are going to **@dandalion**'s hometown in Davao City for a long overdue vacation with her family. We have planned this vacation late last year and thought about bringing two things we love doing to help a local community in Samal Island. In **@dandalion**'s posts **[SteemPH in Libertad National High School](https://steemit.com/philippines/@dandalion/project-proposal-or-steemph-in-libertad-national-high-school-samal-island-davao-del-norte)** she proposed a project for **@SteemPH**. 

We've been busy planning and holding meet ups for the **[SteemPH Meet Up Caravan]()** and haven't really done  outreach activities in a while. I've encouraged and led tons of Corporate Social Responsibility work during my tenure in the corporate world, and I got to share some of those in my posts during my early days in the platform. Our passion for community work, outreach, and charity is a huge part in taking the decision to become part of **@SteemPH**. 

>In years of doing efforts to help the needy however, we've learned that the best way to do charity is to teach them how to sustain themselves. 

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In the two **@SteemPH** outreach projects we've participated in, we allocated a portion of the time to speak about Steemit, and how it can help provide an extra source of income while learning and writing. 

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This first one is in a School for Special Children, where we brought art and music to the children as a means to channel their energy towards creativity. We spoke to their parents about Steemit knowing that at least one of the parents of a child with special needs would likely be staying at home. We presented Steemit as a way for the parents to be productive, and learn new things while they are at home taking care of the special needs of their child. We mentioned about the opportunity to earn from activities in Steemit that they can use as an extra support for raising their child.

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The last one we did with **@SteemPH** is an event with out of school youth. We were with the same group as the first one, but here we taught functional art/crafts making to help them raise funds for going back to school. We presented Steemit in this forum too, and used the growing number of college students from Cebu as an example of how Steemit can help not only with their journey as learners, but also as a means of help to pay for college fees. **@SteemPH** then helped create accounts for the attendees.

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These are photos taken from classroom in Libertad National High School where grade seven students are holding classes. There so much contrast between this and the concrete building and air-conditioned classroom of our children's (**@littlesteemitph** and **@dandalioncub**) school. We got to know of the plight of students in Libertad National High School from ***@dandalion***'s younger brother who is a teacher there. Improvements for the school building is already underway courtesy of the local government, that is not what struck us the most however. Danda's brother told us about how students eat rice and salt for lunch, and own only one notebook each for the duration of the whole school year.

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We are going to visit the school on April 2 and do a ***[Homesteading Brigade In Libertad National High School](https://steemit.com/steemph/@dandalion/homesteading-brigade-in-libertad-national-high-school-samal-davao-del-norte)***. We are bringing these vegetables for them if form of seeds and gardening materials. I was 10 years old when I first learned about growing crops, and the grade seven students would range between 12 to 14 years old. We believe them to be old enough to learn how to grow their own food. We would also bring school supplies for the 50 students who will participate so they can take that off their worries for the next school year.

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We need help on getting volunteers from the local Steemit community. The funds are being raised from the support of the Steemit community, and we have accumulated rewards between ***@dandalion***'s and my posting activities. The volunteers will also get the opportunity to learn growing vegetable crops, and the opportunity to give back to the community. They will also be able to help in presenting Steemit to some 20 parents who will join the event. We thought they will be much more comfortable with Steemians who will present it in their local dialect.  

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<center>**For Volunteers, Contact Us:** **@steemitph** & **@dandalion** by commenting and in discord</center>

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#### Credits
***Cover Photo Background Images [Manuscript](https://pixabay.com/en/manuscript-pen-document-paper-3145649/), [Seedling](https://pixabay.com/en/nasturtium-seedling-sowing-plant-751291/), [Social Work](https://pixabay.com/en/social-work-hunger-volunteering-2356030/)*** 
***[Handprints - Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/en/volunteers-hands-voluntary-wrap-2729723/)*** 

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