Proper homesteading in the Philippines

Hello! Evidently, anyone who made the treacherous hike to farms in Sadanga will know that many Filipinos "homestead" by default and that living on a farm is not a special experience for many Pinoys.

However, what I'd like to implement is refered to as "westernized Homesteading" - so called "return to the land" from urbanites to the provinces with access to capital to install generators, solar, gain access (and store) water, and advanced farming technologies such as hydroponics.

Note, and this is important, I'm under no illusion that I'll be able to earn a living from this. This is purely a living arrangement type thing, work is a separate activity for me that relates to remote contracting for tech companies, something I already do. In other words, think prepper, Philippines edition :)

I'm particularly interested in expat experiences (as they had to set up legal entities or naturalize since no ex-pat can own land) and communitarian experiences if any:

- Are you homesteading yourself?
- How arduous of a journey was it to set up autonomy or near-autonomy from the grid?
- Do you find that access to technology is still manageable from import without too much-added cost?
- How are you handling 'security' matters?
- What do you make of initiatives such as the upcoming Starlink?
- Is the government hostile to homesteading in general or do you feel 'left alone' by the authorities?
- Do you need to renew your homesteading agreement every 5 years?

Thank you and nice meeting everyone!
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Hello! Evidently, anyone who made the treacherous hike to farms in Sadanga will know that many Filipinos "homestead" by default and that living on a farm is not a special experience for many Pinoys.

However, what I'd like to implement is refered to as "westernized Homesteading" - so called "return to the land" from urbanites to the provinces with access to capital to install generators, solar, gain access (and store) water, and advanced farming technologies such as hydroponics.

Note, and this is important, I'm under no illusion that I'll be able to earn a living from this. This is purely a living arrangement type thing, work is a separate activity for me that relates to remote contracting for tech companies, something I already do. In other words, think prepper, Philippines edition smile.png
A Filipino asked me recently:
-What is prepping?
-Thats what you are doing   :)      The clever ones. They prepare so they can do as you do*    An other type are them, who spend crazy much space and money at USE UP things, but nothing at seeds and tools. Some spend a lot at bottled water, but nothing at cleaning water equipment!!!

*He is small farmer with some animals, mainly chickens. Storage managing to next harvest. Own water access. He is a bit "westerniced"  with some solar power.
I'm particularly interested in expat experiences (as they had to set up legal entities or naturalize since no ex-pat can own land) and communitarian experiences if any.

- Are you homesteading yourself?
- How arduous of a journey was it to set up autonomy or near-autonomy from the grid?
- Do you find that access to technology is still manageable from import without too much-added cost?
- How are you handling 'security' matters?
- What do you make of initiatives such as the upcoming Starlink?
- Is the government hostile to homesteading in general or do you feel 'left alone' by the authorities?
- Do you need to renew your homesteading agreement every 5 years?

Thank you and nice meeting everyone!
- @mongoosemutilator538
Well. Foreigners CAN own part of land through company,
BUT in your case there are much easier solutions. E g you can lease land 25 + 25 years and own whole buildings.

((I have a remote place in Sweden with own well, heating and cooking possibility by firewood. Seeds and tools but seldom used by I prefer things which handle themselves and cost almost nothing.  And enough food at home to manage some months if I get snowed in or dont want to go to town  :)  In Sweden its allowed to forage many wild growing things at private land as forest companies too, so I half my food costs easy during season. I DONT count myself as prepper, but in difference from the preppers, who only store use up things, I can manage "for ever", while they would manage only until their use up things will be used up...))

Concerning security its much depending of location. 
E g an American living rural in south part of Palawan close to NPA say its the safest place he has lived at ever, NPA dont bother nice people. 
And he is nice people   :)

What "homesteading agreement"??? :)    I have never heared of any such in the Philippines (nor in Sweden neither).   Just get a place and grow things if you want to, connect to electric grid or not as you prefer.  As long as you dont sell anything, you dont need permit for that (Except you would need permit to cut trees.)
NO BUILDING PERMIT NEEDED at Agricultural classified land.  But permit can be needed for some other things as use of rivers or such for such as fishpond or water power and there can be rules for  water shed lands.

But your online work need some legality action.
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I did meet a Filipina in the market, her husband a British expat farm for a living, in the hills about 30k from Calinan, it is cool and wet most of the time, all our vegetables come down from the hills every morning, than on to the cities, she told me they live day to day
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I think a topic like this might attract the interest of quite a few expats, mostly because of our inherent pioneering spirit.  What other crazy dudes would start a new life in a completely exotic, foreign culture?

It's possibly more anonymous and affordable to be a homesteader in the Philippines, than in developed countries, but not without its pitfalls. I tend to think the Philippine version of homesteading might take on a different form than say the USA or Europe, and be more communal than isolative, and that's likely an advantage.

To explain, when I retire, I've mused with the idea of doing something (like) homesteading, but I'm not doing so now, instead trying to get my kids educated in Scotland. However, bit by bit I've been setting up the infrastructure, and made some advances, and some expensive mistakes. Still not sure if it's just a pipe dream, however to contribute to this stream, here's a couple of ideas and lessons learned. Some of this might be obvious, so apologies if it's too long or repetitious...

1. Water security is a must, so the homesteading area must be selected on that basis, from the very outset. A deep-well is usually the most reliable source of potable water. This takes energy infrastructure, and one should think into the future, get some spare parts like pump-bushes because they're not always easy to replace. 

If you're fortunate enough to be near a clean stream or lake you'll have water, but future contamination is always a possibility.

A large water tank and catchment system, would suffice. There's certainly enough rain in the Philippines. (Mind you, I wouldn't drink rain water too close to the cities due to the air quality).

2. Start planting trees. The soil quality and rainfall allows relatively labour- free tree growth. It's amazing!

20 years ago when we got the land we planted dwarf coconut trees (they fruit prolifically and have thick trunks suitable for lumber), mango and mahogany trees, and a few others. Take the time to research the tree varieties, so the fruits have market value and are tradable in future - nothing too wild and original. The locals will know exactly what grows in your area and what doesn't.

I initially tried mangosteins and pomellos and they all died, not suitable for our conditions. Grafted trees work well, (our mangoes have rugged, "turpentine" root-stock, but the grafted branches are "carabao" mangoes and prized fruit). They are now at fruiting age, so my relatives sell an annual crop, and this keeps them interested to do the land maintenance, and gives them a small living. 

Also, relatives provide great security, and are invested in the project. When we needed to build a house, we cut down a few mahogany trees to do the roofing frame, when hardwood lumber wasn't available.  So start planting trees before anything else.

Plan the lot design so you don't need to necessarily cut anything down.

3.  Energy security is another consideration. There's plenty of good solar-system dealers in the Philippines, but like anything, logistically, there's a challenge getting competent installers and equipment to your remote destination. Go for quality and longevity.

I have Japanese Solar panels with 25 year warranty. Also, instead of lead-acid batteries I opted for lithium-ion, with longer life and reliability. The technology is improving all the time and Elon Musk has some big plans to design a lighter, more powerful batteries for his electric vehicles, so i'm watching with interest. With the right capacitor/controller, you can charge your battery off the grid too when needed, if there's energy overuse or not enough sunshine. I guess, if you really want to be a pioneer, you can do candles, no pumps, no TV/internet (and if the SHTF that's how it will be), but we decided to have some conveniences.

4. Local livestock. When we started we bought some big, handsome, imported goats, and they needed a lot of feed and maintenance, then one by one, they all died. Then, we discovered "native goats", "native cows", "native chickens" - bisaya manok.  These scrawny animals don't need lots of feed bought, it's getting so expensive, rather they forage all day on the land and eat what's available. They're hardy, need no vitamins or deworming,  and they keep breeding, and you can sell the offspring or just eat them. Keep only female cows, and breed with a neighbors (willing) bull, to save keeping an unproductive animal.

During the dry season we had a challenge feeding the cows from the grass, so planted "napier grass" and "madre de agua", that grows like crazy and feeds them all year around.

Pigs - usually the meat value sells for the sum total of the cost of the feed, so they're not profitable to keep, unless you have a restaurant and can feed them food scraps. If you really do want a hog, well why not? Bacon is fun to make. We abandoned the pig idea.

5. Food crops. Again look t the local market and you'll see what grows around your area. If you eat mongos (legumes) they grow non-stop and good source of protein, as well string beans, tomatoes, cucumber, umpalaya (bitter gourd), butternut squash, all grow like crazy in my area. There's various tropical green vegetables, like "kumungi" and " alagbati".

If you want Western vegetables, there's a bit of effort and adjustment I expect. For staples, then casava and Maize are possible. Rice is very hard work. (never tried growing it either).  These are always labour intensive, so if you have the land, your relatives might help. If they won't help, a caretaker might be willing to work in exchange for a hut and regular modest salary, or cut of the crop, depending upon your agreement. . These foods are great good because they're organic, no one really uses chemicals or fertiliser, which saves expense, and hugely reassuring.

6. I have other ideas that never tried, but maybe one day. I thought about keeping a pond with tilapia (edible fish) but when we looked at all the considerations, decided no one had the expertise or time to keep them, so think now since we're not far from the ocean, we'll get a big net. That might be interesting. I thought about running a golf cart off the solar system, or a scooter, since the weather is nice.

7. Security. Never had too many problems other than local kids stealing the odd native chicken or mangos. however, we started breeding Belgian Malinois, funny enough, little visits to our plot reduced. Pedigree dogs are expensive to keep, never made a profit. Again, native dogs might be more healthy and affordable, probably not as intimidating, as as security dog, but hey eat leftover rice. Hopefully they'll bark at the right times.

8.  Finally, back to the first point about Philippine homesteading being more communal than isolative. In the Philippines, they are hugely energetic and sociable people, who love to share. This is an advantage. When i'm old I don't really want to be digging or cutting big trees. I like that they take pride in the project. If the plot can provide sustenance for a community, my relatives, there's a willing labour force. Right now I don't pay salaries, but basically give my crops away, which promotes project buy-in.

This was long, sorry guys (and gals). Good luck with your project.
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Excellent post, gsturdee, and most appreciated. What a wealth of first hand practical knowledge. Thank you for taking the time to share all of that.
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It's possibly more anonymous and affordable to be a homesteader in the Philippines, than in developed countries,

Much land in the Philippines dont even have property tax   :)
BUT such classified land have very unsecure owning by legalities are often a mess, no proper register, so I would NOT make any biger investment as buildings at such.  Very hard/slow/impossible to get cut permit for trees at such land too.
1. Water security is a must, so the homesteading area must be selected on that basis, from the very outset. A deep-well is usually the most reliable source of potable water. This takes energy infrastructure, and one should think into the future, get some spare parts like pump-bushes because they're not always easy to replace. 

(What have they done with the system?  Earlier it was possible to make multiple quote separation as I did just above by just make line break, making it much easier to see whats the answers, but now it dont function.)
Many wells are digged by hand. Some "western" types I have seen reach water in less than 7  (and 10) meters.  Artesic wells  =Natural springs coming up above ground are rather common too.  A foreigner had made it avoiding contamination by build concreete with a tap where such came up and had exit where the overflow went into the creek that well made before he built that. 
If the height difference isnt to much, an American had built a very cheap pumping system with just a 12 V tiny pump with built in on/off regulated automaticly. I believe he said it cost around only10 USD with such automatic! 
My Swedish well has electric pump with pressure tank LOW positioned just beside the pump so no need of high tower to get water pressure. If no electricity its possible to get up water by rope and bucket. Some inconvinient but functions. 


20 years ago when we got the land we planted dwarf coconut trees (they fruit prolifically and have thick trunks suitable for lumber), mango and mahogany trees, and a few others. Take the time to research the tree varieties, so the fruits have market value and are tradable in future - nothing too wild and original. The locals will know exactly what grows in your area and what doesn't.

I initially tried mangosteins and pomellos and they all died, not suitable for our conditions. Grafted trees work well, (our mangoes have rugged, "turpentine" root-stock, but the grafted branches are "carabao" mangoes and prized fruit). They are now at fruiting age, so my relatives sell an annual crop, and this keeps them interested to do the land maintenance, and gives them a small living. 

Calamansi seem successful at some uplands.
DONT grow mango at Palawan, because there is an evil insect  :)
We are starting test of a native cherry.  There are some different.  They make good lumber too.


4. Pigs - usually the meat value sells for the sum total of the cost of the feed, so they're not profitable to keep, unless you have a restaurant and can feed them food scraps. If you really do want a hog, well why not? Bacon is fun to make. We abandoned the pig idea.

Many years ago a foreigner was successful with a big scale pigery. And a few years ago a Filipina almost doubled her money in 4 months at fatening a few piglets, but she was lucky, she didnt spend anything at vets nor meds preventions, I believe not even vaccination. 
It seem to have become much harder to even break even by raised feed costs.

8. Right now I don't pay salaries, but basically give my crops away, which promotes project buy-in.

Its very cheap to hire workers anyway, so its possible to be a farmer without doing any body work   :)
"My team" we hire for "any" body work, can be simpler construction too, and they are very satisfied. We count a bit higher basic salary than normal when calculating agreeing pay for a work, and  they earn extra by they work better than average and we pay them by how much they get DONE, not how long time they spend...   (We havent told them yet but for the main business we plan to give them a big extra bohnus if they stay still when that project reach "cash in" time expected after some years.)

This was long, sorry guys (and gals). Good luck with your project.
- @gsturdee
1f44d.svg
Some readers dont understand messages can need to be long to tell much...!!!   :)
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@coach53  Good thoughts re. cherry trees, especially if they have lumer potential. Calamansi too, always nice to have a few shrubs, for those gin and tonic evenings. I tried Thai guavas which worked (but didn't sell), but everything else like Caribbean bananas, loquat trees, ebony trees, tropical grapes etc etc all failed.

Yes, important consideration regarding property ownership and land tax. Land tax in the province is cheap but unavoidable. A homesteader should keep some cash reserves to pay annual land tax, to avoid local government scrutiny. 

The property ownership can be tricky too, and there are various strategies for protection for an expat (there's a very good stream on land lease on this site worth reading). Perhaps unwise, but I put our land in the names of me, my wife, and our two children (both dual Filipino citizens). If I die (really hoping not to), but no one can unilaterally sell the farm without my kids' signatures. Rationale - So let's say I'm gone and my wife remarries, and her new husband wants to sell the lot, or they have more kids (not unheard of). I don't want someone else's kids to inherit my stuff. This way, no one can sell the farm if my two kids retain a share each, so there'll need to be collaboration between all parties. My wife's portion - she can do what she wants with it...

Re. mangoes...we have nasty fruit fly problem too on Bantayan Island, and we need to spray 3 x each season to keep the crop presentable for sale. Next year I'll try something new. There is something called fruit fly pheromone traps, that imitate the scent of females, and all the attracted males fly for miles and get entrapped. Without fertilization the females can't lay eggs in the fruit. Apparently, they are increasingly used for fruit growers in India, and increases net yield.

The only piggery model I heard that was successful, is if the farmer registers as an aggravate seller (pig feed). He/she gets a wholesale discount on the feed, and more likely to get profit. We had several pigs for a couple of years, and the only chance we had to make a (small) profit was sell the piglets, for the locals wanting to self-feed, and prepare a lechon in the months prior to their daughter's graduation etc.  One male and one female pig making babies for sale, was the most efficient model that worked for us. Still I got rid of them when Typhoon Yolanda destroyed the piggery.
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@pnwcyclist  Much appreciated. It's been a journey, so hopefully some useful tips for others. Take care.

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@coach53  Good thoughts re. cherry trees, especially if they have lumer potential. Calamansi too, always nice to have a few shrubs, for those gin and tonic evenings. I tried Thai guavas which worked (but didn't sell), but everything else like Caribbean bananas, loquat trees, ebony trees, tropical grapes etc etc all failed.

Yes, important consideration regarding property ownership and land tax. Land tax in the province is cheap but unavoidable. A homesteader should keep some cash reserves to pay annual land tax, to avoid local government scrutiny. 

Well. Property tax is avoidable and common in many cases in some places, but then "owner" have only using rights. (Baranggay certificate. Sometimes from DENR too.) 
Such land CAN be registered for property tax to get a bit better protection, but many Filipinos dont bother.
IF the land have got A&D classifiacation added, then can the user rights owner after minimum 10 years property tax paid APPLY to get Title (=REAL owning) for a small fee.  Such get approval almost allways.  If it had been in family and tax paid since around 1947, then can Title be DEMANDED.  Many Filipinos dont even bother to do that huge advantage step after 10 years!   :)

The property ownership can be tricky too, and there are various strategies for protection for an expat (there's a very good stream on land lease on this site worth reading). Perhaps unwise, but I put our land in the names of me, my wife, and our two children (both dual Filipino citizens).
If I die (really hoping not to), but no one can unilaterally sell the farm without my kids' signatures. Rationale - So let's say I'm gone and my wife remarries, and her new husband wants to sell the lot, or they have more kids (not unheard of). I don't want someone else's kids to inherit my stuff. This way, no one can sell the farm if my two kids retain a share each, so there'll need to be collaboration between all parties. My wife's portion - she can do what she wants with it...

Ownership how?  Proportioned?
If its in a kids name fully, then other kids get nothing,
but if its in wife + you, not your kids, then the normal is after you die, your wife get a bit MORE than half* and that part can her future kids inherit similar to your kids. 

* There are some exceptiions but the normal is wife get half plus the other half get splited equal between her and each kid get a share each.


Re. mangoes...we have nasty fruit fly problem too on Bantayan Island, and we need to spray 3 x each season to keep the crop presentable for sale. Next year I'll try something new. There is something called fruit fly pheromone traps, that imitate the scent of females, and all the attracted males fly for miles and get entrapped. Without fertilization the females can't lay eggs in the fruit. Apparently, they are increasingly used for fruit growers in India, and increases net yield.
- @gsturdee 


At least some years ago
/Palawan was banned to sell to even other islands because of that insect. (Except if refined so it cant spread.)
/WHOLE Philippines - EXCEPT Guimaras island - was banned to export to many countries because of TO MUCH PESTICIDES.

The Philippines allow some pesticidres which are banned to use in many countries because of to dangerous.
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Thanks gsturdee .. lots of good commonsense information and advice.

Briefly, my wife and I are now both Aussies, though she was born on Palawan and so we have lots of family living there. My wife was a school teacher, but grew up as a farm-gal and loves the farming life. So now we have bought more land on Palawan and are building two farms, one is a duck farm for salted eggs and balut and doing well, the other will be a banana plantation.

We share many of your hopes, plans and ideas, but are around fifteen years behind you. Must admit that both Covid and recently, Typhoon Odette has slowed us down a little. But we are quite keen and excited for the future.

On Palawan, the whole province has strict land protection laws, which is great because it is certainly a 'clean and green' province, and they want it to stay that way. For example, it is illegal to clear natural timberland.

That is, it's illegal to cut down any old-growth and hardwood trees without an individual permit for each tree. Which of course are very hard to get. So, you can only build a smallish house if you buy timberland, and basically can't do anything else with the land. Plus they have a law that no one person can own more than 5 hectares of land in the whole province.

They are keen to preserve the environment of what is a clean, green, and very beautiful island.

Which we agree with and support whole-heartedly. And who wouldn't? 1f600.svg
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@PalawOne

Pleased the comments were helpful. Sounds like you have a wonderful project in the making. We've only been to Palawan once, and can say it's one of the most spectacular places we've ever seen.

I'll never be a millionaire from our project, but it keeps me inspired with many hours doing internet searches, and I get enthused when something grows or makes progress. It's kind-of brought my wife's family on board, too. There's ongoing problem-solving and petty inconveniences, naturally (but I haven't known a place without them yet). Hopefully you'll experience this...it's when, after some years, you walk around your place and look at the size of the trees, and think the workers who came and went, and of the many children who lived and played around the animals, or of the site being a hub for wedding receptions and Christmas gatherings, that you realise it did make a little difference in the lives of others - even if that wasn't the original intention.  If you make a good living, that's good too!

Re. cutting trees, that's a contentious thing where we're based also. We had to do the whole DENR thing, because we wanted to build. It took a "Barangay Captain" letter, engineer submission, city official visits...and one other submission, and was arduous. The only aspect that made it bearable was my wife had an old school friend working in the administrator's office, who advocated for completion , and my brother-in-law was a willing courier with documents.

Just a thought. If you have a farm on beautiful Palawan, if near the tourists destinations, have you considered doing AirBnB Farmstays? They're becoming increasingly popular and can be an income sideline. Best wishes.
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That is, it's illegal to cut down any old-growth and hardwood trees without an individual permit for each tree. Which of course are very hard to get.
Yes, hard/impossible except when planted/alien, although some common alien hardwood are obvious alien  :)  which can make it some easier.

Well. Even if want to cut down a single tree that need permit,
but its possible to apply cut permit for big land at same time.
So, you can only build a smallish house if you buy timberland, and basically can't do anything else with the land.
Well. If your wife isnt tribe, you arent allowed to cut trees for own use neither without permit.
No need of BUILDING permit though at such land as well as other land classified as "Agricultural".
It IS possible to get cut permit at Timberland too if owner fullfil some hard to fullfil demands and it has max hectares  (Common is 10.)   Very complicated and take long time to get answer at application.
Plus they have a law that no one person can own more than 5 hectares of land in the whole province.
The only law I have seen with max 5 hectares concern only such as RICE field land.
As I wrote above some laws say higher max for some other types of land. 
(The business we have bought is at biger than 5 hectares land   :)   and the transfer is approved by officials.)
Which we agree with and support whole-heartedly. And who wouldn't? 1f600.svg - @PalawOne
Well. Some crap greedy people disagree. E g there are mines destroying environment downstreams too and big illegal loggings with high positioned people involved. 1f621.svg
And El Nido would be much nicer without tourists   :)
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A wonderful, warm-hearted reply gsturdee .. and one can already tell we will be genuine and always sensible and reliable forum-mates. That's just great. And so, this forum has fulfilled it's promise for my wife and myself already, and we only joined yesterday.

So, very many thanks to you gstrudee and to everyone involved in maintaining this unique international meeting place.

Your prognosis for the future of the farms sounds simply splendid. When you write, "it's when, after some years, you walk around your place and look at the size of the trees, and think the workers who came and went, and of the many children who lived and played around the animals, or of the site being a hub for wedding receptions and Christmas gatherings, that you realise it did make a little difference in the lives of others - even if that wasn't the original intention." it seems to make everything, every problem, every ache, every dilemma, seem more than worthwhile already.

I am very sorry to hear of the problems associated with even cutting down your own mahogany trees which you planted yourselves, and which were not old-growth. That certainly sounds a bit tough. Ah well, it's great to hear with the help of family and friends you were able to achieve the successes that you did.

It's certainly interesting, indeed fascinating, that you write, "Just a thought. If you have a farm on beautiful Palawan, if near the tourists destinations, have you considered doing AirBnB Farmstays? They're becoming increasingly popular and can be an income sideline."  We hadn't thought of that.

My wife, as a farming gal, is leading our charge regarding our properties. She is determined to make them into a paradise. She, (and of course also myself as her biggest fan and supporter), has carefully thought through plans to build the main farm into a locals-and-tourists nature park / ecological farm.

She is also a hospital caregiver, like you, here in Australia while we finish paying-off the properties. But she has enrolled in an online TAFE College Certificate Agriculture / Horticulture course to prepare our plans thoroughly.

We have just bought a five hectare property, for the main farm, one block back from a major highway to an up and coming new beach-side Palawan eco-tourist mecca. And so, this is as far as our planing has got with this property thus far. But, I will certainly mention your idea as well, and see what she thinks. She's the boss, and a very clever one, and can certainly recognize a good thing when she learns of it.

We do have a steady business with our duck farm in which we have involved a number of the family members and which is doing quite well. Not exactly hugely profitable as yet, but showing good promise especially when we expand it by buying the 5,000 balut egg incubator we have planned.

So, anyway, apologies this topic has expanded somewhat beyond homesteading, but I am excited to finally meet someone who knows exactly the sort of thing we have been planning, and can talk about such things very knowledgeably, and also of course, is doing great things themselves.

It's a pleasure to chat with you matey, and we also wish you and all of yours the very best.
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Exciting times ahead for you (and nice response). Wish you every success.
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Good look mate and I hope it works out for you
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If you are an expat and really wanted to homestead in the Philippines, first, it will depend first on your reasons for doing this .. and obviously, you will need to be quite determined.

Second, it will depend on your finances and income, and thirdly on your choice of a partner and of her family. Frankly it would be almost impossible for an expat to do it successfully on your own.

I have never heard of a single man in the Phils running his own farm. Families do, yes of course (and the more kids to help the better) but even then, with all of their advantages (eg, language, culture, local knowledge / savvy and extensive local community support) there are few successful and well-off families who only just rely on farming in the Philippines.

So, if you're absolutely determined, first have a steady, reliable income of say a minimum of 25-30,000 peso a month.

Then, find a provincial girl, and her family, who will all agree to help you both be farmers for the rest of your lives. Once committed, it would not be easy to turn back.

And then decide where, and how, you will make it happen. The where is easy, as close by her family as possible, and you must get on with them.

The farming-what is up to you. There's a huge range of options as to what to farm. All of them involve the same problems and opportunities as farming any where else on earth. However you, as an expat, will face many, many more unforeseeable problems of course.

But, apologies if I sound negative. Good luck if you really want to try expat homesteading in the Phils.  I wish you well!  My wife, myself, and her family now run a mildly profitable duck egg farm (salted and balut) which after Covid and then a typhoon is now looking promising. Mind you, it's taken a couple of million peso invested in it to get the business to this stage.   

Happy trails,
PalawOne :-)
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Well said, and wouldn't disagree with a thing. We've followed a similar formula, but without the ducks!

Looking forward to hearing updates...
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Then, find a provincial girl, and her family, who will all agree to help you both be farmers for the rest of your lives. Once committed, it would not be easy to turn back.
And then decide where, and how, you will make it happen. The where is easy, as close by her family as possible, and you must get on with them.  @PalawOne
Yes.
(Except I prefer to be AWAY from others than wife and kids myself, because I like having neighbours faaaar away and I dont like to get visited any often - except I like visits from small kids so no problem if kids want to bring home friends.  And I dislike suprice visits and I expect wife's relatives wouldnt follow that if they live close    :)   Assistance hired when needed.
(I prefer plants, which handle themselves mostly. At my house in Sweden I spend just a few minutes per year at maintainance, but much to harvest anyway   :)   Mainly berries. )

If self sufficient type of homesteading with income from something else, then can just grow to own need so dont need to bother much about market.
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The farming-what is up to you. There's a huge range of options as to what to farm. All of them involve the same problems and opportunities as farming any where else on earth. However you, as an expat, will face many, many more unforeseeable problems of course.

But, apologies if I sound negative. Good luck if you really want to try expat homesteading in the Phils.  I wish you well!  My wife, myself, and her family now run a mildly profitable duck egg farm (salted and balut) which after Covid and then a typhoon is now looking promising. Mind you, it's taken a couple of million peso invested in it to get the business to this stage.   
- @PalawOne

Well. Self sufficient homesteaders have it much easier than having normal business by homesteading have much easier concerning permits need none/few   (except concerning trees.)

Concerning the ducks.
Do you grow the duck feed yourself?
I suppouse its similar problem as for chickens, there are extra high feed costs at Palawan by most come from elsewhere.

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@coach53 Thank you. I will reply to everyone individually as everyone brought some interesting points to the convo.
Thank you for sharing your acquaintance's experience. A homesteading agreement is another word for a land patent which can be obtained at
the DAR -LIS - see: http://www.lis.dar.gov.ph. My Filipino contacts seem to be doing without, but let's not forget a) they are locals b) they are small scale, and as a result, won't attract the attention of the authorities. A foreigner settling in with full-on generators, solar and water recycling will be immediately flagged in the community - you know how it works there. So, better do things by the book and get an agreement as opposed to wildly grow pigs and plant okra (I kid, I kid).

Interestingly, it doesn't look cheap at all. I'm not sure why, but it's on par with what you would pay in other countries and I got a bit of a sticker shock when i saw the cost per acre on land that's useable and in a 'good' location.
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@gsturdee thank you so much for this very valuable information. It sounds like you have it all worked out and our situations are very similar (married with a Filipina, 2 children, all three having dual nationality). I'd be curious to know if you'd be keen to continue the conversation in private to discuss matters such as administrative things as I'm probably going to be rather burdened by this paperwork.

I'm also curious: my wife seems to have a very 'laissez faire' attitude towards it, saying that we can get a farm with pigs and everything ready to go without much hassle - is she just unaware of the paperwork attached? Or are Filipones a bit lax when it comes to obeying DAR-LIS regulations?

Thank you. Do you have photos or a blog/vlog of your homestead? I think it would be a wonderful thing to put on youtube, you could make another source of income from social media.

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@coach53 Thank you. I will reply to everyone individually as everyone brought some interesting points to the convo.
Thank you for sharing your acquaintance's experience. A homesteading agreement is another word for a land patent which can be obtained at
the DAR -LIS - see: http://www.lis.dar.gov.ph. My Filipino contacts seem to be doing without, but let's not forget a) they are locals b) they are small scale, and as a result, won't attract the attention of the authorities. A foreigner settling in with full-on generators, solar and water recycling will be immediately flagged in the community - you know how it works there. So, better do things by the book and get an agreement as opposed to wildly grow pigs and plant okra (I kid, I kid).

I looked at that link, made a search at it, but got a long list - so I were to lazy to read all   :)
Are you talking about geting land for FREE for homesteading?

Anyway - Why cant you just buy/lease land and start have a farm at it?    Without calling it "Homestead"   :)
If its at titled land I cant think of any problem with that, is it?

Interestingly, it doesn't look cheap at all. I'm not sure why, but it's on par with what you would pay in other countries and I got a bit of a sticker shock when i saw the cost per acre on land that's useable and in a 'good' location.
- @mongoosemutilator538
There are Titled good farmland for sale at Palawan for from 400k pesos per hectare
and Titled upland also Agricultural classification for from around 150k.
(Divide with 2.5 to get price per acre.)
If having water access during dry season, you can get THREE harvests per year.  Some land there get water by irrigation from damms made for such.
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@gsturdee  I'm also curious: my wife seems to have a very 'laissez faire' attitude towards it, saying that we can get a farm with pigs and everything ready to go without much hassle - is she just unaware of the paperwork attached? Or are Filipones a bit lax when it comes to obeying DAR-LIS regulations?

- @mongoosemutilator538
(Except in startup when buying/leasing the land. And except if having animals which can be a sanitation problem as e g a biger pigery.)
For titled land I havent heared of any paperwork needed for a farm except to BIR, or if you register a business. And thats for farms not called "Homestead" too.
What else would it be??
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@PalawOne I have my reasons, that's for sure. I had a life-long obsession with independence and independent living. I was a pioneer in the Seatsteadding concept and other self-governance initiatives. They all failed, because these projects, in my humble opinion, are too extreme - baby steps do the trick. The homestead is simply a land version of the seastead for me: in other words, it's the exact same concept without the corrosion :)

Everyone will argue it's 'make belief' because ultimately I'll be on Filipino land, a sovereign country, and subject to its rules & regulations - but everything is make-belief in 2022 - do you think the guys in Panama building the seapods aren't subservient to the flagging registry of their choice?

Being autonomous would give me the opportunity to be, at least, self-sufficient when TSHTF - and the Philipines seem relatively immune to the current generalized destabilization of western governments. In other words, when the tap water stops running, I'd rather be in my 'make belief' isolated farm in the Philipinnes than in a flat in urban NYC or London.

I'm not after making money from it - although that would be neat and give my Filipino relatives a nice opportunity to have jobs (my wife, has, surprise surprise, a huge family) - they were kind to me so repaying their kindness by offering jobs and giving my wife a chance to be with her family seems like a good opportunity for me as long as they give me my space, which I'll need to stay sane (that and Starlink :)

I also want to build downwards: think trenches, very large containers surrounded by cement, then covered by earth - or even experiencing with underground farming with hydroponics.

Money is not a problem - i have enough to buy a farm outright, and enough to live (by Filipino standards) the rest of my natural life. The challenge will be to find a way to be able to move in and out of the homestead to the coast and visit the rest of asia when the call of Hong kong or Tokyo inevitably kicks in (I'm only in my 40s after all).

Thoughts? Am i totally nuts? It's okay i won't take any offense whatsoever, this is the internet after all :)
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@mongoosemutilator538

You're absolutely not nuts, and it's doable, although the final incarnation of a homesteading project in the Philippines might not be as you initially envisaged. It's very frustrating and rewarding, but where would we be without a project? We're dealing with human beings, and in the province there are some uneducated, undersocialized human beings, whose first language is not English (or your own) , so trying to describe commonly understood concepts takes extra consideration, and revisiting. That said, these same people, when they understand your vision, and the benefits of the project for them, can be your greatest asset - that's the community solution I alluded to. They'll find solutions that you might not have considered (see example below). The imperative to achieve things our way, according to our imagination, after a while might become modified over time.

Example - My father-in-law, who has passed away bless him, decided he wanted to plant maize on the farm. He didn't plan ahead, When he harvested the crop, there was nowhere to put the several acres of maise heads, so without me knowing, he put them in sacks and brought them into the house. The first house was a native house.

It so happens mice quite like dried corn, she we developed a serious mouse infestation. This bothered me, and didn't particularly want them around. Long after the corn was sold the mice still inhabited. Anyway, I contrived elaborate ways to get rid of them (the mice, not the inlaws). I bought various traps, sticky floor mats, even poisons, and imported from the UK an electric device that made "subsonic" noises of an aggressive male rat, that was supposed to scare them all away. Nothing worked.

I went away for a month and when I returned all the mice were gone. All! "What did you do I asked?"

Nonchalantly, they replied an obvious answer. "We got a cat.".

You're welcome to PM me, I'm not great with all the paperwork and let my brother-in-law take care of it, for our small-scale unprofitable project, unprofitable. You sound like you want to go to the next level.  Many of my experiences and tips I have been outlined in this stream already...but absolutely happy to help with anything.
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I also want to build downwards: think trenches, very large containers surrounded by cement, then covered by earth - or even experiencing with underground farming with hydroponics.

Money is not a problem - i have enough to buy a farm outright, and enough to live (by Filipino standards) the rest of my natural life. The challenge will be to find a way to be able to move in and out of the homestead to the coast and visit the rest of asia when the call of Hong kong or Tokyo inevitably kicks in (I'm only in my 40s after all).

Thoughts? Am i totally nuts? It's okay i won't take any offense whatsoever, this is the internet after all smile.png
- @mongoosemutilator538
Sure doable. I believer EASIER than you think   :)

But why build downwards??
It rain a lot in the Philippines, which make its common with floods, which make it much more expensive and even risky to build underground.

If you think of doing it to get a safe place, I believe not worth it by
1. It will be EASIER to attack by you cant hit back while attackers can just close the air intake, even easy to gas you e g by lead in car exhaust or even drown you down there.

2. It will NOT be a secret for long by it will be known when you make it, and Filipinos say themselves they are world champions in tsismis  (=gossip)    :)


IF needing security I think "opposite"   = Build HIGHER than normal   :)   because height advantage make defence advantage...
E g can build a common at cellar level ABOVE ground instead with steel doors and no get throughable windows, and the normal bottom floor one level higher than normal.
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Hello! Evidently, anyone who made the treacherous hike to farms in Sadanga will know that many Filipinos "homestead" by default and that living on a farm is not a special experience for many Pinoys.

However, what I'd like to implement is refered to as "westernized Homesteading" - so called "return to the land" from urbanites to the provinces with access to capital to install generators, solar, gain access (and store) water, and advanced farming technologies such as hydroponics.
- @mongoosemutilator538
Now I have checked some more and it seem to be as I thought   
"Homesteading" = FREE land and for FILIPINOS.

Homestead- refers to a grant of public land to persons seeking to establish and maintain agricultural homes
A homestead patent may be issued to a Filipino citizen over 18 years of age or the head of a family, who: (a) does not own more than 24 ha
I havent found any other rule making it a problem for you to make what you want, just:
/(lease or) finance buy of Titled land  - foreigner can be noted at the title so Filipina wife CANT sell without the foreigner sign too. There is a max 5 hectares rule, which I dont know exact, but real estates can be more than 5 hectares. I believe the restriction is only against good farm fields part. 
/and if it isnt had allready when buying, make what you want as farm, well, sunpower anmd houses.  At "Agricultural" land NO BUILDING PERMIT NEEDED. But cut permit is needed if cuting any trees.
/A bit questionable if you need to register any business. I believe NOT as long as you DONT SELL any crops.

And remember to get a work permit for your OTHER work to not risk big trouble because of that.

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@PalawOne I have my reasons, that's for sure. I had a life-long obsession with independence and independent living. I was a pioneer in the Seatsteadding concept and other self-governance initiatives. ..The homestead is simply a land version of the seastead for me: in other words, it's the exact same concept without the corrosion smile.png

Being autonomous would give me the opportunity to be, at least, self-sufficient .. In other words, when the tap water stops running, I'd rather be in my 'make belief' isolated farm in the Philipinnes than in a flat in urban NYC or London.

I'm not after making money from it .. and giving my wife a chance to be with her family seems like a good opportunity for me as long as they give me my space, which I'll need to stay sane (that and Starlink smile.png

I also want to build downwards: think trenches, very large containers surrounded by cement, then covered by earth - or even experiencing with underground farming with hydroponics.

Money is not a problem - i have enough to buy a farm outright, and enough to live (by Filipino standards) the rest of my natural life. The challenge will be to find a way to be able to move in and out of the homestead to the coast and visit the rest of asia when the call of Hong kong or Tokyo inevitably kicks in (I'm only in my 40s after all).

Thoughts? Am i totally nuts? It's okay i won't take any offense whatsoever, this is the internet after all smile.png
- @mongoosemutilator538  (note: quote snipped)


Sounds great Mongoose, and many will admire your vision and courage. Everyone will wish you the best.

And, since you asked, may one make a few suggestions?  It sounds like you have experience with, and an interest in, ferro-construction?  In which case, I have two suggestions.

First idea, have you thought of building a ferro yacht?  They are quick, economical and easy to build, and yet have been proven to be very sea-worthy, many, many thousands of times.  They are really just a concrete hole in the water, rather than your first idea of a hole underground? 

They are usually simply a welded-reo framework, then air-shot or hand-trowelled with cement. Only basic construction methods and handtools are required and yet the finished hull, with a concrete deck if you like, are sturdy, strong, water-tight and very seaworthy. You can live in it moored to the shore, or anchor with a skiff, and have absolute freedom. Anytime you can up-anchor and set off, either sailing or motor-cruising, anywhere your hearts may take you.

Second idea is to build a ferro-dome home. This is the same idea, built on on a circular concrete slab on the ground, with reo-bars formed in an upright dome shape across from one side of the slab circle to the other. Then once again wet concrete is airshot or more usually just hand-flicked onto the reo-dome shape to form the dome-home.

Easy, quick, strong and a very well proven technology. Sure they will be above ground, but they are very strong and will stand virtually any mis-adventure .. fires, floods, insects and vermin, hurricanes, earthquakes and, heaven-forbid, even somewhat pissy neighbours 1f600.svg

For Dome-Homes, these guys are doing them for years:  monolithicdome.com/monolithic-domes 

And:   domeshells.com.au/

Anyway, just some ideas. Wishing you all the best matey. Cheers!


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Second idea is to build a ferro-dome home. This is the same idea, built on on a circular concrete slab on the ground, with reo-bars formed in an upright dome shape across from one side of the slab circle to the other. Then once again wet concrete is airshot or more usually just hand-flicked onto the reo-dome shape to form the dome-home. - @PalawOne
Before I changed my mind to Palawan, where its less risk, I had thoughts of making a two storey such dome house with a big wooden balcony outside standing by itself with entrance only from second floor of the dome house, with a carport/veranda/drying clothes space under it.
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