Where the Cucumbers Led Us

When I look back at where the cucumbers led us in a span of a few months since we started harvesting them, I am amazed at the twists and turns the ride has taken us.  At some points, I wanted to get off the spinning wheel and surrender.  But it was my husband's project and I had to help him even if I had to drag my feet through the process.  It's his dream to develop my dad's idle farm in Angat, Bulacan and when the project just kept bleeding without any return, I felt like quitting.  I was obsessed with spreadsheets and the figures were stratospheres away from ideal. My husband's firm and constant resolve kept me going on despite the anxiety and fear and for that and many things, I am so grateful.

1.  Discovery of a really good, hole-in-a-wall Chinese restaurant in Makati courtesy of Tito Vic when we passed by to deliver cucumbers to him and Tita Honi
2.  Connected to the Money Doctors for financial planning which led to more doors opening and all because we delivered cucumbers to Charlie and met her mother who was the financial planner I've been looking for
3.  Had an adventure taking a tricycle from Nepa Q Mart to Farmer's Market with 3-year old Joshua in tow and he saw in the "bagsakan" area how men passed watermelons to each other like a basketball relay
4.  Experienced going door to door hopping from one restaurant to the next hoping to make a sale and being told repeatedly that our kind of cucumber was not the kind chefs needed
5.  Met Joey from Salcedo Market and visited his farm in Cavite which was proof of how much can be done with less than a hectare by a hardworking, "maabilidad na Ilocano"
6.  Got to sell stuff at Echo Store even if it was just a measly 25 kilos for one month
7.  Figured out another way to do this farming thing by hiring a farm manager as recommended by my friend Aouie whose dad had a farm and she explained how it was run by the manager.  Indeed why reinvent the wheel or shoot yourself in the foot by experimenting on something you know little about?
8.  Posted ads for a farm manager at the Department of Agriculture and online, got texts and emails from applicants.  Got to interview one candidate before deciding on the second interviewee which is such an amazing stroke of luck because I thought it would take a number of tries before we find the "right" person.  It felt like a hand from heaven was helping us along.
9.  Breathing second life to the farm by hiring Egay, our new farm manager with a heart for the land and organic farming.  We'll see in two to three months where that new direction will take us.  Things can only look up.