Of bucks, does, and kids

Hullaballoo. This is the multiplier farm project which was launched that day. The weather was really insane. It was hot the first time I got there, then it rained during the middle of the program, and then it got hot again, then rained again, and then warm again. What a day.

Spotting Peter. There he goes at the back still trying to make sense of what is going on. :-)

Spotted does. A doe is a female goat. A buck is an adult male goat. Kid is a young goat. Chevon is the goat's meat. Anglo Nubian is a goat breed for meat. Alpine is a goat breed for milk. There goes my Goat 101. I need to learn more. They have what they call as F1, F2, and F3...and they are not for racing. These are upgraded goat breeds.

A young farmer. Arnold, 30 is managing his 13-hectare land. Aside from raising goats, he also plants veggies and rice, has a little fish pond at the back, and raises cattle and poultry on the side. You'll never get hungry in his farm.

We've visited at least 6 goat farms in different sites of Pangasinan wherein our farmer-partners are located. Two days of nothing but goats got me all fed up. Our project is on enhancing goat breeds. The first time I stepped into the farm, I can't even recognize what is native from a pure breed; what kind of goats are raised for meat and what are for dairy. I did learn a lot from this visit. Although after rubbing elbows with at least a hundred herds, I don't feel like seeing some more of them for at least a few days. Meeeh!

Badong Footwear: Making business for more than 4 decades now

My trip to Liliw would not be complete without visiting Badong Footwear Factory, one of the famous and oldest footwear shops along Gat Tayaw Street. You won't miss it. As soon as you set foot on Liliw, the store will immediately catch your eyes. It's always filled with customers. My mother loves this shop. It's the only store where she bought a pair of sandals and slip-ons among the many stores we've visited that day.

The shop sells an assortment of footwear, from slip-ons to leather shoes, slippers to high heel shoes and sandals. There are also those for men and children. I took a shot of one of the workers at the shop. He was making an inventory.

Salvador “Badong” Monteiro, was the owner of Badong Footwear. He established the shop in 1962, when he was only 16 years old. The man on the right was the brother of Mang Badong. I had a chat with him while my mother was busy looking for shoes to fit. The lady on the left was a customer, buying a bunch of slippers for her business.

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Liliw: The Slippers’ Town of Laguna

Briefer:

• Found in 1571 by Gat Tayaw
• A highland town in the province of Laguna in the Philippines
• Got it’s name from a bird who sang “Liw, Liw, Liw” thus the name Liliw
• Surrounded by Sta. Cruz (capital city), Nagcarlan, Magdalena, and Quezon
• Well known for cold water spring resorts, native homemade sweets, and a sizeable shoe industry
  

It’s been a long time since I passed by this town. I used to go here a lot. The last time I was here was three years ago, if my memory serves me right. It was during the wake of Crackhead’s grandpa. Last weekend, together with my mother and my cousin, we went there all because my mother wanted a new sandals and slippers. She even has this notion that Liliw is just a few streaks away from Los Baños (which is NOT). It was a 6-8 hour drive from our place. The travel was hefty and exhausting. The weather changes from humid to rainy. It rained when we left Liliw, it was scorching hot when we passed by Sta. Cruz.

I was amazed by how this place changed, in just a few years. Maybe to attract more tourists, the city mayor decided to aim for uniformity and aesthetics. Most of the stalls there are newly-built and neatly painted, with all the footwear stores running across the long street of Liliw. They now have a McDonalds. (ahh, why it has to be McDo?)

A footwear and bag store around the corner, with its huge window glass. You need not enter the store to see what they're selling.

A huge slipper on-display. The largest I've seen. Too bad, the owner won't sell it to me.

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I saw Ratatouille the other day. I had fun watching the movie. My favorite Janeane Garofalo did the voice of Collete, the only lady chef in the brood. I hate rats but the movie was cute. It was meant to be cute so people won't feel squeamish about the rats. But I still quirked everytime a horde of rats comes into the scene. Watching the movie, I realized one thing. I still hate rats! Argh.