ALIMA Heritage Park

In 2020, while the Covid 19 pandemic raged all over the world, Dr. Grace Nono, ethnomusicologist, music artist, author, and founding head of the Tao Foundation for Culture and Arts, received a series of dreams that she understood were reminders for her to attend to the land that her parents had left her and her offspring with, but that she had not devoted time and energy to. She brainstormed with her closest family members especially her first cousin Dr. Emmanuel Fortun Nono who suggested that they transform the land into an Eco Park to contribute to social and environmental good. This direction is in line with the values of Dr. Grace Nono’s late father Igmedio who promoted organic farming and championed farmers’ rights, her late mother who was a lifelong educator, Dr. Nono, herself, who is a cultural worker and environmentalist- artist-scholar, and her daughter who is involved in food and social justice work. The Eco, Agri, and Heritage Park is called Alima, a Cebuano-Visayan verb that means “to nourish,” to sustain,” to nurse,” “to heal,” “to foster.” What cares, and what is cared for, are both humans and the earth.

Development these last three years has focused on establishing the ecological and regenerative agricultural aspects of Alima. No chemicals and pesticides are used on the land, and no commercial feeds served to the fish and other animals. Most seeds and varieties planted are native and/or non-GMO, and chemical/pesticide-free to help optimize the produce’s heath benefits.

Inspired by the framework ancestral domains, Alima is being developed with the following components:

Peatland Ecosystem Restoration

Native Trees Propagation

Biodiversity Conservation

Big and small, native and migratory, these are some of the different kinds of birds that coexist with us at our eco park development. We see them flying over us, feeding on insects and fish, frolicking, building nests and laying eggs in grasses, trees, and inside our house:) They and so many others saturate our soundscape with bird songs that co-mingle with the sounds of traffic, chainsaw, and karaoke. Their presence makes me feel hopeful that for as long as we do our part by growing back the native trees, by maintaining dedicated grasslands, by allowing the peatland to restore itself by keeping as much water in, these birds and a multitude of God’s other creatures will keep feeling safe and at home with us, their human neighbors

Photo credits to Tonji and Sylvia Ramos, Adri Constantino, Toto Gamboa, Dennis Murillo, A. Savin, Yap Lip Kee, Choy Wai Mun, Charles Currin, Ramon Quisumbing, and myself.