The Sta. Chiara Project began its six-month planning through a two-day meeting, October 17–18, 2026, with a shared vision of building a sustainable community.
Through collaborative farming and community-based initiatives, the project hopes to create opportunities for young people to develop leadership skills, gain practical agriculture experiences, and discover new ways to support their communities.
During the first day of planning, the team discussed its vision, mission, target markets, business model, and six-month action plans. The proposed activities include the growing different crops, establishing cooperative relationships with direct buyers, offering weekly vegetable packages, and eventually developing agro-tourism workshops and self-harvesting experiences.
During the meeting, it emphasized the importance of agriculture connecting with nutrition by partnering with Barangay Iruhin West through a nutrition program every Friday. This initiative seeks to encourage healthier food practices and to help the community move toward greater self-sufficiency.
On the second day, Alfonso, Simon, and Davit from Korea explored potential farming locations, including Terramoy and Gen House. The group went there to explore the area, to know the situation and to see how to find alternative solutions. Besides this, they also wanted to hear the opinion and ideas of the youth to discuss those matters properly and understand the main point of each one. As the discussion continued, each one thought about how they could help and gave impressions and suggestions.
To address these challenges, the team considered practical solutions such as greenhouses, insect nets, rainwater collection systems, solar panels, water pumps, and drip irrigation. The initial farming activities will focus on preparing the soil, raising seedlings, removing weeds, and selecting suitable crops for trial production.
In addition to Terramoy's terraces, Alvi, a Focolarino, also shared insights into the current situation of the Eco-Farm, describing the available resources such as land, water, and electricity, as well as challenges including heavy rainfall, drought, insect infestation, accessibility, and limited capital.
The plan will begin with forming the team in October, planting crops in November, exploring cooperative opportunities in December, expanding the farming area in January, developing a youth formation curriculum in February, and evaluating the project's impact in March.
Beyond agricultural production, the Sta. Chiara Project seeks to bring together the different areas of expertise through a collaborative team that focuses on leadership, farming, nutrition, storytelling, and formation.