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Leisure Farms: More than a theme park
Source: Manila Bulletin
Author: By A. ANNE VILLANUEVA
Date: 2005-10-08
 
LEMERY, Batangas – The Leisure Farms Tagaytay is not just a theme park. It is composed of small farms that showcases different crops and agricultural technology, packaged for the entertainment and education of kids, as well as curious adults.

On a 13-hectare property beside the privately owned Leisure Farms Tagaytay in Lemery, Batangas, the Leisure Farms Adventures offers "agritainment" to visitors.

The agricultural theme park aims to make farming interesting, particularly among students and children, with the hope of making professional farmers out of them.

Alfred Xerez-Burgos III, Landco Pacific vice president, said that the agricultural theme park used to be a demonstration farm that the company showed to prospective buyers of one-hectare farm lots. "It later on evolved on something that we are proud to show to our country and particularly, the farm owners."

The theme park is not bothered by the existence of several similar tourist destinations in the area, because Leisure Farms is different in that it integrates everything that other destinations have to offer in one location.

Xerez-Burgos said that while others offer farms or farm lots, picnic areas, gardens and zoos separately, Leisure Farms is able to integrate these into one amusement park.

For a mere R100 entrance fee, visitors can roam the informative theme park, which is connected by an access road to the Leisure Farms. Like many parks, farms and zoos, the themepark’s trees, plants, and animals are labeled and described in an enclosed wood.

By the entrance, visitors will see a shaped-like banca fish pond. The fishing station serves as a place for inquiries, rental of fishing rods, and even grilling of the fish caught by the visitors.

Not far from the fish pond is the fishing lake, with the nearby picnic site. The fishing area is equipped with cleaning and cooking tools. Little huts are lined up beside the lake area for family picnics.

They have also a Village store designed for visitors to relax and socialize. This is where they also can buy the farm’s produce, everything native as well as pickled products supplied from outside producers. The Village Store Café, situated in the Village store, serves Figaro coffee and fresh sandwiches.

The produce of the agricultural theme park are sold at a premium because they are of high-class quality.

The property has several farming methods ranging from the more traditional planting on soil, to the more high technology computerized hydrophonic farming on soil-less planting, worm organic planting, to integrated organic planting, which integrates planting with raising poultry.

The area also has a section on vermicomposing, or using earthworms to make fertilizers that are needed to sustain organic farming. The vermicomposing pits allow visitors to see up close what earthworms called African night crawlers, look like.

"The earthworms are imported from Iloilo as they are more prolific and can make the fertilizers faster than the garden variety earthworms," said Dexter Banzali, general manager of Leisure Farms.

Garden patches for spices like rosemary, spearmint, basil and taragon allows visitors to pluck a leaf from the plants and smell them.

Beside this section is a "corn maze" that allows visitors to experience what it feels to walk inside a corn patch and see corn cobs while they are still attached to the plant.

Meanwhile, a flower trail leads to an enclosed garden of anthuriums that come in several colors. "We decided to grow anthuriums, which were imported from Netherlands, because it is rare locally given the delicacy and difficulty in caring for them," said Banzali.

On one side of the park Leisure Farms tends a coffee plantation for Figaro Coffee Company.

Visitors to the park could also take the forest trail that goes inside the Leisure Farms. The trail will allow visitors to see the farms of private owners as well as visit a bird sanctuary where rare species of birds are sighted.

Banzali said that a 60-70 square-meter butterfly garden would soon be added located by a ridge. It is an experimental laboratory where students of the University of the Philippines in Los Baños, Laguna can do their experiment. Also in the offing is an orchard that will grow sampaloc, grapes, durians, macopas, crops that will bear "Mickey Mouse" potatoes and others.

Among the promotions that are lined up are harvest festivals, where the produce can be sold to the public. This festival will be held thrice a year.

The theme park expects 1,000 visitors a month. At present, four schools have been lined up for excursion in October. Three schools visited the park last September.
 

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