Many people give random reasons on why they travel without thinking twice, such as, to unwind, go for night market shopping, stroll around the famous scenic spots around the cities, or try out the most effective spa treatment, are the most common reasons.
I also hear open-ended answers that I find interesting like, to hibernate or to discover the world. There are also intriguing and trivial answers such as, to go with the trend, update my social media posts to get more likes, and to become a travel influencer.
Up to now, I still can’t get answers that will fortify my soul and electrify my visions. From the depths of my soul, I knew there are still a few people who have similar travel purpose as I do. I hope to cross paths with them soon.
What is the TRUE PURPOSE of TRAVEL?
Researcher Filep Sebastian sounded firm when he said, "A fulfilling travel experience is not only about satisfactions. It is also about how personally meaningful we found our travel activities". I admire him for his thoughts.
The purpose of traveling for me is to establish social connections, seize opportunities to learn and grow, and be able to spread the experience to transform lives. It allows me to continuously rediscover the path destined for me and brings me closer to the right people.
Are you a frequent nomad? Whenever you travel, are you able to appreciate the chance of being engaged entirely in an activity? Are you conscious of developing new skills and discovering new cultures?
Embracing the real essence of traveling can have many benefits. You begin to appreciate why you were born in the first place and join the bandwagon of positively renewed lives. As you write down your travel plans and itineraries for the rest of the year, integrating these noble reasons can help shape the triumph of your destiny:
- Fulfill the mission of humanity as a responsible steward.
- It opens doors to many possibilities in creating more commonsensical conversations and experiences.
- We mature in our viewpoints and interactions with every facet of the world around us.
- Immersing ourselves in the heart of nature, wildlife, and local communities is more fulfilling than craving for the satisfaction of our personal needs.
- We travel to learn the basics. Old traditions will always remain the most effective and life-sustaining. History repeats itself!
To top it all, there is a desire to satisfy the curiosity emanating in our brains. For example, we explore places we haven’t been to yet, we are intrigued by what makes people different, or we figure out things we don’t understand.
By immersing ourselves in diverse cultures, environments, and customs, we enrich our perspectives and it gives us the freedom to find out what we are capable of doing based on our experiences with new places and practices.
The one exemplary way to reinvent our travel purpose is through Agritourism. By partaking into this kind of travel undertaking, we contribute invariably to the inclusive growth of the communities. How is this possible?
Farm visitors help boost the economic activities of both the farm and community as they provide additional income out of the educational and recreational services they engage. This is one of the most sustainable enterprises benefiting society as a whole.
With the advancement of infrastructures, reaching even up to the suburban parts of the country, breathing spaces are becoming limited day by day. This predicament, brought about by the saturated city and uptown lives, is triggering a very imbalanced way of living for the past years.
Isn’t it time that farm tourism gets the spotlight in the tourism sector wherein visitors and farmers can substantially benefit? Indeed, the time is now! There is an increasing interest from people to opt for the healthy way out.
Proportionally, the idea of “from crop to table” is attracting huge attention, as people are getting more curious to learn about crop production and enjoy a healthy harvest with the family. At this stage, farm tourism should potentially flourish.
What kind of activities can we experience in farm tourism? Visitors can learn various traditional farm cultures that stood the test of time dating back to ancient history, such as, but not limited to:
- the traditional ways of planting;
- how to create arts and crafts from natural resources;
- how to protect flora and fauna;
- the proper way to feed the animals;
- experience horseback riding;
- get involved in harvesting crops;
- stay overnight and enjoy a sumptuous freshly cooked meal with ingredients that are harvested straight from the farm;
- visit a farm museum, and;
- extend further support to the community by buying some handmade products.
Three months ago, I celebrated my 40-so birthday. Reaching this age has many rewarding factors for me. For one, I have developed a more in-depth appreciation of the “what” and “how” purpose of my life. As a pilgrim here on earth, I realized that the temporal things in life could no longer satisfy what I hope to achieve and what I longed for to sustain my being. There was an immense joy from this awakening.
For the past three years now, I have been spending my birthdays to places of cultural interests. This year, it was a treasured milestone to have visited KAHARIAM FARMS last June. I’ve grown very fond of this farm since the first time I learned about it on Facebook.
Kahariam Farms was built with the primary purpose of providing for the personal consumption needs of the family whose interest is into clean and fresh foods. Because of the owner’s passion for promoting eco-friendly ways of producing their own food with minimal costs, educating the students about the benefits of pesticide-free vegetables, and living a healthy lifestyle, Kahariam Farms has now emerged into a highly sustainable certified organic farm. It now aims to share the importance of eating right through organic food while taking care of the environment through organic farming practices.
It was extremely rewarding to experience hands-on learning about organic farming, and the process of harmonizing the varied natural resources and wildlife around the area which are meticulously executed to protect the environment and keeping the traditional practices.
For once, try to detour from your conventional way of traveling. I highly recommend you take a tour to Kahariam Farms. It organizes exciting EDUCATIONAL FARM TOURS for visitors. You will be inspired by the immense benefits of living a sustainable life by surrounding yourself in the company of hardworking, healthy, humble, and wisdom-oriented experts.
Located south of Manila at 98.7 kilometers, Kahariam Farms is the official Agritourism site designated and accredited by the Philippines’ Department of Tourism. It is also an accredited service provider of Organic Agriculture Training by the Agricultural Training Institute of the Philippines under the Department of Agriculture.
Kahariam Farms is also the largest Earthworm Farm in the country, certified by the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines and registered by the Bureau of Soil and Water Management, producing vermicast and organic fertilizer. I had the pleasure of buying a sack of vermicast fertilizer for my own fruit-bearing plants at home. I’ve seen how God’s perfect hands have greatly blessed my plants because the soil was traditionally and naturally crafted. Thanks to the earthworms which are popularly called by Kahariam Farms as “Ernie”. |
Exploring Agritourism is life-changing. We can only attain positive transformations in our journeys if we begin to redefine our travel purpose --- for keeps. With it, you will learn about the vital integration of tourism and farming. You will appreciate how our natural resources are efficiently utilized. It is also self-fulfilling because you are instrumental in providing jobs for the farming community, increase their income, and prevent the rural folks from leaving their heritage in exchange for cheap labor in the city. We never want to end up running out of foods to produce and to consume locally in the nearest future.
At the Global Farm Tourism Summit held in Tagaytay City, Philippines last July 17 to 19, 2018, the Philippines is recognized as one of the Top Agritourism Destinations in the World. Isn’t this is a blessed opportunity to make great use of?
However, more than a year has passed but the journey still appears to be hazy. The efforts, opportunities, and realities should be manifesting by now in the name of progress for the agricultural sector and the nation as a whole. That isn’t the case yet. What else could be lacking? What other factors could be causing the delay?
I believe that the greatest culprit is the absence of genuine unity and support among the government and private sectors, the business community, local and international experts, and the entire citizenry.
Are you for a healthy life and abundant nation or are you lukewarm to the status quo? It is either you prefer to be stuck with the recurring problems which are alarming or become an influence on the solutions. Whatever the path you choose, please always keep in mind the future of our younger generations.
Gone are the days when I do traveling just for self-interests. I have also outgrown the idea of traveling just to keep my social media status updated with all those selfie shots that wastefully occupied my entire travel time so that I can remain at par with peers and friends.
I found that this kind of travel goal is very superficial and I always came back empty-handed and unsatisfied. Why? Because I didn’t even have the chance to learn more in-depth about the places. Also, the apparent extraordinary values which are present all along but didn’t gravitate into my anatomy has robbed me of the chance to share it with others whenever I returned from my trips. The most regretful part was the lost chances of interacting with the locals with whom I can learn heaps of information.
In the call for a sustainable future, there is a growing interest in healthier forms of travel and experience. Farm tourism is one such nature-seeking activity that provides a different kind of pleasure and experience. Here's to a life-long sustainable world!
I highly welcome your constructive viewpoints and suggestions.