A business mindset and a twenty-hectare farm from his great-grandparents fueled the idea and eventually the passion of a millenial to pursue agriculture and diversify the farming habits of LocalRoots Agricultural Farming and Services. The 25-year old farmer is Leo Manuel Casaclang, who admits that he was clueless about what to do with his life until he remembered that his family had land in Sariaya, Quezon.
LocalRoots cultivates sturdy and fruitbearing trees like mahogany, coconut, mango, cacao, pili nut, lemon, rambutan, guyabano, and many more. They also grow vegetables following the organic, or natural, process like okra, ampalaya, pechay, and patola, as well as some livestock. But Casaclang’s favorite among his crops are lettuce and Japanese cucumber, both of which were his first harvests.Japanese cucumber has been a staple to his usual customers because the vegetable variety is crunchier and sweeter, with less seeds and less bitter taste compared to the other kinds, he explained.
Casaclang studied BS Entrepreneurship at the University of Santo Tomas. After graduating, he dedicated his time and resources to learn farming so he attended NC II, or Organic Agriculture Production, under Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
He fondly remembers how he started by cultivating lettuce in a small plot because it seemed easy and there was already a niche market for people who like salad. He harvested only three kilograms from a one meter plot and even had a hard time selling it in the office of his mother when he was just starting out. As his business gained traction, his problem now became where to find the vegetables to address all the incoming orders.
His other relatives manage the remaining land while he follows natural farming procedures in his 3.6 hectare part of the land.
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