The Joy of plants

I am not really a plant expert or a seriously dedicated plant lover but maybe, I can pass off as an enthusiast. I find great joy in keeping plants and they do provide me with stress relief and give me something to fight off boredom and even depression.

One idea I am toying with at the moment is to start a Plant Sunday activity to invite and gather people with similar interest so we can talk about plants and swap seeds, seedlings and cuttings. For some, this might even become a livelihood as there is at the moment a noticeable public interest in indoor plants.

Just some possible activities during Plant Sunday
- learning about soil and its enhancement
- plant swap
- container making or even swap
- group project
- exhibit
- organized trips

The theme is always related to plants. But through this, we also engage with others and make our environment greener. In the process, we improve the quality of our life.

Micro enterprise Build, Operate, Cooperativize and Transfer idea

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Natural Sulfur soap as potential souvenir item

My soap experiment. Soap fail on the right, but the batch still on the mold seems to be going well.

With a view to give value to a natural resource found in Benguet, I tried to use sulfurous mud found in Bokod, Benguet as an ingredient in making soap.

My first attempt using dried powdered mud was a fail, with the soap refusing to harden. I don't know what went wrong- too early addition of additives?, too much mud? or too much oil/liquid additives? I noticed that while I was trying to dry out the soap, some of the oil seems to be seeping out. I wonder if I had erred in the proper mixing of oil and sodium hydroxide due to faulty measurement.

This experiment may be a fail but there are many things to learn from this experience to do better next time.

With the next batch of soap  that I made, I was very careful with my measurements and procedure. This time, the soap was a success. Remains to be seen how this soap will test out.

The next step will be to find an attractive way to pack the soap in a way that appeals to a tourist market.

Happy New Leaf!

And just like that, another year has passed and today, we unbox 2020.

I had a pleasant surprise from one of my plants which I thought I  had lost after I repotted it. But instead of dying, it sprouted a new leaf. Maybe I am not really as bad a gardener as I thought or maybe I am just getting better a little at a time.

It was a beautiful quiet day today and I just spent it biking around, exercising and reading. I hope there will be more days like this and not just on New Year's day.

A brainstorm while exeercising: fighting depression in the gym. I read somewhere that weight training can relieve depression and so why not explore that idea and develop it into a package of activities for people who may want to try this out. eg. weight training, social engagement, new skills training, charity work.