Barcelona sets Agribiz Kapihan Starting July

Arsenio “Toto” Barcelona, the enterprising founder of Harbest Agribusiness Corporation, will start an Agribiz Kapihan that will be held every Saturday in his new building in Taytay, Rizal.

A soft launching was held last June 16 which was attended by about a hundred farming and gardening enthusiasts. In that initial launch, Vic Chin who is famous for growing beautiful ornamental plants was the resource person who demonstrated how to graft adenium. This is the flowering small tree that is often mistakenly called Bangkok kalachuchi by many Filipinos.

The adenium is an interesting ornamental because it comes in so many versions in terms of the color of he flowers, the size of the plants and their flowers. Some come with double petals while others have single petals. Enterprising gardeners graft onto one rootstock several varieties with different colors of the flower to come up with unique plants that command a high price.

The Agribiz Kapihan is held on the third floor of the building. It is very spacious and it is also air-conditioned for the comfort of the attendees. Attendees will also see the vegetables being grown in the rooftop garden. Attendees are also encouraged to bring some of their unique plants for sale to the attendees.

During the soft launch, Lani Espiritu of Taguig City who used to be in marketing of petroleum products had given up her employment to devote her full time to gardening which she has made into a small business. She specializes in culinary herbs that she grows the organic way. She does not use any chemical pesticides.

At the Kapihan, she brought beautifully grown rosemary which is used in enhancing the flavor of grilled fish.