Background
The lay religious organization called the World Christian Life Community has evolved from the Sodality of Our Lady emanating from its founding father, St. Ignatius of Loyola, since the 1500s. His legacy, charism and spirituality have spread throughout the world through the Jesuits, his religious order. In the Philippines, where the Jesuits are, lay counterparts follow their way of life, especially through their schools called the Ateneos. A member since second year high-school in 1959 at the Ateneo de Naga, I have imbued the spirit of St. Ignatius by being a “Man for Others”. Through the years, members of the CLC has inspired me to really spend my life at the service of those in need, especially the poor. In college during the 1970s, marked by the dictatorial Marcos regime, I fully engaged in advocating the rights of the poor through seminars on justice and peace, and offering retreats/recollections on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius called Ignatian retreats. This type of liberation school has led me and my CLC companions to dream of an Ignatian center for wellness, livelihood and technology.
I temporarily left for the United States in 1982 but not without CLCP contacts and involvement until I returned to the Philippines in 2001. From thereon, CLC in Bicol established a retreat house or formation center called “sa Harong ni Lord” in Pamukid, San Fernando, Camarines Sur. From the CLC members who graduated from the Ateneo, they continued to help farmers, teachers, students and other sectors to join. We formed a non-profit organization named Christian Life Community-Bicol Region, Inc. (CLC-BRI) and we acquired in 2008 an 11-hectare farmland which we called “Badang ni Ignacio” (Farm of St. Ignatius). CLC-BRI folded in 2023 though. We transferred to the farm in 2014 to realize our dream of a consolidated wellness, livelihood and technology center.
Purpose of Building the Farm
Badang ni Ignacio (Farm of St. Ignatius) is a farm owned by the Bicol Christian Life Community (BCLC). It is an 11-hectares land located in Brgy San Joaquin, San Fernando, Camarines Sur. The purpose of the farm is to be a wellness center for spiritual renewal and simultaneously serving the livelihood and technology needs of the farmers. It promotes the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola among its members and extends it as a formation service like retreats and recollections to religious, educational, business and civic groups. It is in full cooperation with the Catholic Church and collaborates with the local and national government agencies.
The members work assiduously to transform it into a natural farm and in time has become an Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) certified Learning Site as an Integrated-Diversified Farm. Our farmhands are NC II passers in organic vegetable production, attended trainings on cacao, rice, beekeeping and other livelihood programs. The farm is planted with coconuts, cacao, pili and vegetables, divided by a running creek, surrounded by other fruit bearing trees and lush hardwood and bamboo clusters. The sounds of poultry, hogs and cattle are joined in by a variety of birds and insects. There is a prayer labyrinth that highlights the blessings and wonders of Badang ni Ignacio!
About the Current Agricultural Situation
The most neglected sectors in our Philippine economy are the farmers and fisherfolks. Small scale farms are unable to sustain basic human needs, obtain minimum wage much less secure a stable tenure. They don’t have enough capital to afford the high costs of inputs like fertilizers and seeds while the farm gate prices of produce are so low and seemingly unregulated. Middle businesses, having the capital, take the greater share of profits without sweat. The undeniable fact of climate change brings extreme weather conditions which reduce crop yields. Farmers are at the mercy of typhoons, floods and landslides notwithstanding the ever threat of pests and water shortage. The sale of produce are hampered by the oversupply of similar products and by the lack of storage, good roads, bridges and accessible transportation.
Definitely, innovation through technology will greatly help the farm and marine sectors. Precision agri and aquaculture will help to improve harvest via automated systems, robotics, crop rotations, diversified crops and new marketing strategies, as practiced by advanced countries. Poverty hinders the young to engage in agriculture because it is a hard and difficult “hanap-buhay” attested by the experiences of their elders. It is a dire existence and unless drastic measures are taken, hunger, ignorance and loss of life are the end results. It is indeed true that without the farmers and fisherfolks, critical food imbalance will follow.
Challenges Faced and Overcome
The biggest challenge in any organization is the formation of workers into a united team. When characters clash and ideas differ, a variety of barriers appear. That’s how difficult managing people are. So in the short period that we have operated, personnel we have trained have come and gone. Despite the efforts to retain, we can’t hold on to people seeking greener pastures. For our farmer clients, or rather partners, especially the men, they are usually physically present for the first few trainings. Later, they have different excuses. I suspect most of them are not accustomed to speaking up because of little or no formal education – “nahihiya, natatakot magkamali, di marunong magsulat at magbasa”. But when there are goods or reliefs to share, almost all come, even nonmembers. This mendicant mentality persists. We aren’t deterred. We face the problem through constant dialogues, trainings, informal gatherings, retreats and recollections. Birthdays, anniversaries, and seasonal celebrations like Christmas or Saints’ feastdays are ways to bond together.
The next hurdle is financial. Everything is expensive. Retaining staff and workers, farm input, machineries, equipment, daily food and other expenses, how long can one organization sustain itself? Farm products do not have a regular or constant price, always subject to the vagaries of the market and nature. I guess unless one has the needed resources, a small farm lifespan is very, very short. No wonder, many small landowners are selling off or abandoning their farms. The younger generation is not even attracted to tilling the earth. We have just formed a new non-profit organization called “Badang ni Ignacio, Inc.” to address the situation and enable us to be self-generating and self-sustaining. So, the struggle goes on.
Our Hope
We believe that ultimately, we rely only on the goodness and mercy of God, the giver of life, creator of everything, the loving Father. We are tasked as stewards or caretakers of God’s world. In fact, what we do to ‘Mother Earth’ redounds to our survival and progress. It benefits us all to be each other’s keeper and tend God’s vast garden into a place of abundance and peace. This is our hope.
Vision and Mission
VISION: a discerning apostolic community committed to Christ through His Church, making Him present, alive and relevant among the people through the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.
MISSION: bringing about God’s reign in the culture and customs of the people, especially the poor, by adapting the Spiritual Exercises in the formation of CLC and other faith communities.
The header shows members of the community served by Badang ni Ignacio in Bgy. San Joaquin, San Fernando, Camarines Sur (credit: Christian Living Community)
About the author
Born on August 27, 1945, DEACON STANLEY LEE completed his elementary education in La Consolacion Academy, Iriga City, and high school education in Ateneo de Naga in 1962. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Ateneo de Naga College, AB 1966. He attended the Redemptorist Seminary in Baclaran in 1966-70 but returned to Ateneo de Naga to finish his BSBA in 1971-72. He served with the Christian Life Community in the Philippines (CLCP) in 1972-1982. Later he worked abroad with the Catholic Diocese of Oakland, California, US, in 1982-2001 where he was ordained as a Permanent Deacon on May 13, 1988. He married Ruth Antioquia Lee on September 28, 1980, but was widowed on July 13, 1995. His mission work in the Philippines from 2002 to the present consists of: CLCP promoter and Bicol Ecclesiastical Assistant, Spiritual Guide – St. Benedict Diocesan Seminary, Diocese of Libmanan, Camarines Sur, and Badang ni Ignacio as farm overseer. The farm is located in Zone 4, Brgy. San Joaquin, San Fernando, Camarines Sur 4415.
For more information, to visit or to donate, please contact Deacon Stanley directly:
Email: stan711r@yahoo.com and Phone: 0917-134-2539.