FHM (The Feed Hungry Minds) Garden

FHM (The Feed Hungry Minds) Garden
Author: Carmela Panesa 

     Everyone seems to be overwhelmed by stress lately due to the pandemic. Lots of things have changed in the past 2 years. But even though this chaotic situation may have gotten into our new system, this shouldn’t stop us from wandering into wonderful places and meeting new people. We just have to bear in our minds that we can still be happy even in the most challenging times. And we can still make our leisure time more enjoyable with our loved ones without spending too much money. In the region of Bicol, there are lots of budget-friendly places to visit especially within the area of Albay. And the municipality of Guinobatan has always something to offer.

      In the small barangay of Guinobatan named “Lower Binogsacan'', there is a hidden gem waiting to be discovered. A communal garden planted and built by the hopes and dreams of the volunteer farmers known as the “The Feed Hungry Minds - FHM Green Warriors''. FHM Green mission started in October 2020, and its soft opening officially launched in April 2021. The donation or entrance fee only cost 10 pesos for adults while 5 pesos for kids. And the sum of money collected will be used for maintenance and development of the garden. Most of the decorations are from recycled plastic bottles. Before you could even go inside the garden, a row of magnificently fragrant and colorful flowers will warmly greet you first. There is an abundance of lip-shaped petals of waling-waling in baskets hanging in the huge bamboo garden arch along the pathway entrance. The place is visually and aesthetically appealing with all the varieties of flowers such as the dazzling chrysanthemum, large shrubs of gardenia, tri-color frangipani, rapid-growing bugambilia, eye-catching gumamela and a lot more. Every corner is indeed instagram-worthy, especially in the huge aisle of twigs and branches. Everything feels like a fairytale with the ambiance, green hues of bermuda grass, great view of the iconic Mayon Volcano, and the FHM garden wishing well and even an open mini library. The garden is also equipped with swings, hardwood tables and benches perfect for a picnic day. So if you suddenly feel hungry and you have no packed foods along with you, the FHM garden has its own food bazaar. Each food stall offers different mouth-watering snacks especially for merienda. There are lots of favorite local snacks to choose from. They have empanada filled with mixed of ground pork and vegetables, turon and banana cue glazed with lots of brown sugar, freshly steamed rice puto macapuno, crispy sinapot/maruya, Pinoy style hot cake spread with star margarine, refreshing buko juice and sago’t gulaman, all in an affordable price. 




     Everyone deserves a vacation, an adventure, a getaway at least once in a while, an escape from all the negative things that are happening around the world. And it doesn't cost much to be relaxed and happy; you just have to find the perfect yet affordable place and the right people to be with. The FHM garden is the right ground to solace a restless mind, to be one with nature again. And it’s indeed the perfect place to make new memories with loved ones.





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