Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) or popularly known as “Tanglad” in the Philippines, is a commercially-viable plant that is cultivated mainly for the fragrance that it produces.  Lemongrass is native to the Philippines and it is widely used as a herb in Asian cuisine.  It has a citrus flavor and can be dried and powdered, or [...]

Lemon grass is one of the famous wonder plants originated in the Philippines.  It can easily be grown at home for personal consumption or commercially in a large farm. It has many benefits.  It is widely used in the Asian cuisine to provide the specific taste and smell, peculiar to lemongrass. Lemongrass oil is one [...]

Tiger grass (Thysanolaena maxima), popularly known as “Tambo” in the Philippines, belongs to the family Graminae.  It grows as high as 2.5 meters and can thrive at low to medium elevations but can grow faster in higher elevation.  Normally, it grows in open areas particularly in logged-over areas, mountain slopes and ravines. Its leaves are [...]

Tiger Grass or locally called “Tambo” in Tagalog has a great economic potential because it is a main source of material in the soft broom-making industry.  It is a viable source of livelihood for upland communities.  It is usually harvested in late January and February, if dried correctly, can be stored up to a year.  [...]

Floating gardens is a clever solution for people who live in areas covered by water during the monsoon season where it is impossible to grow crops. Practical Action has developed a technology to allow farmers to grow food on flooded land. To make a floating garden, it employs the use of water hyacinth, which is [...]

Pineapple (Ananas comosus) or popularly known as “Pinya” here in the Philippines, is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries.  The Spanish introduced it into the Philippines in the early of 19th century. Pineapple can be consumed fresh, canned or juiced [...]

Salak (Salacca zalacca), also known as snake fruit due to the reddish-brown scaly skin, is a species of palm tree (family Arecaceae) native to Indonesia.  It is a very short-stemmed palm, with leaves up to 6 meters (20 ft) long; each leaf has a 2-meter long petiole with spines up to 15 centimeters (5.9 in) [...]

Salacca fruit, also known as Snake fruit has is indigenous to and has been cultivated throughout Indonesia, and there are at least 30 cultivars, most of which have an astringent taste and are sweet. Two popular cultivars are salak pondoh from Yogyakarta province (found in 1980s) and salak Bali from Bali island. Pondoh salacca or [...]

Rice-fish culture involves farmers introducing another ‘crop’ into their rice fields – small, indigenous fish.  This technique is good for both the fish and the rice.  Safely hidden from birds, the fish thrive in the dense rice plants, while they in turn provide a source of fertilizer with their droppings, eat insect pests and help [...]

Most people living in rural areas and many living in urban areas cannot afford to buy an electric refrigerator and an alternative method such as the clay refrigerator can act as an appropriate substitute.  The clay refrigerator project was first initiated by Practical Action in 2001 following research conducted by Practical Action Country Director Mohammed [...]