Mommy's MAG Life: Tour

The Esguerra Farms and Stud Inc.: An Awe and Amazing Visit at the Farm

Esguerra Farms 8/04/2023 11:26:00 PM

Amazed and in awe! This is probably the words that can describe what I felt during our tour at the Esguerra Farms and Stud Inc. It was a memorable experience for me. For some reasons, one, I grew up in Manila so I rarely see farms, especially as big as the Esguerra Farms, and second I’m amazed of how farms works and all the animals in it.

So being a mom of two kids, who are already teens, made me think to let my kids learn things about farm life or at least also have this kind of experience. This will probably make them realize more that farming isn’t easy but rewarding and amazing.

The tour happened on a Saturday morning. Though the weather is a bit gloomy I was praying to give us fine weather for that day. Me, together with the other bloggers were ferried by a coaster. It’s great traveling out of town with friends, and since some of the bloggers present were all my friends as well.

The travel time was just right, may be because there wasn’t any heavy traffic at all. So we got there just a bit later of the morning. Of course, we had some precautionary things done first, like the bathing of our shoes and sandals on the disinfectant area to kills those contaminants, and the other one was the swab test, since that virus is around they still need to cautious.

Fresh, grassy morning breeze! That’s what welcomed us as we enter the farm facility. If you’re from the 90’s, you’ll imagine yourself in one of those telenovela actors like Marimar and Sergio. It is because the place was actually a ranch. It was built for the owners horses as he is one of the breeders of horses in the country. I think it is called the spell or a place for the horses for breaks after their race or before they go to race.

Oh, before I forgot, the owner of Esguerra Farms and Stud Inc. is Mr. Herminio “Hermie” Esguerra who’s passionate not only about horses but also life in the farm. But take this person is more what you see. Just like the tagline of Transformers “more than meets the eye.”

As mentioned during the tour, the Esguerra Farms and Stud Inc. was the owner’s hobby at first and then later on the demand for the end product grew as his farm grew from a simple spelling area for the horse into now a 54 hectare Farm. Sheltering quite a number of animals that you can imagine, like the horses, ducks, goats, chicken, lamb, fish, and pigs. But what made the name Esguerra Farms known was its Kurobuta or Black Pig which is a pure Berkshire.

So, what’s intriguing about Kurobuta, specifically Esguerra Farms’ Kurobuta?

Kurobuta is different league in terms of meat. It is pork but has characteristics more similar and comparable to beef. It is marbled with fats within its meat which looks like beef to the untrained eyes and produce cuts like tomahawk, coppa and rib-eye to name a few that make succulent steaks with minimal spices. To make it simpler Kurobuta is considered as the Wagyu of Pork.

Esguerra Farms pride its Kurobuta because of how it is grown. It is farmed in a strictly regimented, natural and stress-free environment without the use of any commercial and synthetic antibiotics and growth hormones. These pigs are allowed to range freely in pasture with plenty of sunlight, fresh air and space. It is very similar to how wagyu is raised. With this way of raising the Kurobuta, it keeps their meat juicy and tender. Unfortunately it’s a bit pricey but hey if you’re having these healthy meats I wouldn’t have second thoughts about it.

Imagine every farm animals inside these vast land are well taken care of before they are brought to be harvested as part of the ‘nation-building ’ as half truth and half joke description of Mr. Esguerra.

I think every facility inside this farm was thought and studied carefully to bring the best of these animals and even the vegetables. So, no wonder they are expensive because they have and offer the best.

I can say the best because we were treated to feast of there harvests and products, the cochinillo, the coppa steak, the peking duck, the porchetta, and more. Not just enough to make our tummies full.

Since I’ve tasted this kind of meat I might as well be having it from time to time as part of our transition from the usual market meat to the Kurobuta meat.

If you’ll be looking for the Kurobuta meat you can order it from the Esguerra Farms website or you can simply visit their store.

Esguerra Kurobuta Pure Berkshire Meat Shop
Herma Building, 94 Scout Rallos, Brgy. Sacred Heart, Quezon City
Tel No. 8922-3421 local l216

Or

Esguerra Farms Pasalubong Center
626 Indian St. Brgy. Dagatan Lipa City, Batangas

www.esguerrakurobuta.com
esguerrakurobuta@esguerrafarms.com
www.facebook.com/EsguerraKurobuta
www.instagram.com/esguerra.kurobuta

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5 Realizations Gained During the Maynilad Tour

5 Realizations Gained During the Maynilad Tour 3/07/2020 09:30:00 AM

While the world is roughly covered by water, our body weight is composed of around 60% fluid, which means water is essential, and it is the source of our life. No matter what we do, and where we are, we need water.

Do you ever wonder, where does the water in our faucets come from? Or do you have any idea how waters are treated before being used in our households? I'm sure, like me, you have plenty of questions in your mind that needs an answer, we all do, and we all need to know the source of this water. Good, reliable, and safe water for everyone.

Mommy Bloggers Philippines and Team Maynilad at Ipo Dam

Lo and behold! I am part of a tour that will eventually answer my questions. Without second thoughts, I participated, not just for me, but for my fellow mommies as well who reads my blog.

Mr Rolando Padua, Head of Water Supply Operations, Maynilad

The invite was from Maynilad, and thankfully we're under that water line. According to the invite, and the itinerary, there are two (2) dams to visit, these are the Angat Dam and the Ipo Dam,and one (1) Maynilad La Mesa Water Treatment Plant 2 (LWTP2) . These dams are in Bulacan, while the LWTP2 is in Quezon City,. These dams provide water supplies in the metro.

Angat Rainforest & Ecological Park View Deck

Mommy Angie and Mama Lolit at La Mesa Water Treatment Plant

Mama Lolit at Angat Rainforest and Ecological Park View Deck

Mama Lolit at Angat Dam

Mama Lolit at Ipo Dam

Being part of the tour brings back elementary school days, it was the Balara Water Filtering Station, which was one of the places I visited that time. I don't have much knowledge about it at that time. Now, I'm all ears, and this time I can talk about it with my Mom. This is another field trip for us, and we're ready to absorb all the information.

The tour went on, with stop-over to every dam just for the engineers to explain some of the information to Mommies like us.

Here are some realizations that I have after our tour with the three (3) different facilities:

1. The water comes from Angat Dam down to Ipo Dam and then to Novaliches Portal where the supply splits between the two water concessionaires - the Maynilad and the Manila Water. Maynilad’s share of the raw water enters its two treatment facilities in Quezon City, namely La Mesa Treatment Plants 1 and 2. Maynilad’s treatment facilities are also located in the area of La Mesa Dam, but the water from La Mesa Dam serves Manila Water customers only. The Water from Angat and Ipo Dams is shared by the two water concessionaires. From Bulacan to Novaliches down to our houses, it entails a lot of procedures and processes to provide our households potable water.

2. The existing Dams that we have right now are very important to us. It is our source of potable water. While right now, water in Angat Dam is above the minimum level, it is still lower than the ideal level, that's why the National Water Resources Board or NWRB is still implementing reduced raw water allocation. This forces Maynilad to do rotational water service interruptions, as doing so ensures that all customers will have some water supply at least for a few hours a day. The company is constrained to continue rotating the limited supply until the NWRB returns the normal water allocation for MWSS.

3. Maynilad gave their explanation of why the posted schedule for water supply interruption sometimes isn't followed, that most of the time causes consumers to panic. During the tour, Maynilad explained that the schedule they assign is based on their simulation of the regular consumption patterns of each location. However, customers tend to overstock, drawing more than their regular consumption, thus affecting the accuracy of the scheduled interruption. According to them, customers should only get the water they need for the hours of the day when there will be no supply. In this way, they help other water consumers like themselves to get the water they need within the supply availability schedule assigned to them. So, I do hope that this blog can at least convince readers to do that.

4. People in the water supply industry are always longing for a good rainfall to come, not just to rain but to exactly downpour in the right place where the dams are located. This is to attain the ideal level of water inside the dam. Since summer is just a few weeks away, they are now preparing for cloud seeding, this is one way or process of getting the clouds to produce rain, especially during summer.

5. Now, and since we're experiencing Climate Change, let us all help Maynilad in conserving water. Let us do our part as responsible customers and use the water supply responsibly. Yes, we need water very much, that is why let us conserve and preserve. Do things with water in more than one way.

Mommy Bloggers Philippines and Team Maynilad at
Angat Rainforest & Ecological Park View Deck

Team Maynilad at Ipo Dam (L-R)
Water Supply Operations: Mr.Marvin Villanueva and Mr. Rodel Tumandao.
Corporate Communications: Ms. Grace Laxa, Ms. Zye Cartel, Ms. Lalaine Tiangco and Ms. Jess Leobrera,
Corporate Quality, Environment, Safety, and Health Mr. Alexis Madison Datong and Mr. Julio Meneses

I am thanking Mommy Bloggers Philippines and Maynilad for this enlightening tour. I have gained so much learning and realization about the process that our water supply takes before heading to each of our households. I hope other mommies find this blog post informative enough to do what they can to conserve water.