A glimpse of responsible mining through the goose that lays the golden egg.
When you first meet Joel Llavero, you find that his shyness is a typical trait of a probinsiyano (a Filipino term for a person who grew up in the countryside). But beneath Joel’s quiet demeanor is a man full of determination and strength of character. Only 38 years old, Joel was born and raised by parents who came from Pangasinan in Luzon. They migrated in Mindanao to try their luck in this island of promise more than three decades ago. His father is a farmer who augmented his income by raising geese to put more food on the table for his growing family. After all, geese lay eggs for balut (a boiled fertilized goose egg which is popular food in the Philippines and some parts of Asia). Selling balut is a good business in Bayog and in all other towns of Zamboanga del Sur, including Pagadian, the capital city of the province.
 Hard working and thrifty, 38-year old Joel Llavero is the “go-to-guy” in the neighborhood because he is approachable and easy to deal with. An expert of geese, he can easily tell the difference between a goose and a duck in just a glance. |
When he got married to Josephine, Joel raised geese too. He believed he had the required experience to care for these water fowls. “He can easily tell the difference between a goose and a duck in just a glance,” said Josephine of his husband.
Hard working and thrifty, Joel is the “go-to-guy” in the neighborhood because he is approachable and easy to deal with. “In short, he is friendly even if he rarely talks,” Josephine shared.
 (from left) Ret. Col. Valentino Edang, the chief security of TVIRD; Josephine, Joel’s better half; and Joel himself. |
Ret. Col. Valentino Edang, the chief security of TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. (TVIRD) in Bayog easily became Joel’s friend after an introduction by his older sister Neng to the colonel. “Perhaps their mutual love for farming and raising native chickens, hogs, and geese made them click right away,” said Neng.
“Joel was happy and grateful when he was informed that he passed the stringent requirements to take care of the company’s geese as part of its social commitment to extend livelihood to the community,” Josephine added.
 The early morning “walk” for the geese. “We have to bring them every morning to the rice field right after the harvest to eat left-over rice grains and snails. This is done everyday, rain or shine,” Josephine shares. |
For starters, 320 geese were given to the Llavero family a month ago. The ratio of female geese to a male goose is 10:1. As a result, the first batch of geese have a total number of 32 males.
When the female geese started laying eggs to make the family start earning, Col Edang added another 296 geese to Joel’s family. “With this number of geese, we would be conservatively earning a monthly income of P15,000,” Josephine enthusiastically said.
Josephine said geese raising in Bayog involves hard work but less operating expenses. “Hard work because from the geese shelter house, we have to bring them every morning to a rice field right after the harvest to eat left-over rice grains and snails. That is done everyday, rain or shine,” Joel added.
   “Seeing the geese waddling, crossing, and swimming the Dipili river is a delightful activity. These water fowls are like soldiers when they move together—it seems they are more disciplined than people,” Col. Edang observes. |
“But seeing the geese waddling, crossing, and swimming the Dipili river is a delightful activity. These water fowls are like soldiers when they move together. It seems they more disciplined than people,” observed Col Edang.
Joel plans to bring the geese to other parts of the province when Bayog’s rice fields run out of rice grains and snails. “When that time comes, we will hire a hauling truck to bring the geese to Imelda or Diplahan. You can just imagine the quacks and the honking of geese in transit. During long trips we closely monitor them because geese won’t lay eggs when they are stressed,” he said.
Josephine said that when female goose is in good condition it will lay one egg a day. “Mating is done wherever they are. Be it in the water, or in the rice fields,” she said. Joel gives them Selectrogen and Rapid B, both are multivitamins. The couple is always at the geese shelter during at night because female geese lay eggs around 1 a.m. “We have to gather the eggs immediately so the other geese don’t step on them. “Unlike chicken and ducks, geese never sit on their eggs. It will lay eggs anywhere in their shelter and leave them immediately,” Josephine explained.
  The geese that “lay the golden eggs”. Bayog residents take a glimpse of responsible mining through the geese-raising project. “With this number of geese, we would be conservatively earning a monthly income of P15,000,” Josephine enthusiastically shares. |
Aside from geese-raising, several farmers’ wives in Bayog are now into backyard hog raising. This is another livelihood project initiated by the company’s chief security. “Our agreement with the colonel is for us to sell these fattened pigs to the company when it is time for them to be sold,” said Julie Dadibong. Her husband works for the local government of Bayog town.
   The pinkish “Babes” in Bayog. Healthy-looking pigs are the sign of a responsible hog-raising project given to the farmers’ wives. “Our agreement with the colonel is for us to sell these fattened pigs to the company when it is time for them to be sold,” share some of the women beneficiaries, Julie Dadibong and Melany Ontal (on top photo, from left). |
Aside from Ms. Dadibong, there are four other women who are beneficiaries of the project. “They’re just few. But this might be just the beginning of a more fruitful relationship with the community that we’d like to share our blessings with not because of what the mining law says, but because it is our Christian duty,” Col Edang concluded.
Joel and Julie will just be among the many people of Bayog who will benefit the livelihood projects that TVIRD will implement once it will start its operation in the town. The company is now on its pre-development phase and is set to operate in these Subanen-populated town by 2013 while always upholding the rights of its Subanen hosts. (Lullie A. Micabalo)
 Besides the geese that “lay the golden eggs,” is the breathtaking view of the golden sunrise in Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur, which speaks of a promising and bright future when TVIRD soon starts its mining operation in the area.
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