IN MANY leisure farms, especially in Taiwan, the idea is to generate income through entrance fees and sale of products such as various food items, plants, souvenir items and many others.

In the case of John Teodoro of Solsona, Ilocos Norte, his idea of a leisure farm is for the family members to enjoy as well as to entertain friends with no intention of making money. Just enjoyment. That’s what John has made of his farm in Brgy. Maan-anteng. Of course he has other farm projects for business, like a nursery of forest trees and flowering plants in another barangay. And he is also the manager of the Ilocos Norte water district.

One other purpose of John for putting up his leisure farm is to encourage other people, especially those with idle land, to plant fruit trees, vegetables and other crops. One reason why he plants a lot in containers is that if somebody is really interested to start a similar project, he can provide some plants to start with – free!

In his Maan-anteng leisure farm, he has ponds for growing colored tilapia and giant gourami. When friends visit, they are served with newly caught fish that may be grilled, cooked in coconut milk or some other preparation. He serves the really big ones, often with chilled beer.He also loves to serve the authentic Ilocano pinakbet and several other special preparations.

John is very proud of his fruit trees and other plants in containers. These include balimbing, guava, makopa, lemons, calamansi and several others. He has also mature mango trees which he quips they are more for providing shade than fruits. He has also placed a small rubber boat in one of his ponds where kids could enjoy boating.