Cassava, Luya, and Second Chances

From a vacant lot of silence to a field of abundance, Cristina’s journey is proof that healing can grow from the ground up.

4 March 2026 | Cristina Dominguez, Kaluppâ Foundation Alumna

Hi, I’m Cristina. I never thought I’d be telling this story. Not like this, not with pride. In 2023, I was crying almost every day. I didn’t want my family to see me breaking down, so I would go to our vacant lot. Just me, the silence, and the soil. That’s where it all began. I didn’t start out wanting to be a farmer. I just wanted to disappear into the weeds, into the silence of a vacant lot where no one could hear me cry. But the land had other plans.

In the quiet corners of Buenavista, Marinduque, where the soil remembers every single one of my footsteps and every tear I shed, I began again. I planted coconut, banana, and ginger. I failed with the ginger. My methods were wrong. I told myself, “I’m done.” But I couldn’t walk away. That’s when I decided to study agriculture. Even though Kaluppâ Foundation was far from my home, I pushed myself to enroll.

Going Back to School

We didn’t have much growing up. My father was a farmer and fisherman, and he did everything he could to send us to school. But I was stubborn, and I got married young. That marriage didn’t go well, so I went abroad to Malaysia to get away.

In my hometown I tried to disappear in the weeds. In this foreign country, I tried to do the same. This time within Malaysia’s urban jungle. I worked, I survived, but I didn’t feel whole. It was only when I came back in 2018 that I began to reclaim my story.

I decided to go back to school. I graduated in 2022. It wasn’t easy, especially at my age, but I didn’t give up. In 2023, I passed the Licensure Examination for Professional Teachers. Now, I’m a substitute teacher at Masaguisi National High School.

Cristina’s batch during their group photo at Kaluppâ TVET School, a moment that captures the joy, energy, and shared determination of trainees who learned, grew, and supported one another.

Cristina with some of her farm field groupmates, celebrating the friendships and teamwork that supported them throughout their agricultural training.

TVET Training: Where I Found My Strength

Before I enrolled in the farming class, I had a small talk with the trainer first. I wanted to know if the training was really for me. I shared my plans for my small farm: my dreams, my hopes, and how I saw it as a chance to improve my income and take better care of the land. Maybe I was looking for something. Maybe I found it.

In class, I was always eager. I asked questions, not just from the modules, but from my own experience. Some classmates asked based on what they read. I asked based on what I lived. I was seeking. I wanted to finally get things right.

Just like Lhen, I was also part of the Agricultural Crops Production NC II 3rd Batch, I made friends quickly! But I was also discerning. I wasn’t just there to learn about farming. I was there to connect, to find people who understood the journey I was on.

At Kaluppâ Farm School, I learned proper land preparation, crop care, and harvest operations. It wasn’t just technical, it was healing. Sir Rafa wasn’t just a trainer. He became a friend, a counselor, someone who believed in us. All of the trainers and staff at the farm became my friends.

I completed all the required modules and earned my certification. More importantly, my farm started to flourish. I harvested 2 tons of cassava and 1 ton of ginger. With every harvest, I felt myself healing.

READ: Binhing Minana, Bukiring Pinaunlad: Si Lhen Ricohermoso ng Agri Crops Batch 3

Cristina’s thriving ginger crop, a symbol of her determination to rise again after previous crop failures and a devastating farm fire.

Part of Cristina’s diversified livelihood: raising hogs to support her farm income and ensure sustainability for her household.

Freshly harvested coconuts from Cristina’s farm—evidence of her persistence in rebuilding and expanding her livelihood after major setbacks.

Healing Through Farming

In 2024, life tested me again. My ginger crop failed. I got sick and had major surgery. And on one unfortunately hot day, my farm caught fire. My crops were destroyed. It was one of the most heartbreaking days of my life as a farmer.

But I stayed. And I got up as quickly as I fell.

I planted even more: coconut, corn, banana, cassava, ginger, and vegetables. Today, my crops are thriving. And as they grow, so do I.

Sometimes, I imagine myself leaning into a mirror. On the other side is the woman I used to be, the one who cried in secret, who thought she had no way out. I look at her gently. I tell her, “You didn’t give up. You planted through the pain. You’re still here.”

And sometimes, I feel like I’m the one inside the mirror now, reaching out to someone else who’s hurting, someone who’s trying to disappear. I want to tell them: I’ve been there. I’ve felt that. And I promise, hope doesn’t come from outside. It grows from within. Always.

Cassava field: one of the strongest symbols of her persistence, discipline, and commitment to rebuilding her livelihood after major setbacks.

Tending the growing cassava, carefully monitoring each plant with the same patience and drive that carried her through challenges.

Strong, healthy roots that reflect years of learning, correction, and dedication to improving her craft as a farmer.

Newly planted corn seedlings thriving under Cristina’s care.

Showing the healthy, full kernels she has worked hard to achieve through improved farm practices.

Freshly harvested corn—another testament to her commitment to diversifying her crops.

Sharing What I’ve Learned

I remember standing in front of Kaluppâ TVET School on my first day of TESDA training. I was hopeful, but still carrying the sad shards of my past. I didn’t know yet what would grow from that moment. I just knew I wanted to learn. I wanted to try again.

Then I see myself, far into the journey, standing in front of my flourishing farm. The soil beneath me holds all my lived truths: failures, heartbreaks, small victories, and the courage to rise again. I see the cassava, the ginger, the corn. I see the woman who stayed.

I see myself in the classroom at Masaguisi National High School, teaching again. Sharing knowledge. Holding space for students who, like me, might be carrying stories they haven’t told yet. I teach not just from books, but from life.

And I see myself in front of my farming community: neighbors, friends, fellow growers. I share what I’ve learned. I listen. I remind them that learning doesn’t end in the classroom or the field. It continues in every seed we plant, in every story we tell.

To future Kaluppâ students and TVET trainees, I say: My story is about failure in farming and how I turned it into abundance. Age, distance, and past mistakes don’t define you. As long as you keep planting, there is always hope.

...and in the center of it, there is you.

Cristina and her fellow graduates celebrating their achievement, each carrying their own story of perseverance and hope.

Cristina at her Kaluppâ Farm School commencement, marking the culmination of years of hard work, healing, and determination.

From the farm to new opportunities, she carries her story of strength wherever she goes.

About the Kaluppâ TVET School

Kaluppâ Farm School is a TESDA-accredited Training and Assessment Center in Marinduque that provides hands-on, community-grounded agricultural education. Through competency-based programs and practical field training, Kaluppâ equips learners with the skills and confidence to build sustainable livelihoods and contribute to food security in their communities.

Cristina Dominguez was a TESDA Agricultural Crops Production NC II scholar (Batch 3, 2023) at Kaluppâ TVET School, where she strengthened her knowledge in modern, sustainable farming practices.

Kaluppâ TVET School