the diary of miss cathy martinez information officer of the azola as fertilizer for rice and vegetables projects under the department of agriculture offer unforgettable experiences with azola and the people she met in the course of her profession as a development communication practitioner date october 1 1980 this is my first day at my new job i've been told by my lady boss the project leader to read about azola i did not have much trouble getting to know the fern because many materials have been written about it there were books journals and newspaper clippings which my roommate miss chalosko the project clerk cut out whenever she was free of her typing jobs i read also the maiden issue of the project's newsletter the azola news my boss said from now on i'll be in charge of managing and producing the newsletters azola i found out for my readings was a very flexible fern it has many uses and it can help farmers a lot in saving on chemical fertilizers which they religiously believed could help them increase their yield azola serves as a green manure for rice in compost form it can fertilize crops vegetables and ornamentals fresh or enzyme enzaldozola is a good source for protein for ducks fish swine and chickens our researchers on a zola are even adding more to the list of its various uses it can be used as a with surprises as mosquito population control agent and as water purifier my my mind no wonder they call it the wonder fern the main problem with the fern according to the project's field workers was that farmers find it to be laborious it still could not understand why farmers are lazy to use a fern which can save them money maybe i'll know the answer next week when i visit that zola site in bangor date october 7 1980 we are on our way to attack panget the weather's cold up here i've not been feeling well maybe because at the last minute we had to settle on a public transportation to take us up to bangert the project's land cruiser had to service a foreign dignitary who was the special guest of the big boss the project does not have money to hire vehicles for use and besides even if the vehicle were available we will not be permitted to use it because there were only three of us we have to be efficient and save on gas yes the big boss okay argument closed well talk about being of service so this is what it feels like cheapness are so scarce only four jeeps go up the mountains every day the chips are full not only of human passengers but also of squealing pigs and barking puppies the cheap smelled not greasy and gassy but it smelled of chicken dung and human swept i tried to hide my disgust at the situation and still smile as sweetly as i can last i'll be kicked out by the other passengers if i showed my true colors passengers were very comfortable chewing nanga with their hanging onto their rubber slippers i tried my best to act and chat the way they did it was a special feeling to be one of them i noticed that the cheapness roof doubles as a passenger seat we were lucky enough to have occupied that special seat there were three of us from the project mario our field officer my lady boss and me the drive up the mountains took us about six hours we exchanged pleasantries with the rest of the cheapness passengers i tried a few ill kind of words i learned from my mom who is an illokana they laughed at the way i pronounced the words i laughed at myself they were teaching me along the way and i forgot about being dizzy from the ride they were busy keeping me awake with their chats of how different pengut life was from manila when we arrived we were immediately whisked off by the agricultural officer to the barangay captain's house i was made to drink passy or the rice wine that was how visitors were welcomed i'm glad my stomach stayed calm and a vision until lunchtime came mano berto the barangay captain served as a sumptuous meal chicken tinola it tasted different