Prado Farms Photo Walk for December 2011

Friday, February 10, 2012

Can you say overdue post much? Haha

This December photo walk was rather special; it was my out of town trip with a “balikbayan” (well she tries to go home every 2 years haha) cousin and friend Kimie. Our group originally consisted of college friends Owee, Kimie, Pabsy and me. That almost doubled because of our foreign contingency. Haha To make a long story short, Kimie brought her sister Katrise and their Chilean friend Sofia while Pabsy brought her Mexican intern Roxy with us on this trip. Pardon my giddiness, I find our United Nation-ness rather awesome.
 

We were supposed to go to the beach but plans fell through. We ended up heading to Lubao in Pampanga to spend a day in Prado Farms.  We wanted to do something different for a change.

 
Before the Gutierrez’s - the family behind Silverworks and Ocampo’s Jewelry, acquired the property, it was an LPG warehouse. The property transformed from being a warehouse to the family’s private vacation house. It was further worked on and eventually became open to the public. Prado Farm’s architecture is based mainly on recycling which you will see prominently in the farm.

The Theater Library

 
Prado Farms also supports the Waldorf system of education and the students have their activities here. This also happens to be an old Train Station. 

 
Besides recycling a lot of materials, the family also likes to travel. These steps came from China. 

The Blue House
 
 
This is made of recycled newspaper. 

The Library

 
 
 


The Tree House


The Chapel

The farm has its own chapel and is ideal for small weddings.

The Hotel
 
 
 
For people who would like to spend more than a day in the property, Prado Farms recently added a hotel. They have different types of rooms and lofts that can accommodate you, a couple and even the whole family. The hotel also houses the massage area.

The Farm

 
Everything you eat at the farm is made at the farm. It’s a good thing we didn’t have lechon during our visit because we met the organically fed pigs that were just adorable! They were the thinnest pigs I’ve ever seen.

Siesta!

 
 
Lo and behold, we had the surprise of our lives when we heard that the siesta was part of the tour’s itinerary. Can you remember the last time you had your siesta? Haha Some of us spent that time sleeping while the rest of us spent it having tea and catching up.

The Food

 
Y’all know I’m a carnivore but you don’t have to worry because Prado isn’t a purely vegetarian farm. Upon arriving, we were served our morning snack which consisted of hot chocolate with pinipig plus pandesal with homemade kesong puti and longganisa. Who wouldn’t want to start the morning like that?


 
 
 
For lunch, we had cream of vegetable soup topped with chives, mixed fritters of samosa, alugbati leaf tempura and spring roll accompanied with sweet chilli sauce, sautéed Backyard Greens in season topped with Bataan Cashews, multi-colored Biodynamic/organic rice slightly fried with a hint of garlic and chives, a chicken and pork dish. Our foreign friends particularly loved the unlimited lemongrass tea that came with our lunch. You have to go to the Prado with an open mind, because if you expect the usual buffet food then you’ll be sorely disappointed.


Our last meal at the farm was our afternoon snack after the tour. From Prado’s site, this is what we ate: “Sa-Le a local “tinola” of Duck soup simmered in Lemon grass. The Prado version is accompanied by fresh picked garden fresh herbs, sotanghon, topped with a sprinkling of crushed chicharon and a dollop of taba ng talangka.”

I don’t remember what this was called but we ended up taking a lot of photos here. Haha

We paid P950 per person for the whole tour including the meals. Prado Farms is not open to the public. They have pre-determined dates as to when tours are available so it’s best to email them. Since this is also a social enterprise, a lot of their staff are locals and students.

 
 
I think Prado Farms is not for everybody. If you have a deep appreciation for Mother Nature or have an intrinsic need to take your time to slow down and inhale this type of ambiance – you’ll enjoy the farm. It is also is a good place to take the family, unwind and slightly unplug from technology. We enjoyed our slow carabao ride, our bike rides and saw a lot of kids loving fishing. It is also a good place for artists; if I were a writer or a painter, I could imagine myself finding inspiration here.


If you’re looking for an escape from the city and like tranquility, give Prado Farms a try. This entry rounds up my year of photo walks! It was a goal I wanted to do in 2011 and I’m glad I was able to do it. I loved it so much, I’m continuing with it for 2012.

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Prado Farms

Prado Farms, Prado Siongco Lubao Pampanga
pradofarms@gmail.com
0920-9030964



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Past Photo Walks:
February - Negros Occidental
March - Zamboanga
April - Corregidor
May - Bellarocca
August - Manila
September - Little Tokyo
October - Tagaytay
November - Banoi's and Backyard of the Universe Exhibit

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6 comments

  1. Tawang-tawa ako dito, it's so you! Hahaha!
    "Everything you eat at the farm is made at the farm. It’s a good thing we didn’t have lechon during our visit because we met the organically fed pigs that were just adorable! "

    Yes, the United Nation-ness is so awesome!

    Gusto ko din to! The photos are divine and the food! the food! *drools*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ang cute kasi ng mga pigs!!! I'm glad I made someone laugh with this. Haha But really, it's a nice place to go to. =) Pang OP! Nako..ang dami na nating gusto puntahan when you come here! Hala. Haha =p Basta, we need to make space in our calendars for your next visit. =p Ang thing lang kasi with Prado, hindi sya lagi open to the public so kailangan timing. Or lets just go somewhere else! Teehee

      Oh, this is another example of healthy food. Akalain mo! Ahihihihi

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  2. Uy kakagaling lang din namin jan this January! Sayang no sana they open the place to tours more often, the place is really beautiful!

    Christian
    Lakad Pilipinas

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Christian! Oo nga eh, natuwa ako na nakasama sya dun sa tour so that more people can know about them. I have a feeling that this year they will get more inquiries and will open the farm more often. =)

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  3. wow, ang ganda ng place. i havent heard of this until i read your blog. ang galing ng photos. this place is very nice for a prenup no?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Chyng! Thank you =) Hehe Ok yung texture ng place for any type of shoot actually. It would look awesome for an artsy couple nga.

      Delete

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