Sprouting Dreams

The seed for this endeavor was probably planted long before we consciously gave life to it and let it sprout - around the time when I decided to no longer pursue becoming an English and French language teacher in Germany, around the time I experienced the life changing effects of traveling (backpacking, as we called it), around the time when the boom in Philippine tourism was just sparking, the time before Palawan started topping the list of most beautiful islands in the world. Who knows.

It lay dormant, just beneath the surface, for many years, as different experiences took priority - family, friends, my life in the big bad city of Berlin, the oh-so-millennial “finding myself” and growing into and with the relationship.

I cannot pinpoint when I decided to walk down this particular path – somewhere between Australia and Cambodia? Or was it Laos and Nepal? -, either way, I do remember the moment when it turned from sheer cliffs of uncertainty and panic to an adventurous and conquerable rocky road. The day Mo decided to join me. After waiting for 6 years to get into med school (a perk of free education), becoming a paramedic/EMT along the way and sharing the many joys and perils of travel, his decision was no easy one, as he had to uproot himself from his beloved home. But in the end, those last months flew by, that one way ticket was bought and here we are now sprouting dreams together.

So that’s where we’re coming from – two forever (we wish!) travelers straying off the paths previously taken and beating a new way through the thicket (quite literally) towards a new destination.

Roots – the working title of this blog and (hopefully) future business – is envisioned as a farm tourism destination in Palawan. About an hour away from El Nido town, on the eastern tip of the island, lies Sibaltan – a quiet village, already slightly touched by tourism, but unspoiled by rapid development and greed. And just a few minutes from the town, looking over the ocean and a large mangrove forest are almost 10 hectares of land just waiting to be turned into something – and that will be our job.

We picture an organic farm, growing vegetables, fruits and possibly even grain. Maybe some ducks, water buffalos, goats and pigs. A farm that provides for us and others.
And a village-like accommodation set-up to attract like-minded, nature-loving travelers who are looking to get away from the bustle of El Nido’s mass-tourism and have a bit of a different island experience.
We want to build green, live sustainably and contribute to the good kind of development on the island.

We want to be the home away from home, where travelers can be themselves and – in German there’s the expression die Seele baumeln lassen which translates into “let your soul hang loose”, basically meaning relax and carefree.
We want to give those who look for us, what they hoped and imagined. And those who find us, an experience they will never forget. We want to be that place you remember after visiting Palawan, that place you want to return to - that place that made us love what we love about traveling.

Sounds good, doesn't it? Dreams always do.

I won’t go too deep into detail yet – the path ahead is still long, winding and leading us straight into the jungle! It is exciting, it is nerve-wrecking, it is scary and it is exhilarating – it is the beginning, we are only just sprouting dreams.