What if farming could do more than grow food? In this episode of Good and Green, Pacita Juan speaks with Tancho Baes about leaving a successful career in Canada to return to the Philippines and dedicate his life to serving marginalized communities. Through Hectares of Hope in Davao, Tancho is building a model that uses sustainable farming to create livelihoods, empower Indigenous and rural communities, and give families opportunities to thrive where they already live. He shares the challenges and lessons behind the initiative, from learning organic farming and finding markets for high-value crops to building trust, teaching financial literacy, and creating a model he hopes can be replicated in communities across the Philippines.

GUEST BIO:

Tancho Baes is a Certified Public Accountant, social entrepreneur, and Executive Director of Hope for the Nations. After spending 25 years in Canada, he returned to the Philippines following volunteer work during the Zamboanga siege and the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, experiences that inspired him to dedicate his life to serving marginalized communities. After four years of immersing himself in the urban poor communities of Davao, he founded Hectares of Hope, a social enterprise that uses sustainable farming, livelihood development, and financial empowerment to help rural and Indigenous families build better lives within their own communities.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• Why Tancho left his career in Canada to serve marginalized communities in the Philippines.
• How working with Davao's urban poor inspired the idea behind Hectares of Hope.
• Using sustainable farming to create livelihoods for rural and Indigenous communities.
• Growing high-value crops while adapting production to market demand.
• Why community transformation must come before profit.
• Building trust through immersion and understanding local culture.
• The role of financial literacy, training, and personal development in creating lasting change.
• Creating a replicable model that can bring opportunities to other rural communities.

QUOTES:

• The most effective way to really reach out and help those people is to live among them and to understand. —Tancho Baes
• We're not in the business of farming vegetables. We're in the business of transforming people's lives. —Tancho Baes
• I'm always training, so that's part of what we do. —Tancho Baes
• If you don't know what your mission is, when you go there just because of other things, then when there's challenges, it's easy for you to give up. —Tancho Baes
• I consider myself a missionary. —Tancho Baes
• I counted the cost and I had to trust God for His provision, and He's never failed me. —Tancho Baes

LINKS or RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Connect with Tancho Baes:

• Hectares of Hope on Facebook
• Hectares of Hope on Instagram
• Hectares of Hope Website

Purchase Brew: Cafe, Coffee. Kape at Echostore.ph.

For more information about Brew: Cafe, Coffee, Kape, visit the Food Writers Association of the Philippine Facebook Group.