likàs McCoy

Cabiokid Foundation (www.cabiokid.org) located in Cabiao, Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon offers 7-day permaculture design courses. They have one scheduled for Nov 9.
Enjoy your stay in the Philippines!

that's biodiversity in your yard!
You are right, it is very very important to seek advice before eating any kind of mushroom, Amanita palloides for example can kill you.
I am not an expert, but please allow me to guess. Your two photos give only impressions, incomplete information for identification, so the best is only to make big guesses from which you may start your research : the white ones beside the flower pothmost probably are from the family Agaricaceae; the brown behind probably are from the family Russulaceae; the white ones on your pasture probably are also from the family Agaricaceae, perhaps Agaricus campestris (also) because they have sprouted from your lawn.
Happy mushrooming!

probably that "pink finger" mushroom is a Mutinus caninus or elegans (not comestible), or someone else from the family Phallaceae. My reference book "Tutto Funghi" di Guido Stecchi gives a brief description of both. I think I never saw such finger mushrooms in the open but the others yes, at least similiar to them, well of course except for the cute mushroom fairy. I also enjoy watching the different kinds of mushrooms, some of which I probably am able to identify with the help of a book, but it does not really matter, as long as I am sure the porcino (Boletus edulis) I chance upon in my autumn walks is a real porcino.
Nice photos anyway, and have a nice mushroom hunting!

Wow!This thread is close to my heart. My husband and I are about to “parachute” back to my home country Philippines (we are in Italy now), hope to build our bamboo house in our little beach lot, with very poor and sandy soil, and we have very very little money.

First thing that I would do, to answer bruc33ef’s theoretical question is to understand what the local people grow (if there are people nearby) and eat, or  observe the vegetation nearby and have those plants planted in my little piece of denuded land, with the intention, first, to produce organic matter for the next vegetative generations, while I feed myself from maybe birds, lizards, crickets? Or have I brought some canned beans?

Anyway my real personal plan is this: fence the area (done) to discourage trespassers who might rob and/or damage whatever I have inside, have plenty of local trees planted in circles and near each other (done, and continuosly being done by a local farmer I have payed for the job) hoping that by the time I arrive, at least some parts of the area can host some vegetables. I’d build my house out of local materials (mostly bamboo), organize water and sanitation system (catch rainwater, or pump from underground using a windmill). And while my husband is into these tasks, I’d organize the food garden (of local varieties) and composting system. I wish I could immediately do the the earth works done; to dig a pond, and improve the drainage system (some portions get flooded during heavy rains), etc. but remember, we have no money. Later these would come, anyway I have already indicated which part of my area ( I have a little more than 1 hectare). After the establishment of the vegetable area, I’d introduce the native chickens, fenced inside their haven, where there is grass, pond, trees. I’d have native chickens which are good in managing by themselves, just give them treats from time to time (left over rice for example) and they’d still provide  some eggs and meat. It is important though that they are contained in their area. Native chicken, at least in my home country are agressive food hunters. They can fly high and can damage your vegetable garden in half an hour. I have thought to introduce a few other animals such as two pigs and maybe three goats but they can come later because they need more attention than rustic chickens.

What worries me for now are: how we would survive strong typhoons, plenty of rains (and humidity), and how we would live with very little money. Along with our parachute, we bring  with ourselves mostly experiences, knowledge, and courage.

My list would be something like this:
Tropical:
1.squash seeds – for fruit and leaves
2.moringa seeds or cuttings – for leaves, seeds, forage, medicinal qualities
3.sweet potato cuttings or cassava stem cuttings or taro – source of carbohydrates (since in a 0.1Ha to produce enough rice is not possible) and many other nutrients
4.pechay seeds
5.alugbati (malabar spinach) or any other spinach
6.mungo/mungbean
7.banana plants – almost all parts are useful, edible or not: prolific that in conflict zones became the salvation of hungry people caught between rebels and government fightings
8.coconut palms – almost all parts are useful, edible or nut
9.bamboo – shoots are also edible
10.chili – both leaves and fruits are edible, chili is very important in the diet of certain regions

My list is based and intended to Philippine conditions where I also come from. This list is also not a fixed list, I can change my mind ten minutes later as there are a lot of other vegetables and trees. And not all are seeds as there are better ways of propagation. My list would also vary in which region I intend to give the packet to since each place would prefer its own list.

But I would not really make a list and tell the churches (or group of people) to prepare packages. I would rather have the local people decide which food plants they would need and are able to grow. Seeds, or cuttings will also be sourced as much as possible from the locality, involving the local people, too. External help (agriculturists, nutritionists, etc.) would come to discuss, to confront and compare experiences and knowledge to improve the culture of the plants necessary to their diet.

Yet, I think the best way is to teach by showing that food gardening works; that I can feed or at least partially feed my family from it, using both the local and non-local knowledge. Growing plants in the Philippines is very easy yet not everybody does it. Oh, there are a lot of reasons, natural and man-made. Most have been discussed earlier. A popular children’s song “Bahay Kubo” (which Mollison even mentioned in one of his books) names many vegetables found in the garden of this bahay kubo (native house), which shows that at least in the past, a common rural house is able to provide nutritious food to the family.

My thoughts are:
Grass is cut
if you want to cut hay for your livestock, or need the cut grass for some other purpose (such as roofing material, mulch)
if you want to avoid seeding and producing hard stemmed grass, if you want good quality hay for you livestock
if you want to reinvigorate the grass – producing tender grass, more shoots, encourage more roots
if you want to control some kind of potential pest (depends what you consider pest)
if you want to avoid spread of uncontrolled fire
if you want to have a nice looking grassland

Grass is not cut
if you have no projected purpose
if you want to retain a landscape that protects you from various elements (rain, wind, neighbors?, etc.)
if you want to let nature take its course
if you want to retain an all natural untouched area, a sanctuary for different kinds of life

I hope I am right, and these help

...the more the merrier...both annual and perennial plants.
what vegetables do you eat, what nutrients do your plants need? from where do you get the nutrients needed by your plants? in what manner do you help the plants have access to this? do you intend to get nitrogen sources for your plants from nitrogen fixing plants?or do you introduce composted/aged manure? some questions you may want to ask yourself

Like you, I am a newbie, and being one, I think it is important to stick into our minds that doing permaculture is a process. There.
If I were you, I’d start by analysing what I would want in that 24 sq.m of flat land. If I want a vegetable garden, together with it, I’d identify other components that relates to myself and are related among them, for example, 3 chickens that would roam during the day in a portion of the area , produce chicken dung for the soil, meat and eggs for me? a small pond (with plenty of edges ) to collect rain water therefore creating an environment for frogs, insects, etc? a compost heap or not since I might want to use the lasagna method as suggested by jeremiah bailey. Once I have identified these components: vegetable plants, pond, and chicken then I may then elaborate what are the things needed to realize them, what techniques, where exactly in the area, still other components that dould be connected with them, etc.
You might need to fence-secure your area from wild mammals  perhaps? you have a bush nearby…
Analysis is an exercise that functions two ways: rationalizes every action we plan to do, and identifies what responsibilities we want to be faced with. Just my two cents…