Not long after, we followed up with another endeavor...... raising pigs
in our backyard for food and profit. We had the pig sties constructed
at the back of our quarters, along the sea wall, where it was
convenient to clean it by simply water-spraying the wastes into the
sea. The pig pens had the rock surface of the sea wall for its floor,
wood for its front railings, and galvanized iron for roofing, back
and side walls, to protect the pigs from the elements.
The pig
raising project started with a pair of Landrace breed, a sow and a
boar, which did not take long to quickly multiply. Eventually, we saw no
need for the boar, as insemination services were readily available
from outside breeders. Later on we brought in another breed for
cross-breeding to produce sturdier and more resilient stocks.
The
hog food was sourced from the leftovers at the base's galley or mess
hall, which we picked up after every meal hours. Just beside the pig
house was a covered structure we made, were the hog food was heated
in a large cooking vessel, using firewood for heating. Fresh
vegetables and growing or fattening mash were mixed in the concoction
before it was served to the pigs. Feeding was twice daily, early
morning and late afternoon.
Raising pigs, at the start, was
not worrisome as we had the services of Dr. San Agustin, a
veterinarian from the city. But when he migrated to the US, we had to
fend for ourselves. Not all the time we had hired helpers, so there
were times my eldest brother and I had to do the cleaning of the
sties, the retrieval of food leftovers from the base galley, the
preparation of the food, the feeding, and the bathing of the hogs. Now
without a veterinarian, my brother also did the inoculation when the
necessity arose. There were times when we had to stay up the whole
night to assist in the delivery of piglets. Deliveries were always
joyful moments for us, as this meant additional stocks, so we did not
really mind the sacrifice. It was fortunate the good veterinarian
left us instructions on inoculating, assisting in deliveries, and
caring for newborn piglets, before he left for the US.
Slaughtering
of pigs was usually done on a Saturday morning. Our neighbors were
our usual customers for the meat. We kept just enough for our
family's pork requirements, and the head normally went to our
butcher, CPO Diomedes Lopez, who was also Dad's official military
driver.
Raising pigs substantially helped a lot in
supplementing the family income. As I now look back into those years,
I can't help but heave a nostalgic sigh. Those years were like
living in paradise, in a self-sustaining environment where you can't
go hungry. We had sea foods, chicken and pork meat, and eggs which we
did not buy. The only thing missing were vegetables, and it's only
because we had no available fertile land space for backyard
gardening. Besides, the soil in the base was sandy and not fit for
vegetable farming. We had not heard of hydroponic gardening then, which would have made it possible to raise vegetables without the necessity of having adequate land space.
[Anticipated Summer Fun Activities]