“If You Plant Something, You Will Harvest Something”: Backyard Gardening and Community Development in Rural Philippines

This article explores the intangible benefits of backyard gardening for community development. Research confirms backyard gardening as a productive approach of communities toward greater food security and biodiversity. Those are, however, not these gardens' only benefits. Using the case of a backyard gardening project implemented by a community-based organization in rural Philippines, we argue that the benefits of backyard gardens stretch beyond health and finance. These gardens also increase local community-based organizations' institutional capacity while fostering community-wide cohesion, rekindling knowledge sources, and bolstering community members' sense of pride and personal freedom.