What's Happening

August 2, 2016, Mining, Pampanga, the Philippines – For years, the Adrian Dominican Sisters’ eco-farm in the village of Mining, Pampanga, has produced vegetables to improve the nutrition of the neighboring children. Now, the farm produces yet another crop – wind power to offer an alternative source of energy to the farm.

“The windmill is another way of implementing our [2016 General Chapter] Enactment on Care for the Earth, reducing our use of fossil fuel and using alternative energy like the wind,” said Sister Zenaida Nacpil, OP, Chapter Prioress of the Adrian Dominican Congregation’s Our Lady of Remedies Mission Chapter, based in the Philippines.  “The windmill pumps water from a deep well, using wind energy to irrigate the farm.” 

Sister Zenaida said the windmill is situated in the section of the two-hectare property used to cultivate vegetables, which help feed children and others in the village community. Families are able to buy the produce at a reduced price to improve their nutrition.

Installation of the windmill on the farm was inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Sí: On Care for our Common Home, and in response to Enactment Two of the Dominican Sisters’ 2016 General Chapter: “Recognizing the violence against Earth community that places our common home in dire jeopardy and intensifies the suffering of people on the margins, future generations and all creation, we will sacrifice to mitigate significantly our impact on climate change and ecological degradation.”

The windmill and the Eco-Farm serve the community of the Dominican School of Angeles City, which serves 250 children, kindergarten to 10th grade, who could not otherwise attend school. The school is located “in the rural area of Angeles City, where the poor children are more vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking due to their economic situation and poverty,” Sister Zenaida said. She added that the school also lives out Enactment Three of General Chapter 2016, reaching out to people who are relegated to the margins. 

The Remedies Mission Chapter was formerly a separate congregation of Dominican Sisters, based in the Archdiocese of San Fernando in the Philippines. The Remedies Congregation merged with the Adrian Dominican Sisters in November 2011 on the Feast of Our Lady of Remedies.