For 27 years, Hope for the Island has been feeding children and supporting communities in Siargao. Now, we're helping build a more reliable source of food for the community.
Siargao is one of the most beautiful islands in the Philippines. Coconut palms stretch across the island. Mangroves line the western shore. Inland, there are lagoons and tide pools, while Cloud 9 draws surfers from around the world.
Siargao has fertile land and abundant natural resources. Yet around 80% of its fresh produce comes from off the island.
Before it reaches a plate in Siargao, a tomato takes a boat.
It's grown somewhere else, trucked to a port, loaded onto a ferry, carried across open water, unloaded, and taken to a market in General Luna. The same is true for much of the island's fresh produce.
On an ordinary week, the system works. Boats run. Markets fill. Kitchens cook.
Then the weather turns.
A storm can leave roads blocked and ferries grounded. The disruption doesn't end when the rain does. In the days that follow, market stalls have less to sell, prices rise, and families have to make difficult choices about what they can afford.
Meanwhile, children still need to eat.
Around 80% of Siargao's fresh produce comes from off the island. That means a significant part of the island's food supply depends on a transport network it can't control. And even crops grown locally remain exposed to storms that can wipe out a season before it reaches harvest.
Hope for the Island has been working in Siargao for 27 years.
The organization provides safe spaces and mentorship for young people, scholarships for children who need them, and ongoing care for some of the island's most vulnerable kids. It also supports sustainable farming, because helping a community become more self-sufficient has to include food.
Its work extends beyond food, too.
Kalinga House provides children with a safe place to live, learn, and grow. When Typhoon Odette devastated parts of the Philippines in 2021, the house was damaged and needed to be rebuilt. In 2024, Booth helped bring it back.
Derek, who founded Hope for the Island, talks about the work as starting from the inside out: helping people understand their own value, then building from there.
After 27 years, the approach is visible in the work itself.
But there is still a vulnerability.
Much of Hope for the Island's work depends on donations from outside Siargao. That support keeps meals on tables, scholarships running, and programs going. It also means that when outside funding is disrupted, the organization has fewer options.
That's where the greenhouse comes in.
We've spent a lot of time on Siargao, and we've seen the difference Hope for the Island makes firsthand.
As our co-founder Jamie Booth puts it:
"We've spent a lot of time on the island of Siargao, and we've seen and felt the impact Hope for the Island creates. It's more than a center; it's a literal lifeline for kids who need it most. But they have a vulnerability: they rely almost entirely on outside donations. To keep the lights on and the plates full for the long haul, they need to be able to grow their own."
That's the thinking behind our support.
Rather than simply helping cover another year of food costs, we're helping build something that can keep producing long after this campaign ends.
The Greenhouse Project will create a weather-resilient growing space in Siargao.
It will protect crops from the heat and severe weather that can make farming unpredictable. Families will learn organic farming techniques suited to the island, building skills they can use at home and share with others.
The harvest will first support Hope for the Island's programs, helping provide food throughout the year. Any surplus can be sold locally, creating an additional source of income for the organization.
The idea is simple: grow food, feed people, sell what remains, and put that income back into the work.
It's a small piece of infrastructure with a long-term purpose.
We're raising CAD 40,000 to get the project off the ground.
The funding will cover the greenhouse structure, initial tools and seeds, and the training needed to make it productive.
You're helping Hope for the Island grow more of its own food, build local farming skills, and create an income stream that can support its programs over time.
Most importantly, it gives the organization another option when the boats stop coming.
Booth will match every donation dollar for dollar, up to CAD 40,000.
A $50 donation becomes $100 for the project. A $500 donation becomes $1,000.
Your contribution helps build the greenhouse and gets matched by Booth, doubling its immediate impact.
If you'd like to support the Greenhouse Project, you can donate here:
To learn more about Hope for the Island and its work in Siargao: