Filipinos turn to backyard gardening to cope with rising prices in Australia

Filipinos take pride in their backyard gardening—not only because of the joy it brings, but also because it helps with the family budget by providing homegrown vegetables right in their own backyard. Credit: Emely Barbato Facebook

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According to residents Mary Joy Paladin and Emely Barbato, they enjoy a steady supply of vegetables from their backyard almost all year round—despite the changing seasons in Australia.

Key Points

Mary Joy Paladin was once an accountant at an international company in the Philippines, but she fulfilled her dream of caring for her family in Australia. Her love for gardening, inherited from her father in Isabela, has become part of her daily life.
Meanwhile, Emely Barbato not only leads Filipino community events in Newman but also grows vegetables in her backyard to cope with the high prices in their remote mining town in Western Australia.
They often use seeds from kitchen vegetables for replanting and recycle containers like plastic tubs and styrofoam as pots—making gardening both practical and sustainable.

Emely Barbato shared that they have vegetables in their backyard almost all year round, even with the changing seasons in Australia. credit: Emely Barbato Facebook