WHO says only people can live in a condominium?

At the sprawling 24-hectare lot of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) center in Barangay Bonuan Binloc, African catfish or Clanas gariepinus hybrids, a very popular table fish, are quartered in 14-D and 28-D Fish Condominiums.

The unique “condo-living” is based on the Urban Aquaculture Project concept of Dr. Westly Rosario, interim executive director of the National Fisheries Research Development Institute (NFRDI).

Rosario said they are easy to raise as they eat anything like kitchen refuse, old bread, fish or animal entrails and fish feeds. They maybe harvested after four to five months of culture.

He said 14-D and 28-D represent the number of drums where groups of catfish are cultured.

The condo model requires a minimum floor area of 2.30X 1.80 meters and height of 3 meters. The culture chambers are fastened vertically and have a total production water volume of about 2,800 liters.

As in people’s condominiums, the “residents” also enjoy a garden where eggplants, ampalaya, okra, sili, tomatoes, among others and even kangkong are planted.

The concept has so impressed Senator Manny Villar and his spouse Rep. Villar, owners of the country’s biggest real estate and housing development company in the country, that they quickly adopted the concept in their projects.

Rosario said the concept enables urban hobbyists or aquaculturists to culture fish in their gardens or backyards with small capital investment. He said the economic return from the system can be further appreciated when fish culture is integrated with vegetable garden, landscape or orchard.

Used or old water can be used to irrigate or water the plants using the same pump. Old water contains fish excreta and other organic matter that are beneficial to the plants, Rosario said.-#

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