Sherry Manning, 2010 Masters of Resource Law Studies Graduate, Returns to the Philippines to Work on Eco-Tourism Organic Farm

Sherry Manning, a University of Denver Sturm College of Law Masters in Resource Law Studies graduate, has returned to the Philippines where she lived from March 2006 to August 2008 while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Ms. Manning's return to the Philippines will involve her efforts to help the ENCA Eco-Tourism Organic Farm become an official non-profit organization in the country. During her earlier time in the Philippines, Ms. Manning helped establish the ENCA farm as a leading eco-tourism destination.

The ENCA farm is located in the Cordillera Mountain Range in Tublay Benguet. The ENCA farm, which is named after Enrique and Carmen Cosalan, has been in the Acop and Cosalan families since the 1800s. For many generations the farm served as a means of sustenance for the families who lived there. Four years ago the farm was opened as an eco-tourism site for the public.

Through Ms. Manning's efforts, the ENCA farm has been recognized in Washington state as a non-profit organization. Ms. Manning and others are hoping that the ENCA farm will become a U.S. recognized non-profit in the near future. In the meantime, Ms. Manning will work from now until mid-December on seeking non-profit status in the Philippines.

The non-profit designation is important as part of the ENCA farm's fund raising efforts, which are aimed at helping the farm's programs develop and "become more accessible to organic farmers through the Philippines," according to Ms. Manning.