Paradizoo: Power of Three

Photos by Mandy Navasero 

Paradizoo, a 12-hectare agricultural theme park in Mendez Cavite which combines the concept of a farm and a zoo, is currently celebrating its “Power of Three” festival showcasing flowers, vegetables and livestock throughout all weekends from January to March of this year.

Over 20,000 students, farmers, nature lovers and agri-tourists are expected to visit the 12-year old theme park, which was envisioned as a learning, pleasure, and healthy living center in Metro-Tagaytay for the duration of the triad festival, according to operational manager Myra Antipuesto.

Paradizoo’s operations manager Myra Antipuesto.

In the first quarter of 2018, Paradizoo will offer free agriculture education to visitors, ranging from flower, vegetable, and livestock care, agricultural best practices, breeding programs, exhibiting farm produce, sale, and auction of livestock.

The Power of Three Festival will feature activities and demonstrations about best practices in organic farming such as vermiculture (cultivating earthworms for fish bait or composting), Bokashi (fermenting kitchen waste or food scraps using inoculated bran to fertilize plants), and hydroponics (growing plants without soil), as well as putting up compost pits.

Paradizoo is operating two greenhouses and will soon open a Department of Agriculture (DA)-Agricultural Training Institute (ATI)-accredited school.

Its other top attractions include Farm Frenzy, an exhibit of various animals for sale (from rabbits and hamsters to lovebirds, Dorper sheep, Boer, Kalahari, and Saanen dairy goats, Rusa and turkeys from Australia), which guests can also pet and feed. There are also the Camel Ride and the Zing Ride – a combination of a zip line and a swing.

In the Plant Me Home area, guests can pick flowers and vegetables from garden plots to take home with them, including all 17 vegetables enumerated in the folk song “Bahay Kubo” (Nipa Hut) as well as local flowers and orchids in the Orchidarium, the Eclectic Garden, and the Bromeliad Pavilion.

Paradizoo also includes a Goat House where visitors can milk the goats and study different breeds; a Honey Bee Farm which produces both light and dark honey commercially; and a Butterfly Farm with hundreds of butterflies and moths as well as an educational display of their life cycle.

In addition, there’s a Meditation Garden; a Wedding Pavilion which caters not just to weddings but also to birthdays, anniversaries, seminars and corporate events; a Boot Camp; and a Pet Cemetery, complete with burial vaults and permanent markers in marble or granite.

Paradizoo Cafe.

Paradizoo is of one of the 8 theme parks of the Yupangcos’ Zoomanity Group, which attracts over 2 million visitors per year. In the future, the owners plan to develop a retirement community in the area and are currently finalizing discussions with project partners.

Zoomanity, a leader in the country’s zoo and theme park industry, operates Zoobic Safari in Subic; Zoori (Zoo at Residence Inn) in Tagaytay; Zoocobia Fun Zoo in Clark, Pampanga; Zoocolate Thrills in Bohol; and Zootopia in Nagano, as well as the Japan and Animal Conservation and Breeding Center in Australia. It also offers a complete tourism ecosystem that covers tourism hospitality services such as hotels, restaurants and transportation.

To experience this eco-farm journey please call (02) 847.0413, (02)899.9824 and (02) 899.9828 or visit www.zoomanity.com.ph.

This appeared in Agriculture Monthly’s February 2018 issue.