She used to enjoy engineering work. She loves the hardhat that’s protecting her while monitoring projects. She bore the scourging heat of the sun as well as the raindrops during bad weather while facilitating projects. She lived the joys and pains of a full-time civil engineer.

But life changed when her two children finished college. Her desire for a fresh farm breeze, her love for freedom, and her passion for creating something new kept igniting her love for agriculture until she decided to go back to her first love---farming.

Dauphine Navarro Alviar was born and raised in Ballesteros, Cagayan. She was a proud product of Ateneo University.

She was previously employed as a contractor but later, she preferred to engage in agriculture as a hands-on farmer which later paved the way for the establishment of her own Grandeza Integrated Farm and Tourism School in 2019 which she named after her beloved mother.

Her passion for learning new things enriched her and her exposure to various trainings and seminars offered by the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other agencies empowered her.

At present, Dauphine extends the knowledge and skills she acquired in those various trainings to the community of farmers and fisherfolk in her town.

Not only empowering her fellow farmers and women in her community, she also took the lead in the preparation and processing of documents for their registration as Farmers Cooperative and Association (FCA). Being an FCA member, they can enjoy more opportunities and support services from the government.

Proving her potential to become an officer, she was elected secretary of the Northern Cagayan Federation of Farmers and Fisherfolk Association wherein, aside from her role, she is instrumental in linking FCAs to possible training offers from government agencies and even the private sector.

Her exposure to various seminars and trainings let her dream big for her farm school. Today, her farm school is now a TESDA and DOT-accredited institution that provides learning and hands-on training to farmers/fisherfolk, women, student-trainees, and groups of individuals after she met all the requirements required by the two agencies.

As an organic agriculture practitioner and advocate, Dauphine is instrumental in linking farmers to DA to avail of free compost fungus activator where she picks up the compound from DA and distributes the same to the farmers in her town. 

She constantly practices the use of organic agriculture on her farm wherein lessens her expenditures and dependency on commercial fertilizers. 

Recently, the Grandeza Integrated Farm and Tourism School passed the accreditation given by the DA-Bureau of Plant Industry, making it known as one of the Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) accredited farms in the region. 

Being an expert in food processing as she is an NC II certificate holder, Dauphine provides lectures and training to women and students and serves as a trainer on food, fish, and wine processing to 19 Rural Improvement Club (RICs) members in Ballesteros town.

Being the President of RIC Mabbutal and the Secretary of the RIC Federation of Ballesteros, under the One Barangay One Product program, she initiated the value-adding concepts of existing products and ensured that every barangay has a distinct product to develop and showcase.

At present, she is working for the registration of the Ballesteros Pineapple Growers Association and also for its GAP accreditation.

Dauphine’s passion for her field of entrepreneurship made her a national Go Negosyo awardee in 2020 by the DTI. She is also one of the Top 15 nominees in the Benita and Catalino Yap Foundation (BCYF) search for inspiring Filipina entrepreneurs. 

The BCYF, which was established in 1993 stands as a pioneering organization dedicated to championing innovative social solutions through corporate social responsibility, and holds a steadfast vision of fostering sustainable development and empowerment within communities across the Philippines and the broader Asian landscape.

Today, Dauphine’s farm does not only empower farmers but also provides job and livelihood opportunities to thousands of residents.

At 55, she enjoys farm life with her husband, Engr. Erwin J. Alviar. Her eldest daughter, Graziella Kryzchelle Alviar-Cabacub, a financial analyst by profession, is now happily married with three children. Her youngest, Genevieve Kryzlei, is a United Kingdom-based nurse.

As she wakes up each morning, she inhales God-goodness looking at her Grandeza farm, which she considers a paradise that serves as a haven for her and her family.

She may be a civil engineer by profession, but farming is her life vocation while being an agripreneur is her perpetual passion. (ALM/GVB/PIA Region 2)