Together with passionate volunteers, he embarked on a mission to serve in several areas, such as (a) education & literacy; (b) championing consumer rights; (c) relief operations; (d) clean-up drive; (e) tree planting; (f) disaster response, and more. 

His affiliation with the office of the 2nd District of Albay filled him with a renewed sense of purpose, knowing that he is part of a collective force for positive change. His experience in the agriculture sector, particularly the immersion and dialogues with farmers, made him better appreciate the role of farmers and agriculture in food security and the economy. The aging farmers and lack of interest in agriculture among the youth motivated him to focus on promoting innovative agricultural practices.  

Inspired by the activities in the office of the 2nd District of Albay, Mr. Barcelon founded AYFO, Inc., a SEC-registered non-profit organization, with the vision, “Walang Albayanong magugutom.” He initiated the Edible  Landscaping sa Barangay (ELB) Project which has been benefitting thousands of families in Albay. The program introduces the importance of agriculture to the youth by teaching them the technical and theoretical knowledge of basic sustainable farming using their respective “Gulayan sa Barangay”. 

Initially, the ELB Project was a youth-focused community project but Mr. Barcelon was able to mobilize both the Sangguniang Kabataan and the Sangguniang Barangay -- the project has become a multi-sector community project. He was also able to forge partnerships with government agencies and private corporations in implementing his volunteer projects. His adept with new technologies also helps him manage his volunteer projects and monitor his partner volunteers in each barangay, e.g. online monitoring mechanism,  social media campaigns, rewards, and incentives for volunteers and participating barangays. 

For instance, in the ELB Project Season 1, all 223 barangays in the 2nd District of Albay participated in the project, having a 100% implementation rate, each purok having its functional edible landscape garden. It resulted in (a) 5,340 TESDA Scholars given certificates on edible landscaping, producing organic concoctions and extracts, and producing organic vegetables with a total of PHP 80.1 million worth of scholarships and (b)  access to Department of Agriculture’s (DA) 446 sets of garden tools (rake, hoe, shovel, sprinklers & assorted vegetable seeds) distributed to the participating barangays; and (c) an approximate 3000 kilograms of various vegetable crops harvested which helped sustain the daily consumption of the residents in the 2nd District of  Albay during the pandemic, some were used for personal consumption, others were sold to the market by the barangay with the profit used to buy new sets of seeds and materials and some were used for the respective community pantry in the barangay. It had a significant behavioral impact in youth volunteers – changed perspective/ increased interest in agriculture and worthwhile experience that kept them out of trouble as adolescents/young adults. With the initiative, some became interested in taking up courses related to agriculture or using agriculture as a topic for discussion and advocacy in their school work.  

The triumph of the edible landscaping initiative fueled his fervor to further promote agriculture, youth empowerment, and volunteerism. Aiming for sustainability, the project now has several seasons, and its replication represents the transformative impact of volunteerism in community development. Mr. Barcelon was able to forge a memorandum of agreement with DA for a new program, the Albay Young Foodscapers  Program. It aims to mobilize volunteer Grade 10 students and federated student councils in the Province of  Albay to enhance and complement the Department of Education’s Gulayan sa Paaralan and School-based  Feeding Program and introduce market-centric and innovative agricultural practices among the youth.  

Mr. Barcelon’s initiative to mobilize youth volunteers serves as a platform for young groups. At a young age,  he has been receiving invitations for speaking engagements to inspire other youth leaders to amplify advocacies and share their stories of volunteerism in communities. He has been elected as Legazpi City  Peoples’ Council’s representative for the Youth Sector, another avenue for him to inspire and strengthen his advocacies and volunteer work. He now has a broader vision, “walang Pilipinong magugutom.”