The Sweet Spot of the Philippines

Most of my development work life is spent in Negros Occidental, also known to be the Sweet Spot of the Philippines. It is called the Sweet Spot of the Philippines because a major percentage of sugar production in the country is happening in this province. A vast portion of land in Negros Occidental is made up of sugarcane plantation or the haciendas. Seeing these wide sugarcane plantations is a beauty in my eye, but in reality, it should be a sore - this is because the existence of these large sugarcane plantations manifests the lackluster performance of the Philippines' agrarian reform program. This means that until now, despite the law and its long years of implementation, hacienderos owning very large areas of lands still exist; and that the farmers are still struggling to have their own land.

Now…. on the lighter side, Negros Occidental is one of my favorite provinces in the Philippines.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways….

Ilonggos - the sweetest, warmest people on earth. 

I simply cannot resist the sweet accent of an Ilonggo. They are known for their “malambing” tone and this really is true. So the ill-tempered me can easily be tamed by their sweet accent. Aside from the malambing accent; the ilonggos are just very warm, friendly and yes, hospitable. Whenever I go on the field I am just a spoiled brat. They make sure that I am well-fed and comfortable (haha). I usually have very positive experiences with them. One time, I bought coffee from the Silay airport and forgot to get my change (and the change was a lot!) and I contacted the coffee shop when I was in Manila. Immediately, they sent my change via courier. They were very accommodating and attentive. I love that coffee shop forever (They are Kuppa Coffee and Tea).

The people I work with there are very good at what they do, but after work, we just always have a grand time together. Laughing and making fun out of senseless things. Although field works are really very tiring (physically and mentally), my friends (who happened to be Ilonggos) keep them happy and balanced :)

Because of this, I am just smitten by them :) I have good friends now from Negros Occidental and will be forever keeping in touch.

The Food

I can just say holy molly! I just eat and eat whenever I am here. Sweets are scattered and their native coffee is just fantastic! One time I visited a project site and the nanays and the tatays of a farming community prepared me this home-cooked food and as we all know, lutong bahay is just a bomb. So I got one happy stomach after.

Oh by the way, the food is also relatively cheap there, so you can really go food tripping.

Further, Negros Occidental has been declared by its provincial government as an Organic Island and thus the high availability of organic food. So somehow, you'll feel a little less guilty because you are eating something healthy. I tell you I hope that the organic food fever reaches manila. I mean I tasted an organic watermelon and it is just so sweet as compared to the conventional.

Now, here is a collection of pictures :)

This is the famous chicken binakol. Tinola mixed with buko juice :)

Baby Back Ribs which I believe is just P120. This is from Bobs, a famous home grown restaurant in Bacolod

Hotels there will always have cake like this and brewed coffee :)

Healthy food from Fresh Start Organics Restaurant. The green ones are the malunggay shake; the violet is the duhat juice and what's in the middle is cassava nachos. They serve healthy food with a twist. They actually gave us burger made of puso ng saging and it just tasted like meat!

Ang lutong bahay. The farmers prepared this for us in a visit to their community. Yumyum!

This is a winner. Pecan Pie from Calea cakes. :)

I told you...sweets!!!!

Sweets!!!

and more sweets!!!!

And nothing beats a backyard grown organic coffee. Sarap kaya ng kape sa negros!

Organic coffee and rice from the upland farming communities

Organic Sinamak. Masarap na sawsawan :)

Bacolod City - the City of Smiles

Yep, Bacolod City is also a favorite. It is an urban area which offers what a typical city has - malls, restaurants, accommodation, recreation areas, 24/7 public transportation - yet it is very laid back. They say that the traffic here is heavy, but coming from Manila - I can take Bacolod’s traffic anytime :)

Bacolod City is also known for the Masskara Festival which luckily we were able to experience as it coincided with a work-related event back then. Here are some pics but you can click on this link to see more pictures.

The busy thoroughfare of Lacson Ave - Bacolod's version of EDSA - during masskara festival

The smiling faces during masskara festival

Party party!!!!

Masskara Parade

Sinong hindi masaya? Haha

The Breathtaking Landscape

This is how I fell in love with Negros Occidental - the large sugarcane plantation with the sunset on the horizon :) I mean, we know the real meaning of large sugarcane plantation but I just drool over the beauty of such scenery whenever I am on field. As I jokingly say, it’s like a hot spanish haciendero with chest hair will suddenly appear from the middle of plantation riding a horse and will rescue me. hahahahaha

Typical highway in Negros Occidental. Amidst the sugarcane plantation. Eto yung feeling ko na may lalabas na haciendero riding a horse :p

Sunset time! Bumaba kami to take shot

I kind of post processed this but sunsets look like this :)

Of course, Negros Occidental does not only offer these beautiful plantations. They also have rice fields, mango farms and beaches! One day I’m gonna go to the beach in Sipalay City!

Sipalay Beach :)Source: http://bermuda-beach-resort.com/

Tinagong Dagat, Sipalaysource:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipalay#mediaviewer/File:Sipalay_Resorts.jpg

And, yes, the famous “The Ruins” :)

The Passion and Fire among the Development Workers...and the Farmers

Iba ang puso ng mga tao dito sa Negros Occidental - that’s all I can say. The farmers, for me, among any other farming communities I visited, are rock solid in fighting for their land. My fellow development workers are just so devoted that I even cannot keep up. Whenever I am there, I got non-stop meetings as the development workers here as just so committed :) And each time, I am inspired and rejuvenated to be with this kind of people.

Perhaps, I can say that the intensity of development work here is different because of the years of struggle of the farmers for their lands. I mean, Negros Occidental is quite (in)famous during the sugar crisis in the 80s (which caused extreme poverty for the sugarcane farmers); and is also known for hacienderos skirting around the law and instilling fear and violence just to keep their lands. Negros Occidental, in the stories I hear when I was there, was like the seat of rebellion back in the Marcos Era; and hence the farmers were both victims of the hacienderos and the rift between the government and the rebels. There were some farmers group that I talked to where some of their members actually died during the tumultuous times there. So yeah, that was how serious and difficult life has been to them and thus a burning fire to fight for what they believe is just due to them.

Now some pictures with the community :)

Photo op after an FGD with upland farmers in Murcia

Showcasing community products :)

Nanay endorsing community made organic sinamak

Privileged to be part of the farmers' training

With the farmer leaders after their training

A workshop planning on local economy development, of course with farmer leaders and other like-minded sectors. I have learned a lot from this session

I only have wonderful memories in this province. I hope one day I can go back to doing field work again in Negros Occidental :)