Benguet State University President Dr. Rogelio
Colting with Figaro CEO Chit Juan

The "Wild About Organic" campaign is the newest undertaking of the Figaro Foundation, which aims to create value coffee through organic propagation. As such, the Figaro Foundation oriented tour participants with the principles of organic farming and enabled them to experience organic coffee farming first-hand.

The second leg of the Figaro Cofee Planting Tour had key executives and participants traipsing to the hillsides of Benguet, which today is a constant producer of high-grade mountain Arabica (the coffee bean variety noted for its elegant and gentle flavor and sought by premium coffee buyers worldwide). The Coffee Planting Tour last August in Benguet sealed the partnership between the Figaro Foundation and Benguet State University. Sponsoring the trip was Camp John Hay Development Corp., which donated 1,000 Arabica seedlings for the project.

Since it was formed in 1998 to help revive and rehabilitate the dying coffee farming industry, Figaro Foundation has devoted much effort to making more Filipinos aware of the local coffee industry's plight.

In 2000 the Barako which almost became extinct, became the focus of the Foundation's efforts. Figaro's tree-planting activities generated much support from individuals and sectors who realized that the coffee industry needs to plant Barako trees within the next five years for it to survive. Now on its sixth year, the Foundation's Save the Barako campaign has gained ground yet it continues to promote the bean through Barako products made available at Figaro outlets and international trade shows, and of course, through Barako planting.

Smell the coffee: Figaro's key executives led by
CEO Chit Juan, join other participants led by
Benguet State University President Dr. Rogelio Colting, at the second leg of the coffee-planting
tour in Benguet

The first of the series was a tree-planting tour to Figaro Foundation's "Wild About Organic" pilot farm in Brgy. Pangil, Amadeo, Cavite in July.

The second leg of the Figaro Cofee Planting Tour had key executives and participants trooping to the hillsides of Benguet, which today is a constant producer of high-grade mountain Arabica (the coffee bean variety noted for its elegant and gentle flavor and sought by premium coffee buyers worldwide). The Coffee Planting Tour last August in Benguet sealed the partnership between the Figaro Foundation and Benguet State University. Sponsoring the trip was Camp John Hay Development Corp., which donated 1,000 Arabica seedlings for the project.

Leading the tree-planting activity at the new Arabica pilot farm at the Benguet State University's agro-forestry area were Figaro CEO Chit Juan, COO Reena Francisco, Dr. Alejandro Mojica of the Cavite State University, and Benguet State University president Dr. Rogelio Colting and his staff.

In 2000 the Barako which almost became extinct, became the focus of the Foundation's efforts. Figaro's tree-planting activities generated much support from individuals and sectors who realized that the coffee industry needs to plant Barako trees within the next five years for it to survive. Now on its sixth year, the Foundation's Save the Barako campaign has gained ground as it continues to promote the bean through Barako products made available at Figaro outlets and international trade shows, and of course, through Barako planting.

With a smile, as if imagining her morning ritual, she reveals, "I like it black, no sugar, no cream. That's how you taste if your coffee is good."

In the cool mountains of Benguet, drying the
Arabica beans takes about 20 days

Like the grapes used to make the finest wine, quality coffee beans yield a delightful brew. And the best tasting of the lot? Beans produced the organic way--meaning, no pesticides or chemical fertilizers whatsoever.

Unfortunately, drinking good ol' coffee done organically, or using traditional methods, may soon be unfamiliar to both coffee farmers in the highlands and consumers below. The easier, higher-yielding method nowadays is non-organic.

Which is why Juan and the Figaro Foundation Corp. are crisscrossing the mountains of Benguet to encourage farmers to rekindle their love affair with coffee the traditional way - and get more for loving it.

Labor Intensive
Like hitting two birds with one stone, Juan aims to please both farmers and coffee lovers through the production of organic coffee. And little by little, she's getting results.

While orgainc coffee is now sold in the market at roughly the same price as non-organic ones, its labor-intensive production justifies more premium prices.

"We are willing to pay a price for good-quality coffee; so do many others, such as the traders, and consumers who only want the best coffee," says Juan.

Organic coffee is priced higher also as a reward to those small-scale farmers who practice environmentally sound farming systems and employ family and community labor. In Benguet, majority of the tribal communities practice traditional methods, which are organic in nature.

Farm caretaker Virgie Macanes demonstrates
the traditional way of hulling or peeling the beans
by pounding them with a big wooden pestle

These methods consist of drying the beans under the sun, hulling or peeling the beans by pounding them with a lusong (a big wooden mortar and pestle); and winnowing in a bilao to separate the chaff from the beans.

The province is a big producer of high-grade mountain Arabica, the coffee bean variety sought by premium coffee buyers worldwide for its elegant and complex flavor. Properly processed, Arabica produced in the Cordillera highlands can very well meet the quality standards sought by gourmet coffee enthusiasts locally and abroad, and capture premium markets such as the US, Germany and Japan.

"The biggest consumers are non-producers," says Juan. "In the Philippines, however, we are not producing enough for ourselves, so we have actually been importing coffee for years."

Benguest's Arabica is next in line. Arabica beans, which require soil rich in minerals, thrive at an altitude of 700-2,000 meters above sea level, making it a niche product for the Cordillera highlands.

Juan, who is also a member of the National Coffee Development Board, has inked a partnership with Dr. Rogelio Colting, president of the Benguet State University, for the project.

The Benguet State University, a center of excellence in agriculture education, has dozens of hectares at its own disposal. For the pilot farm project in BSU, Colting says the university can give Figaro Foundation more than two hectares. Juan says two is just enough, for easy monitoring.

The shade-grown method, which the BSU already employs in its farm, produces quality coffee, as the trees are shielded away from the sun's heat. The taller pine and alnos trees, which provide the needed protection, grow alongside the sayote, passion fruit and coffee trees.

This method assures a healthier ecosystem and allows farmers to rely on other crops to sustain their livelihood, since coffee is harvested only once a year. Also, organic farmland remains fertile for a decade since nutrients are not leached continually from the ground.

The Arabica variety is sought by premium
coffee buyers worldwide for its
elegant and complex flavor

Niche marketing
Juan emphasizes that though niche marketing is more concerned with quality than volume, farmers should not be afraid to give organic farming a try, as it is an economically sustainable investment.

"Buyers nowadays, especially those abroad, are looking for organic certifications. Going organic is really the way to go," she says.

Figaro has already sought organic certification to changing global tastes and requirements. It's the first local coffee company to seek this recognition.

Figaro's organic farming consultant, Patrick Belisario, the former executuve director of the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines, leads the foundation's quest for organic certification.

He's the first to admit that a lot more needs to be done in training and educating farmers on the benefits of organic coffee growing.

At present, coffee in this semi-temperate region is growing mostly in backyard farms, which measure, on the average, only about a hectare or two. Reaching the different parts of the highlands is proving to be difficult, says BSU Prof. Valentino Macanes. But the project has made initial headway by distributing coffee seedlings to farmers.

"We're still making baby steps...," says Juan. We're really hoping to recruit new farmers and encourage the old ones to grow (Arabica) coffee again."

Big challenge
Marketing the product is also a big challenge. But Figaro will definitely be a big help in that area, says Juan. It has set its sights as well on saving and popularizing Pinoy barako coffee, and with its chain of coffee shops around the country, its support will certainly go a long way.

Juan's parting shot is to encourage consumers to demand more for their coffee, and be more discerning of quality beans.