Palawan is a nature`s haven… it can enchant despite its simplicity. Its islands, its pearls, its fresh sea foods and its processed cashew nuts can entice one to stay and crave for more of its mystery…

True enough, our trip to Palawan was just that… enchanting! Our travel was about documenting the cashew industry, but it turned out we as well found Palawan's natural wonders. We have done this in three days with the help of DA-Palawan Agricultural Experiment Station (DA-PAES), BPRE`s partner in seeking successful cashew processors.

Roxas Cashew Processors

Palawan is the country's leading producer of cashew, and still is the cashew capital of the country. Part of our trip we visited two of its top producing towns, Roxas and El Nido.

For our first stop, we went to see one of Roxas` known cashew processor, Amy's Cashew Products at San Miguel, Roxas, Palawan.

The processing venture is a home business within the heart of the barangay, and is managed by Amelia C. Gapuz. According to Amy, it was back in the 1980s in Cuyo Islands when her parents started processing cashew.

`Namana ko sa mga magulang ko ang pagpoproseso ng kasoy. Nagsimula ito bilang maliit na negosyo. Pero dahil sa iba't ibang tulong tulad ng libreng pagsasanay na dala ng lokal na pamahalaan, DA-PAES, DOST, DTI at iba pang mga ahensya, ito ay lumago at naging matatag.` (I inherited the processing of cashew from my parents.

It started as a small enterprise. But because of the many assistance, like free training, by the local government, DA-PAES, DOST, DTI and other agencies, it grew and became stable.), Amy related with her face beaming with pride and love for her enterprise.
Amy remembered that it was in 2004 when she began processing cashew on her own. Back then, she got P5,000 for a capital and she could process 10 kg of nuts in a week. Now she sells different kinds of processed nuts in consignment or in a per order basis, wholesale.

The backyard processing site now includes 15 shelling equipment (kalukati), a generator set, a charcoal oven, electric vacuum sealer and a tricycle equipped with a load carrier. Amy shared that it was because of the charcoal oven that they got in installment basis from DOST in 2007 did the quality of their cashew has greatly improved.

Furthermore, she related that she got help from the women in her community. Mostly she employs mothers and students as `tagabalat`(testa remover) and `tagabilog` (nut picker). During peak months (March-July), she has 20 people as tagabalat and 15 as tagabilog.


We thought that was it on how her venture to cashew processing succeeded. But as we relaxed our queries for our documentation we were surprised that the secret of her success is not only dependent on the quality products she makes but on Romeo Gapuz, the `man` whom she relied much for the operation of the processing site.

`Asawa ko ang nangangalaga ng operasyon. Mas alam niya kung ilang kilo ng kasoy sa isang araw ang pinoproseso namin. Kung baga sa mabibigat na aspeto ng produksiyon siya ang inaasahan ko na…` (My husband oversees the operation. He knows more on how many kilos of cashew we process in a day. In other words, I already gave the difficult aspect of the production to him…) then she recalled without much elaboration of the details on how the processing of cashew brought them together.

`Basta… dahil sa kasoy… hindi lang bulsa ang nagkalaman pati puso...`(Whatever… it is because of cashew… not only the pocket did gain but the heart as well …)

Our group then left Amy's with the good taste of her cashew products and with the hope to know more of her `story`.

Another stop we made was at San Jose, Roxas, Palawan. Here we got amazed not only because Mr. Prudencio Caabay is a Magsasakang Siyentista (Farmer Scientist) for cashew, but because his sons, young or old, have skills on cashew processing. His eldest son, Al-Klean helps him improve and manufacture the cashew sheller (BPRE cashew sheller Fontilla's design), while the young ones in their elementary years are shelling nuts not only for processing but for beating records. One particular kid who has garnered awards for this is Mark John. Since four years old, he has joined and won in cashew shelling contests. With the use of his father's improved sheller, he has easily beaten his opponents.

`Nasubukan ko na halos lahat ng klase ng trabaho… pangingisda, pagsasaka… pero sa pagkakasoy lang guminhawa ang aming buhay.` (I tried almost all kinds of work… fishing, farming… but only in cashew did our life improve.) Mang Prudencio mused.

He further related that what he has learned in cashew processing, he shared this to his neighbors and other interested farmers. With this, he is often tapped as lecturer on cashew growing and processing in the area.


El Nido OTOP


And so our group traveled to our last stop, El Nido. Here our task was to witness the launching of cashew as the One Town One Product (OTOP) of El Nido. OTOP is a government program that promotes local entrepreneurship and job creation.

It was through the efforts of the local government unit led by Mayor Leonor Corral that cashew processing became an enterprise that would cater to tourists' pasalubong needs.

Mayor Corral tapped the El Nido Women Multi Purpose Cooperative (ENWMPC) to prioritize cashew processing. With the mayor's fund grant of P160,000 and with the training workshops and assistance given by DA-PAES, JICA and DTI to the cooperative, officers and members of the cooperative pursued the enterprise.

Mrs. Susan Lualhati manager of ENWMPC told us that the cooperative started in 2004 but their project then was on catering services, credit and handicraft making. She noted that home made `bandi` and fried split nuts were the only processed cashew products they offered then. Now with all the support they are getting from different agencies, processing of cashew nuts into different products became their business.

`Nagsisimula palang kami sa kasoy pero nakikita namin na balang araw malaki ang maitutulong nito sa pag-unlad ng bawat miyembro ng koopertiba…`(We are still starting in cashew but we see it that someday it would be a great help to each of our member's prosperity…), Susan envisioned.

With that, our minds were filled with hopes and wonders of Palawan. It is not only the wonders of nature which makes it enchanting but the people like Amy, Prudencio and Susan who can inspire us with their efforts in cashew processing.