IT IS MANGO tree inspection time in the countryside and on the mountains of Zambales, where the indigenous Aeta farmers live and plant cassava, ube, and other fruits and vegetables. They are subsistence farmers living off what they grow and harvest.
The mango harvest will be in May and the mangoes they grow will be harvested and brought to processing factories in Bulacan to make organic-certified mango puree for shipment to Germany. These farmers and their families benefit and receive fair trade prices for their pico and carabao mangoes, and sometimes for their apple mangoes, too.
Certifiers conduct inspections of the farmers’ mango trees to see if these — and the whole area they farm on — comply with European Union organic regulations. These are very strict and ensure that no chemicals like flower-inducers, synthetic fertilizers or insecticides are present. It took many years for the Aeta farmers working with the Profairtrade Development Enterprise, also known as Preda Fair Trade, to convert this area in the uplands of Zambales and meet high organic standards.
The area is about 50 kilometers from Botolan in the north to Dinalupihan in the south. During the rainy season, volunteers join the farmers to plant grafted mango saplings, calamansi bushes, and rambutan fruit trees supplied by Preda Fair Trade and its partner environmental organizations dedicated to tree planting with economic benefits.
Reaching EU organic certification standards is a great achievement for these Indigenous people (IP). This guarantees that they have a steady market for their organic mango puree. They are hoping for buyers of their cassava and ube, which can grow in abundance and be processed into flour.
Cassava, especially those certified as organic, is an important source of fiber and starch-resistant, and is a gluten-free alternative to wheat flour. It can be used to fortify bread or other baked goods. Cassava also fortifies food, providing the body with energy, especially for athletes and other active people. Beside organic certification, it is produced under Preda Fair Trade’s ethical standards.
The farmers have organized themselves into an association of 630 farmers from 16 communities. Besides receiving fair trade prices, bonus payments and tree saplings to restore the environment, they also receive clean water supply systems as part of profit-sharing and other development benefits. The Aetas claim the mountains as their ancestral lands. Preda Fair Trade, over the past years, assisted communities to receive land certificates declaring their ancestral land rights. (To be continued)/PN
