I have always associated Iloilo with good food like biscocho, fresh seafood (their delicious and affordable oysters are especially the best), beautiful pilgrimage churches like Miag-ao Church, and lately, the beaches of Gigantes Islands. I did not expect to encounter anything new after that, but with my visit to the municipality of Barotac Viejo, particularly in Sitio Nagpana in Barangay Lipata, I was happy to add another item on my list of things I like about the province.
Sitio Nagpana, around one and a half hoursaway by car from the province’s capital city, is an area surrounded by mountain forests. It’s where the indigenous Atis live and make delicious coffee from plants they themselves grow. Here, they also weave baskets and accessories from nito, a wild vine.
When our group of travelers came to visit, the Ati community welcomed us with a solemn gesture. Wearing nito adornments, one of the elder women set down a coconut husk of smoking coal on the ground, as if in offering. The gesture was followed by what looked like a traditional dance. One of the women explained to me later that the moves were nature-inspired.
After the Atis’ welcome, I found myself drawn to tables filled with their handmade crafts. There were bamboo cups and ladles made from bamboo and coconut. There were baskets, bags, plates, and accessories made from nito. There was actual dried nito, too – nature’s raw material yet to be woven into something creative.
One of the Ati women, Nanay Alicia Ganancial, offered to make me a ring from nito. I watched as she wove one in minutes and slipped it on my finger. It looked pretty and felt comfortable around my finger. She told me such nito accessories are meant to protect the wearer. I wore it for the rest of the trip and even weeks after.
Up ahead, beyond the tables of crafts, was a small hill with a concrete stairway. On top of the hill was Balay Kape Nagpana, the Atis’ coffee shop and coffee processing area.
Going up, I could not help noticing shrubs with vivid white flowers, which I later found out were coffee plants. While I have already seen coffee berries a few times, it was my first time to see the plant’s flowers. They reminded me of sampaguita, but with pointed tips like stars.
At the coffee processing facility, we saw beans being dried in several bilao. The Atis toured us through their equipment and the various stages of processing like roasting, grinding, and packaging. They said they were fortunate to get the necessary equipment as donations from the Department of Science and Technology and the Department of Agriculture. The Nagpana Minorities Association and the NGO group Taytay sa Kauswagan also help ensure that the coffee shop and processing facilities have enough resources.
Sustainability is all the more important, as the coffee the Atis make is not just for them, but for the rest of Iloilo, too. In fact, they supply coffee to some cafes in the city.
As we walked around, the scent of coffee lingered in the air like a pleasant perfume. I took it as an invitation to buy some freshly roasted and ground coffee to take home.
I watched the coffee I ordered packed and sealed in black pouch bags, which looked simple yet nice to give as gifts. Later, I gave some to coffee-lover friends.
I was happy to see – and buy – drip coffee, too, which I usually just see in Vietnam. It’s great to see it made fresh in our country, especially in a community-based enterprise.
We also had the opportunity to taste ready-to-drink coffee at their cafe. I had their iced coffee, which reminded me of the frappés I sometimes order in Manila as a treat.
I was told Nagpana Waterfalls was just nearby, and we would have gone if our time was not limited. Some tourists drink Nagpana’s coffee while enjoying the view of the falls. Locals also guide travelers on tours around the forest. There, coffee grew in the wild before the Atis cultivated them. Knowing the area was a natural home to coffee plants also helped ensure the success of their enterprise.
With many indigenous peoples living in poverty—some even driven away from their land—it is heartening to see the Atis in Sitio Nagpana living in land that is rightfully theirs, thriving from their handiwork and nature’s gifts.
