BAGUIO CITY – Women in barangay Happy Hallow were tapped by scientists from a Taiwan-based world-class university to propagate Arabica coffee which will be marketed in the foreign country.
Imelda Bisnar, president of the Outstanding Women Leaders (OWLs) in Baguio, said that she was able to network with scientists from the National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan who provided her with over a kilo of Arabica coffee seeds that will be propagated by the selected women in barangay Happy Hallow considering that Arabica coffee thrives best in semi-temperate areas like Baguio City.
“We will try to produce the Arabica coffee seedlings with the help of our women in barangay Happy Hallow to serve as part of their source of livelihood considering that one of the conditions of the provision of the seeds is that the coffee beans that will be produced will only be sold to Taiwan through the university,” Bisnar stressed during an interview aired over RPN-DZBS 1368 khz Thursday afternoon.
She disclosed that the scientists from the Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan will be coming to Baguio City by July to check on the progress of the propagation of the Arabica coffee seeds that they gave her and to assess the possibility of increasing the number of the coffee seedlings that will be planted in other similarly situated areas in the city.
According to her, the Happy Hallow was identified by the Taiwanese scientists as a suitable area to propagate the Arabica coffee seedlings because the same goes well with the trees that are existent in the place, thus, the OWLs and the Soroptimist International (SI) tapped the women in the place to be the ones that will propagate the coffee seeds that were given to her.
Bisnar claimed that the success of the Arabica coffee plantation in barangay Happy Hallow will definitely serve as a jump of point in the propagation of similar coffee seedlings in other barangays with the same condition and with the active involvement of women.
While it is true that the coffee beans that will be produced by the women of Happy Hallow will be sold only to Taiwan, she emphasized that the proceeds of the sale of the coffee beans will be an added income to the families of the women for them to help their husbands earn decent income that will contribute in uplifting the living condition of their families soon.
For the past several decades, the Cordillera, including Baguio City, has been known to be the source of quality Arabica coffee beans considering that the said coffee variety thrives best in the highlands, especially in areas with semi-temperate weather condition, thus, coffee lovers prefer to have the coffee beans produced in the different parts of the region due to its aroma and long-lasting caramelized taste.
Bisnar claimed that empowering women to take an active role in the society is considered to be fulfilling considering that there are many women who were able to excel in their fields of expertise and were able to effectively and efficiently perform their assigned duties and responsibilities, thus, women should always rise up to the occasion and become partners of men in becoming instruments of change..
OWLs is an organization of outstanding women leaders in the city who were recognized for their exemplary achievements in their fields of profession for over a decade now.
By HENT
