Hello dear Hivers. 🤗 I hope you're doing great on this wonderful day!
I was on my usual morning routine every weekend with the hubby going jogging around my little village that we decided to take a turn towards this trail heading to the TAFFERAC OFFICE as the sign tells.
I could see this sign every time I passed by this area descending to the heart of my hometown but only on this day that we thought of exploring this place, too!
The dense forest and lush greenery of the mountains seemed to invite us to take this narrow trail and find out what we could discover at the end of it.
So come with me on Our Hike To Discover the Hidden Treasure of Barangay Kal-anan!
The Beauty Along The Trail
It was already about past 7 o'clock that we decided to explore this place motivated to discover something new that lies hidden behind this mountain and thick bushes. It was a perfect time to climb as the sun was brightly up and the trail was dry.
The panoramic view of the mountains and forests greeted us a great morning as we looked towards the east! What I love about climbing mountains is the lush greenery that's so energizing and refreshing especially when done in the morning!
On our way up, I could recall the feeling when I was also exploring our School Biodiversity crowded with forest trees. (This article I posted in my previous blog)
The refreshing and cool atmosphere that the woods provide brings a sense of delight and calmness to the health and well-being of anyone who ventures with nature!
The fresh and cooling effect of the shady trees along the trail transpires in the area despite the bright rays of the morning sun! As the walk continued, different kinds of trees, young and mature ones, silently stood by the trail just quietly watching us get into their world.
I find myself in great joy upon seeing these nature wonders with this unplanned side trip that we did because I started to see the true beauty that lies hidden at this mountain!
The Discovery: The Hidden Treasure Behind the Mountain
Some common familiar and unfamiliar species of trees are seen along the trail and I bet there are still a lot more of these in this area!
This type of pine tree stands alone in this spot and I am quite amazed and surprised that it also exists here. I thought this only grows in cool places like the varieties of pine trees I saw during my trip to the "Summer Capital of the Philippines, Baguio City".
When I Googled it, I found this Here:
Pine trees in general prefer full sun and don’t tolerate shade particularly well. They don’t mind soil with low fertility and will also grow in soil that’s fairly sandy. They like acidic conditions best.
It was, then, I concluded that was why this pine tree manages to grow in this area because of the full sun that it enjoys every day.
As we walked further, my attention was caught by this kind of shrub (which seemed like wild berries) hanging at its branches but I assumed not edible. It appeared to be very productive with a bunch of fruits that are reachable by passersby even by children.
Following the trail further, we caught a glimpse of this flat clean surface at the top of this hill and we assumed we had finally reached the TAFFERAC OFFICE as shown by the sign standing by the side of the main concrete road at the beginning of the trail.
Bringing with us our curiosity and adventurous spirit, we ascended to the topmost part of the hill without hesitation and discovered something new which I didn't know about before coming here!
The TAFFERAC Office
Nestled on top of the wooded hill is a structure built for the purpose of holding meetings of the board of directors and members of the organization of farmers and fishermen of barangay Kal-anan and other neighboring barangays in the municipality of Tabogon. This organization is called TAFFERAC or the Tabogon Farmers and Fisherfolk Ecological Resource Agriculture Cooperative.
Used to be called TERMAI or the Tabogon Ecological Resource Management Incorporated, the TAFFERAC is an organization funded by the Department of Agriculture (DA)and its members are usually community residents and landowners of agricultural lands converted to timberlands according to the applicable Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) laws.
Calling out from outside whether somebody was around, we were welcomed by Tatay Ernesto who's the caretaker of the place. From him, we got some information about this cooperative and its goals.
As I looked inside their small office, I discovered it was provided with internet connectivity for easy access to their cooperative affairs. This also became the home of Tatay Ernesto who also facilitates the raising of native ducks (or itik in the local dialect) of this little farm.
With the government funds provided to local farmers thru the Municipal Agricultural Office, the members shall be given assistance by providing them with their sources of income such as raising livestock and other animals in their backyard.
These ducks are raised for egg production to create a popular Filipino delicacy called balut. A balut is a fertilized bird egg (usually a duck) that is incubated for a period of 14 to 21 days, and then steamed. The contents are eaten directly from the shell. It is a common street food in the Philippines. Source
And to sustain native duck farming, the water source is provided in this water tank built under this concrete structure (The TAFFERAC Office). The money that will be generated from the balut production shall be saved and members equally get their share of the income.
It was also from Tatay Ernesto that we learned that there are about 500 hectares of land from the different barangays in Tabogon that are under the protection of the DENR and are converted to timberlands.
The forest trees commonly found and preserved in these timberlands are tugas or molave, gemelina, matamban, awri and the most common one, the mahogany tree.
With the DENR placing these lands in protected mode made these trees preserved from human encroachment and keep the communities safe from natural disasters such as floods and landslides.
I'm glad I took this morning's hike towards the hilltop as I discovered not only the hidden beauty of the trees and nature behind the mountains in my little village but also learned about some programs the Philippine government provides to its people.
Let me end this blog by leaving you with this quote from Wangari Maathai, "A tree has roots in the soil, but it reaches the sky. It tells that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance."
And this is all for today's blog dear Hivers. Thank you so much for going with me on this little adventure. See you again on my next. Until then....