INDIGENOUS COLLECTION AND MARKETING OF WILD HONEY AND ALMACIGA RESIN IN PALAWAN: THE NATRIPAL EXPERIENCE

Transcription

1 INDIGENOUS COLLECTION AND MARKETING OF WILD HONEY AND ALMACIGA RESIN IN PALAWAN: THE NATRIPAL EXPERIENCE Arsenio B. Ella Scientist III, Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), College, Laguna 4031 Philippines

2 Introduction Palawan The Philippines' largest province with 1,300 islands

3 where the best quality of honey and almaciga resin could be found; sources of about 80% of almaciga resin production in the Philippines

4 dubbed as the country's last frontier boasting the most diverse flora and fauna; and increasing demand of tourism industry

5 home to 3 main ethnic groups or indigenous people (IPs), viz: a) Bataks numbering around 400 households inhabiting the northern central part; b) Tagbanuas in the central of about 7,000 households; and c) Palau'an estimated at 30,000 households dominating the southern part

6 where NATRIPAL (Nagkakaisang Tribu ng Palawan), an association of IPs organized in 1989 to advocate for recognition of ancestral tenurial rights; and to enhance indigenous people's organization capacity in sustainable management, trading and marketing of non-timber forest products (NTFP) like wild honey and almaciga resin

7 Objectives To gather the experiences and insights of NATRIPAL in the establishment and operation of almaciga resin and honey gathering, trading and marketing To improve and recommend appropriate technical skills along indigenous people's expertise and collection practices of almaciga resin and honey

8 Materials and Methods Three indigenous or local communities, e.g., Kampung Ulay and Kayasan in Puerto Princesa City (provincial capital of Palawan), and Punta Baja in Rizal town are sites of the study.

9 Interviews of individuals knowledgeable involved in the actual gathering of honey and almaciga resin processing and marketing activities

10 Results and Discussion A. Honey Gathering Honey refers to the sweet substance produced by honeybees from the nectar of blossoms Two types of bee species of high commercial value locally known as pukyutan are sources of best honey in Palawan, e.g., Apis cerana and Apis mellifera Honey serves as food and medicine

11 Perform lambai rituals Incorrect performance of rituals result to poor harvest of honey Bees sensitive to body odor; aggressive to smell of blood; irritated to the smell of dead bees No eating of honey near hives Hives are gifts to the finders by the guardians of the forest and the bees

12 Considered as a male activity where women participate only in the processing and marketing Climbing for honey hives is the most laborious part but is enjoyable. Gatherer cuts the upper part of the hive above the combs leaving some of the brood so that the colony can go back to its original size in 2 weeks time With the assistance of rattan hoists, the trees are climbed and the nests lowered on pulleys or via plastic container attached to a rope and collected by those below the tree Honey season (February to April) is a much anticipated time among the indigenous communities

13 10-20 hives are located per trip 2 gallons average yield per hive 30 containers (5 gallons each) are collected for the whole season per family PhP 10, (US$ ) income for the whole honey gathering season

14 The common practice of honey processing is by pressing the honeycomb to extract the honey

15 The hygienic practice of honey processing is by cutting the upper part of hive above the combs and let the honey pass through a cheese cloth

16 Passing the honey through a sieve

17 Placing the cleaned honey into bottles or plastic containers ready for selling

18 Market Flow of Honey

19 Problems encountered 1) High moisture content; 2) Impurities; 3) Fermentation; 4) Diversity of honey-flavor, color, aroma and others; 5) Adulterations; 6) Standardization requirements of buyers; 7) Pricing ; and 8) Irregular supply

20 B. Resin collection Cutting of Almaciga (Agathis philippinensis Warb) trees in the country is banned thus its utilization is restricted to the resin Almaciga resin is used for varnishes, paints, soaps, printing inks, linoleum, shoe polish, floor wax, etc. In 2004, the Philippine Forestry Statistics reported that 230,000 kg of almaciga resin valued at US$ 222,000 were exported.

21 Almaciga trees are located a day's walk from local communities Tappers have kapatas or leader Tappers and collectors spend 3-5 days at a time in the forest to collect resins where they set up their temporary camping sites Sacks of resin (45 kg each) are transported on foot down inclined terrain, initially to IPs community and finally to NATRIPAL warehouse in Puerto Princesa City The peak period for resin gathering is during dry season 150 kg of resin/tapper/month

22 Majority of resins are sent abroad, others are shipped to Cebu City (Central Philippines) for local processing into paints and varnishes.

23 FPRDI Tapping Techniques

24 NATRIPAL Tapping Techniques

25 Market Flow of Resin

26 Problems by IP tappers 1) Unfamiliarity of legal framework surrounding almaciga resin utilization; 2) Insufficient knowledge in almaciga resin tapping; 3) Cleaning and grading of resin; 4) Trading and marketing of resins; and 5) Pests and diseases of almaciga trees.

27 Conclusions NATRIPAL in collaboration with FPRDI-ITTO project brought Palawan 's indigenous communities the idea of community organizing, giving priority to the livelihood concerns of honey and almaciga resin gatherers and traders. Honey gathering as an enterprise is a very viable activity - low capital input and technical requirements - yields high returns per unit of time Collection of almaciga resin is a profitable endeavor - further technical assistance on the scientific collection, cleaning, grading, trading, marketing or negotiation with buyers are deemed necessary The interaction between NATRIPAL and FPRDI has enlightened the IPs on the possibility of self-determination and the importance of their tenurial holdings, thus maintaining their hold on the forest resources on which their livelihood is anchored.