In the olden days, coffee farmers of Amadeo, Cavite give away their last can of harvest believing that abundance will come next season. The farmers call the said act as pahimis or thanksgiving.

The fourth class municipality of Amadeo in Cavite continues the essence of the said tradition through the Pahimis Festival. In support to that tradition, the Café Amadeo Development Cooperative (CADC), the biggest coffee group in the town, develops a unique blend of coffee called pahimis.

“Ang kapeng pahimis ng Amadeo ay kakaiba ang lasa dahil pinaghalo-halo itong Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, at Excelsa. Sa isang tasa ng kape, matitikman mo na lahat ng kapeng tumutubo sa Pilipinas (Amadeo’s pahimis coffee blend has a unique taste because it is a combination of Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, and Excelsa varieties. In just one cup, you can taste all the coffee grown in the Philippines),” CADC Chairperson Generoso Olivar Bunyi said.

For CADC to further develop its products including the pahimis blend, it has partnered with the Cavite Provincial Government and the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) for the establishment of a coffee processing facility. The P12.7 million-worth subproject will benefit not only the 284 cooperative members (83 of which are coffee growers), but also the wider agrarian community of Cavite.

CADC members hail from Amadeo and from the neighboring town of Silang and cities of Tagaytay and Trece Martires. Other members are from Laguna and Metro Manila. “Sa umpisa puro kami nagtatanim ng kape. Ngunit naisip namin na mas lalago ang aming kooperatiba kung bubuksan din namin ito sa mga taong hindi man nagtatanim ay may pagpapahalaga naman sa industriya ng kape (We started as a cooperative solely for coffee growers. However, the group decided to open it also to individuals who may not be farmers, but are supportive of the coffee industry),” Bunyi added.

The enterprise development (I-REAP) subproject of CADC with PRDP will involve the upgrading and expansion of the cooperative’s production facility. Currently, CADC operates a Shared-Service Facility (SSF) granted to them by the Department of Trade and Industry.  They also earn from other groups and enterprises which use the said facility.

Included in the subproject proposal is a 400-square meter processing plant with several equipment such as roasting machine, grinding machine, dehulling machine and other coffee equipment. Tools such as platform weighing machine, moisture meter, and stainless steel food trolley will also be procured through the funding of the PRDP and the local government unit. The cooperative’s counterpart include the provision of land, other goods, tools, and equipment as well as other operating costs.

“Sa ngayon kasi, roasting at grinding lang ang nagagawa namin, pero kapag naitayo na ang planta at dumating na ang mga equipment, lahat ng aspeto ng coffee processing ay kami na ang may kontrol (At present, we can only do roasting and grinding, but with the new plant and equipment, we can now do all aspects of coffee processing and take control of it),” CADC Manager Maria Agnes Madlangsacay said.

The cooperative’s current production of roasted beans is 2.5 metric tons per month, but when the support from PRDP comes, their production is expected to double at 5 metric tons per month. Likewise, CADC buys the green beans from farmers for P100 per kilogram, similar to what is being priced by a big multinational company. When CADC’s demand for beans will increase because of its increased production, it will pay the farmers P125 per kilogram of beans.

Madlangsacay said that CADC provides discounted products, patronage fund, and loans to its members. The cooperative also plans to extend its community services to schools and orphanages.

The I-REAP subproject is now at the procurement stage. On September 22, the procurement units of the PSO and RPCO trained the Cavite Provincial Project Management Implementing Unit (PPMIU) staff and CADC members on the procurement process based on the PRDP harmonized guidelines. Majority of the goods and services that will be procured will use the shopping method, while the dehulling machine will be procured through the community participation method.

“Masaya kami na malapit na kaming mag-procure. Maipapakita na namin sa susunod na general assembly na tuloy-tuloy na ito (We are happy that we will be procuring [goods and services] soon. We can now present during the next CADC’s general assembly that this [subproject] is really happening),” Bunyi said. ### (Lawrence Albert A. Bariring, DA-PRDP CALABARZON RPCO InfoACE Unit)