Awarding a PDS Member: OWWA Balik Pilipinas Hanapbuhay Program



Congratulations to our Cacao Amazona from Sagbayan, Bohol! It is to be remembered how she was repatriated from Kuwait a year ago. Without any means to support her family, she came home to the Philippines with just her belongings and blurred dreams.

When she found out about Plantacion de Sikwate’s seminar with DOST Bohol, she attended for a day got know more about the benefits of cacao planting and chocolate making. Since then, she went on a mission to save two things: her family’s best interests and the Filipino Aromatico heirloom cacao’s white beans.

She now is doing well and have attracted the nods of OWWA-Region VII for being one of the 1,000 beneficiaries of the Balik Pilipinas Hanapbuhay Program.

Awarding rites are currently happening for the OWWA 2019 Marilag Award where she is the deserving awardee. In behalf of Plantacion de Sikwate Board Members, Officers and the entire Cacao Community, CONGRATULATIONS Ms. Felipa ‘Indai Le’ Cortes of Sagbayan, Bohol!!!! You are indeed the epitome of a Woman of Inspiration.


March 30, 2019 The OWWA 2016 Mariliag Awardee for Balik Pinas, Balik Hanapbuhay Program paid a courtesy call at the PDS Heaquarters today. WIth her are PDS CEO Mel Santos and his wife Maam Allie, and PDS Nestor Saludo. Sharing her “Oscar-award” like grateful thanks to all who helped achieved her dreams.
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Maraming akong dapat pasalamatan… Unang una ang Diyos na laging naka patnubay.

Sa OWWA Overseas Workers Welfare Administration at sa mga iba pang tao na tumulong sa aking mabilisang pag uwi from Kuwait noong ako’y nagpa repatriate.

Sa tulong ng Plantacion de Sikwate Cacao Producers Association, Inc. (PDS) ay nakapag simula ako ng Cacao Nursery at naitayo ko ang Villa Cortes Criollo Farm. Dinagdagan pa ito ng tulong financial ng OWWA para sa kanilang Balik Pinas Balik Hanapbuhay Program. Sa ngayon nga ay meron na akong produktong Indai Le Tablea na sinusuportahan naman ng Department of Trade and Industry. Salamat sa walang sawang suporta ng aming Negosyo Center dito sa Sagbayan at kay Sir Blair Panong at Ms. Ai Rish. Dahil dito ay nabigyan ako ng Award sa katatapos lang na event ng OWWA.

Salamat din sa Office of the Provincial Veterinarian – Bohol (OPV) sa kanilang ibinigay na 12 ka pirasong Native Chicken na sa ngayon ay naparami ko na at ang iba ay nai ulam ko pa. ?

Salamat din sa drum na bigay DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VIIIIII (D.A.) thru SagbayanMunicipal Agriculture Office (MAO) Arlen Rosolada Aparrii . Malaking tulong ito lalo na ngayong tag init.

Kahit kulang na kulang ako sa financial para maka sustain ay may mga taong katulad ninyo na bukas palad para tumulong. Nawa’y pagpalain pa sana kayo ng ating Panginoon.

NEWS UPDATE 

 

 

Filipino Aromatico Official Carrier


Transporting our Golden babies via the PDS #FilipinoAromatico #Maharlica CARRIER – Philippine Airlines.

Thank you for making sure that our grafted Heirloom cacao seedlings arrive at their destination in Isabela.

Philippine Airlines – The Heart of the Filipino ❤️??

#deliveredbyAir
#preventsMortality
#PDScares
#officialcarrier
#OnwardsPhilippineCacao

CACAO LEVEL-UP SEMINAR @ QC

CACAO LEVEL UP SEMINAR
February 21, 2019 10AM-5PM
3/F TriNoma, EDSA cor. North Ave., Quezon City, Metro Manila

MEL SANTOS
CEO, Plantacion de Sikwate
* Filipino Aromatico Heirloom Cacao
* Planting the Heirloom Cacao (nursery to field)

ROMELA FABULA
President/Owner – Opulento Agriventures
* Cacao Biological farming system
* Biological pest control inputs
* Crop vaccination technology

CHRISTIAN VALDES
Chocolatier, CMV Txokolat
* Chocolate Bar making
* Pinoy Craft of Chocolate bars

Executive Chef CHRISTOPHER CARANGIAN
Food Historian, Jose Rizal University
* Philippine Food and our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal

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SECURE A SEAT for P3,000 (Inclusive of meals and certificate)

To Reserve a Seat, SMS/call:
Mel Santos 09167170207
Mia Concepcion 09155130093

*** All payments are to be settled on or before February 18, 2019 via
Plantacion de Sikwate Cacao Producers Association, Inc.
Banco de Oro, J. Center Mandaue City Branch
Account No. 00419-032-4488
** Once you successfully have deposited your fee, take a photo of the deposit slip and send to PDSCACAO@gmail.com or inbox at PDSCACAO here at FB.

TRUTH HELPS : Why Chocolate is good for you

Cacao Improves Type 2 Diabetes Symptoms

Note of caution: Commercially prepared cocoa, dark chocolate and chocolate bars from the grocery store are generally low in these helpful antioxidants and high in added sugars and should be avoided.

Raw unprocessed cacao should be the only type of chocolate considered for its beneficial health effects.


Antioxidants are very helpful for those with type 2 diabetes; they help to control blood sugar and protect against the harmful effects of glucose. Epicatechin, a flavanol in cacao, activates key proteins and help regulate glucose production, even among diabetics, helping to keep glucose levels more stable.

Test tube studies indicate that the flavanols in cacao can slow down carbohydrate digestion and absorption in the gut, improve insulin secretion,reduce inflammation and stimulate the uptake of sugar out of the blood and into the muscle.

Eating small amounts of flavanol-rich dark chocolate or cacao helps to improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar, and reduce inflammation in diabetic and nondiabetic people. Some studies have shown that a higher intake of flavanols, including those from cocoa, can result in a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

Helps with Weight Control
Cacao and even dark chocolate are a body’s best friend when it comes to weight control.

Surprised?

A population study found that those who ate chocolate more often had a lower Body Mass Index (BMI) than people who ate it less often—even though the chocolate eaters ate more calories and fat.

Another weight loss study published in the prestigious Internal Archives of Medicine found that a group on a low-carbohydrate diet given 42 grams or about 1.5 ounces of 81% cocoa a day lost weight faster than the regular diet group.

A dieter’s BEST friend!


However, heavy chocolate consumption of milk chocolate or commercially prepared chocolate can make you GAIN weight, but in controlled studies with low-sugar chocolate that is 81% cocoa or even better,cacao—you lose weight.

Cacao has the highest amounts of bioflavonoids, and therefore has the biggest weight loss benefits.

BEAT THAT!

source: chocolates

Cacao Stakeholders Forum, Villa Caceres Hotel, Naga City

We were invited by DA-Bicol to be one of the guest speakers at the Cacao Stakeholders Forum last August 31,2018.

Thank you for the new farmer friends I met and who have asked how to be part of our association.

For interested cacao farmers, just inform Ms. Cacao through FB messenger of PDSCACAO or leave a message here.

Here are the photos:

Cacao Level-Up Onsite Training in Quezon Province

We were invited by Mr. Julian Gonsalves, Senior Advisor at the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction to conduct a 2-day seminar in Quezon Province. Together with PDS CEO Mr. Mel Santos is Ms. Romela Fabula, PDS Bicol Chapter and PDS PRO for Cebu Chapter Nestor Saludo who prefers to be called Nestor Salcedo on this James Bond series of being a Secret Agent, and Mr. Marlon Enoc for teaching everyone how to graft the right way. 

The activities focused on the following:

Day 1 – Plantation de Sikwate Planting Programs (lectures and forums)

Day 2 – Onsite Training on cacao tree rehabilitation, side-grafting with heirloom budsticks, and more. Thank you Mr. Manuel Borre for welcoming us to your farm.  Different venues allowed #TeamPDS to show our cacao farmers that the true meaning of seminars and trainings does not limit or should not limit anyone to 4-walls. Literature can help but what matters is the actual feel of the soil under your feet, the dancing flowers on your hand, and the fragrance of the most aromatic cacao variety of them all — Criollo or Heirloom cacao.

We would like to thank LGU Guinayangan Municipal Agricultural Officer (MAO) Ms.  Belina Rosales for the Certificate of Appreciation we received.

Thank you Hon. Mayor Cesar J. Isaac III for the OTOP tokens and unforgettable accommodation your good office gave us. To all LGU officers and staff of the barangays in Quezon Province, we salute your dedication and true spirit to help uplift the lives of our Filipino farmers.

Cacao Level Up Onsite Training, Ubay Bohol

YOU ARE INVITED TO A TWO-DAY ONSITE TRAINING IN UBAY, BOHOL.

VENUE: Remina Cacao Farm, Sinandigan, Ubay, Bohol
TIME: 9AM – 4PM
DATE(s): AUGUST 21-22, 2018

REMINDER: This is an exclusive onsite-training for members of the Ubay Cacao Growers Association. HOWEVER, if you want to participate, kindly prepare your meals.

For inquiries, leave a message with:

MR. MEL SANTOS 0916 717 0207

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DAY 1 of the PDS CACAO LEVEL-UP ONSITE TRAINING for affiliate farmer members of the Ubay Cacao Growers Association.

Remina Cacao Farm, Ubay, Bohol

(click for photos)

(click for more photos)

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DAY 2 of the PDS CACAO LEVEL-UP ONSITE TRAINING for affiliate farmer members of the Ubay Cacao Growers Association.

Remina Cacao Farm, Ubay, Bohol

WHAT HAPPENED: More lectures and actual grafting procedures took place.

CONGRATULATIONS new members. #oathtaking

CACAO and COCONUTS.

intercropped for a sustainable livelihood during the PDS CACAO LEVEL-UP ONSITE TRAINING for affiliate farmer members of the Ubay Cacao Growers Association, Remina Cacao Farm, Ubay, Bohol

 

Ang Probinsyano by Mel Santos

As one of the fans of the telenovela ANG PROBINSYANO, I got to chat with an acquaintance I have not seen for quite a time while waiting for my ride home from the airport.

One of the character actors that Coco Martin (Ricardo Dalisay/Carding) singled out to be part of the supporting cast, who happens to be a godson to the late movie king Fernando Poe Jr. — Amay Bisaya.

Our 30-minute chat led us to his interest to support UBAY, BOHOL and learn more about cacao planting since his territory is Samar and Bohol. Amay requested to include him as a participant in the PDS seminars that would happen.

I joked him to bring Coco Martin when he attends the seminar since he (Coco Martin) has a mini-farm inside his mansion in Quezon City full of mango trees, papaya, ampalaya, talong, petchay, sili, among others. Green thumbs and farmers are close to PDS specially those whose farms have already planted the recommended intercrop-able plants with cacao.

I am glad to see friends and acquaintances, here and there, who show interest to our cacao. Perhaps the next person I might bump into again is Renato Hipolito (John Arcilla, of the Heneral Luna fame and good friend of Ms. Cacao who graced our event at the Marriott Hotel last 2016.)

We are all probinsyanos since we come from different regions in the Philippines. I am a Bulakenyo and Cebuano by heart.

Who knows what tomorrow may bring but wherever my passion leads me, I am proud to say I am a PROBINSYANO.

I HELP. I LISTEN. I INSPIRE.

Cherrels for Mi Amour

Planted in our PDS Training Center, Brgy. Atipuluan, Bago,City, Negros Occidental last February 2017. The prolific blooms then have resulted to prolific cherrels now.

Need I sing our song MY CHERREL (cherrie) AMOUR still? Planting continues with these happy hormones. Have a nice day!

#FILIPINOAROMATICO™.
#itstheTIPthatmatters

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FLOWERING STAGE
by: Chris Fadriga

it’s not the quantity of flowers that matters. it’s the cherrels that will bloom after that. flowers from cacao trees, in this photo is a young age of 20 months, is a proof that a rare kind of cacao variety unknown to Filipinos can really thrive in our country.

I personally cared for these babies from seedlings to trees. At the end of the day, some flowers may fall but some will stay. With the right planting technology we follow, these blooms will grow and be one of the most coveted cacao varieties due to its floral scent.

(click here for the photos)

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My CHERREL (cherrie) AMOR.

Soon you will hum the same song when your GOLDEN babies bear their first cherrels.

(watch here)