'Ginto ng Sagada,' dokumentaryo ni Howie Severino, ngayong Sabado sa 'I-Witness'

"GINTO NG SAGADA"
Dokumentaryo ni Howie Severino
December 29, 2018

Matagal nang sikat ang Sagada, pero ngayon mas nakikilala na ito sa buong mundo dahil sa kape.  Ang kapeng tanim sa Sagada na Arabica Typica ay isang heirloom coffee na nanalo sa international coffee competition sa Paris, France.

Aakyat sa Sagada si Howie Severino para tuklasin ang mga sikreto sa likod ng world-class na kape.

Sa Sagada makikita ni Severino ang ipinaghalong moderno at lumang proseso ng paggawa ng kape.  Sa kaniyang paglalakbay, madidiskubre niya ang naging malungkot na kapalaran ng magsasakang lumikha ng award-winning coffee.

Mapait man ang kaniyang sinapit, nag-iwan siya ng isang alternatibong landas para sa Sagada.  Imbis na masira ang destinasyong ito dahil sa polusyong dulot ng mabigat na trapik at libo-libong turista, ang kape ay nagbibigay ng oportunidad para payabungin ang kalikasan at tulungan ang maliliit na taniman at magsasaka sa isang pandaigdigang industriya.

Ang pagbisita ni Severino sa Sagada ay isang paglalakbay sa nakaraan, at isa ring paglalakbay sa maaaring maging kinabukasan ng industriya ng kape sa bansa.

English version

Sagada’s attractions are legendary and legion, but now it’s also on the world map for its coffee. Its Arabica Typica heirloom coffee variety has won a major gourmet prize in Paris, besting coffees from around world.

Howie Severino and his java-loving team venture to one of their favorite towns to investigate the secrets of producing world-class coffee.

On Sagada’s farms, they see both modern and traditional ways of processing and roasting coffee. Along the way, they learn that the gourmet award-winning coffee farmer met a tragic fate soon after his triumph.

His legacy is revealing that specialty coffee can be an alternative development path for picturesque places like Sagada, where tourist traffic threatens its fragile ecology and dirties its air. Coffee is a high-value crop that enhances biodiversity, benefits even backyard farms, and makes small farmers players in a booming global industry.

The journey to chilly Sagada is a misty, caffeinated trip down nostalgia lane. But it also opens up a surprising vista of the future, where the Philippines recaptures its coffee glory and creates a lucrative and fair livelihood that enriches the land.