We honor the land and the hands that cultivate our coffee beans by supporting homegrown brands that uplift the livelihood of local farmers.
By empowering local coffee farmers with technical expertise and connecting them to the right markets, social enterprises help strengthen livelihoods and build sustainable communities.
The mission and legacy
Aponi Bayosa (grandchild of Bayosa) is a social enterprise on a mission to uplift local farmers by sourcing premium specialty beans from the highlands.
Fides Herrera-Lim, founder of Aponi Bayosa, is an Ibaloi woman who sought to reconnect with her roots in the highlands of Benguet. Upon returning to Benguet, she discovered that her great-grandmother —after whom her brand is named —had been a coffee farmer.
To honor that legacy, Fides now works closely with local farming families to source exceptional specialty beans, while championing the preservation of the Philippines’ rich and diverse coffee heritage.
Working alongside Stella Longa Sutton—who oversees the marketing and distribution of beans from the highlands to Manila—they strive to empower the women growers of Arabica beans in Atok, Benguet, by introducing their harvest to coffee experts and connoisseurs.
Challenges: distance and logistics
Managing Aponi Bayosa has not been an easy task for Fides and Stella—especially for Fides, the wife of former Ambassador to Denmark Leo Herrera-Lim. In 2019, she accompanied her husband on his posting to Denmark, but distance did not deter her from finding ways to help Atok’s farmers earn a decent livelihood.
In 2022, Fides and Stella recognized the farmers’ need for their own coffee roaster. At the time, they had to drive three hours just to access one. Within weeks, the duo returned to the mountains with a roaster in tow—made possible through the generosity of friends. The new equipment became a game changer for the Atok farmers, saving both time and production costs.
“Aponi Bayosa is a testament to the passion, dedication, and craftsmanship of Filipino farmers who cultivate these extraordinary beans. We are deeply honored to support women indigenous farmers. Our commitment is to honor their hard work while delivering to you a truly distinctive coffee experience,” she said during the launch of Aponi Bayosa on Oct. 25, 2025.
Noncoffee drinker turned cafe owner
Anatista Perez didn't even drink coffee before she opened Don Narciso Cafe in Claveria, Misamis Oriental. She and her husband, who are both civil engineers, are former overseas Filipino workers in the Turks and Caicos Islands near the Bahamas.
To prepare for a comfortable retirement in the Philippines, the couple purchased a farm lot planted with coffee trees. Eager to understand her farm’s potential, Ana immersed herself in learning about coffee.
Her dedication eventually paid off—she became a certified Q Grader, a licensed professional qualified to evaluate and score roasted coffee using the Specialty Coffee Association’s100-point scale.
Her business has grown from simply buying and roasting coffee to owning a farm, running a café and training fellow farmers. Along the way, Ana discovered that sharing her knowledge with other coffee growers has been one of the most rewarding parts of her journey.
These days, Ana is on a mission to help coffee growers thrive by sharing what she knows about technology and sustainability. She believes that better-quality seeds are key to bringing out the richest flavors in every cup.
“There's a critical need for better quality seeds and a shift away from just planting to ensuring the fruit-bearing success of the trees,” she says. While she notes that government agencies and local governments are helping with logistics and supporting farmers' training, more support is still needed to help the local coffee farmers achieve profitability.
Vital role to play
Coffee experts Neil Patrick Barria and Arvy Uy demonstrated the art of roasting and cupping to unlock the depths of coffee’s flavor and aromatic characteristics.
Both emphasized that each of us has a vital role to play in ensuring the continued growth and success of the coffee industry—not only locally, but on a global scale as well.
“Before we brew coffee, let’s take a moment and look carefully at the roasted beans. Smell its aroma, think of the long process that it has gone through since the day it was planted, handpicked and sorted in their respective origin. [Let us] reflect on the long chain of specialty coffee and the people behind the quality of the cup that you are now holding,” Arvy says.
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