With government-provided processing equipment, training and market support, the farmers now produce turmeric tea and powder that reach customers through local markets and online orders.
The enterprise is run by the Eastern Aguinaldo and Community Development Association (EACODEA), whose 155 members are also responsible for helping manage and protect a 1,170-hectare forest area under the government’s Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) program.
From farm to market
For generations, farming in the mountainous community was labor-intensive, with incomes vulnerable to weather conditions, limited market access and dependence on middlemen.
Farmers also lacked the equipment, capital and technical skills to process their harvest into products that could command higher prices.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Cordillera Administrative Region (DENR-CAR) awarded the community a Community-Based Forest Management Agreement on Aug. 25, 2005, giving EACODEA stewardship of the forest area until Aug. 25, 2030.
A major step toward developing a community enterprise came in July 2022, when DENR-CAR provided assistance under the Community-Based Forest Management-Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
Instead of introducing an unfamiliar livelihood, the program built on crops and farming knowledge already present in the community. Turmeric and ginger were identified for processing into higher-value products, eventually leading to the establishment of a turmeric tea enterprise.
Adding value
DENR provided grinders, dehydrators, packaging tools and other processing equipment while training EACODEA members in production, financial management and enterprise operations.
Environment Secretary Juan Miguel “Mitch” Cuna said community-based forest management should allow communities to develop businesses capable of sustaining both livelihoods and forest protection.
“Our goal is a CBFMP community that runs a self-sustaining enterprise; that is real empowerment,” Cuna said.
He said the Ayangan community's experience also reflected the government's push to strengthen the agricultural value chain by enabling farmers to earn more through processing and other post-production activities.
The association received another boost on April 6, 2026, securing P2.33 million through the DENR-implemented CBFM-CARP for its Agroforestry Development Project.
EACODEA also developed links with other government agencies, including the Department of Trade and Industry, to strengthen its production, enterprise development and marketing capabilities.
Protecting forests
The livelihood program has also reinforced the community's role as forest stewards.
“It is programs like CBFM that equipped us with essential knowledge and skills, providing us with a reliable source of income, and a sustainable livelihood that helped our families. It was also through these plantations that we were able to protect our lands from kaingin and forest fires,” EACODEA president Juanito G. Maguiwe said in remarks translated from the local language.
EACODEA member Noli G. Maguiwe recalled that kaingin, or slash-and-burn farming, had threatened existing forests before the program.
“But now, the lots that were subject to kaingin are now being planted with forest and fruit trees,” he said in translated remarks.
Beyond the community
EACODEA's turmeric tea and powder are now sold at Ubao Market, allowing farmers to capture more value from their harvest instead of selling only raw produce.
Digital platforms have also expanded their reach, with customers able to place online orders and collect products at designated mountain pickup points.
For Bangguil's Ayangan farmers, the initiative has transformed a crop they already knew how to grow into a community enterprise while strengthening their ability to protect the land on which their livelihood depends.
What began with government-provided equipment and training is increasingly becoming a community-led business—one that seeks to make forest conservation and economic opportunity grow together. — Ed: Corrie S. Narisma
