A common lament nowadays is that young people don’t want to go into agriculture because there is no money in it. Daniel Jason “Kumafor” Maches and Ricky Lacbongan, both 24, from Barlig, Mountain Province are out to prove both sentiments wrong
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Daniel Maches and Ricky Lacbogan, both 24, believe that coffee farming can be a lucrative venture that can also encourage rainforest conservation.The duo started the Barlig Rainforest Coffee Project in 2021 after a chance conversation with a coffee shop owner in Sagada inspired Maches to revive his family’s coffee farm in Barlig.
Maches admits that finding the capital to start the farm can be difficult, especially since Lacbogan is still in university and Maches is the breadwinner of his family, but the two have managed. “Capital is really a challenge, but… we don’t want to make it a big deal. We’re working with what we have,” he says.
The land is partially cleared to make space for the coffee trees. Since it is sloped, the farm is built as terraces to prevent soil erosion. The coffee is currently intercropped with ginger, and there are plans to plant lemongrass as well, since both plants will help hold the soil in place. In Maches’ case, some of his father’s lemon trees still remain on the property, so he’s planted coffee around them.
Another challenge is that there are some road projects in the area that don’t exactly line up with conservation and sustainability values, something that Maches worried might lead to environmental loss. All of these, plus the need to make money, are some of the pressures that ride on the success of the farm. “We hope that the pilot farm succeeds so we can get it recognized by the ATI ,” Maches says.
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