[NPO APLA] Post-event report on banana production area tour in the Philippines – Japanese consumers experience bananas grown in harmony with nature and the lives of producers
Specified non-profit organization APLA Press release: September 26, 2024 After-action report of banana production area tour in the Philippines – Japanese consumers experience bananas grown in harmony with nature and the lives of producers Sponsored by NPO APLA, a tour to visit banana producing areas in Lake Cebu Town, Mindanao Island, Philippines will be held from August 25th to September 1st. Through interaction with producers and experiencing harvesting, we deepened our understanding of the production area
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distribution and retail, others who were interested in child poverty and education in Asia, and others who studied in the tropical tropics. The students had a variety of interests, including students who were interested in plants. Some of the customers come from families that are members of the co-op and have been eating Balangon bananas since childhood, while others regularly purchase APLA products. The destination of this tour is Lake Cebu town on Mindanao Island in the southern part of the Philippines. This is the first time we have planned a tour of this faraway production area, which takes two full days by plane and land from Japan. Lake Cebu town is an area where many indigenous tribes such as the Tivoli and Obo people live. Due to its high altitude, it is cool and comfortable to spend time in, and the beautiful scenery along Lake Sebu has made it a famous tourist destination.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-54e2e54b072380cbddf821222a680ec5-960×1120.png All Balangon banana production areas. Lake Cebu is the southernmost area. (Illustration provided by Alter Trade Japan Co., Ltd.) APLA Banana Production Area Tour Schedule Summary 8/25 Meet at Davao Airport at 7pm. Stayed in Davao. 8/26 Visited Balangon Banana Producers Group in Tupi Town. After that, go to Lake Cebu town. 8/27 In the morning, we visited the public market in the town. In the afternoon, there was an orientation session by a producer group in Lake Cebu Town, and a networking session to make sweets using substandard Balangong bananas. 8/28 Visited a banana plantation located in a town next to Lake Cebu town. 8/29 I went to the Balangon banana production area in the mountains. Experience banana harvesting and interact with producers and children. Overnight stay in this village. 8/30 Visited the packing center. 8/31 Review meeting with producer groups 9/1 Disbanded at General Santos Airport
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-ace4f7e9c4f651722da17088afd03196-1178×924.png Location of Lake Cebu Town
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-8a288edfddd4402b889a04909f25f881-1328×1188.png Lake Sebu Days 1 and 2: Traveled from Japan for two full days. At night, I finally went to Lake Cebu town Transfer to a domestic flight from Manila Airport and proceed to Davao Airport, the meeting point. We will stay here for the first day. On the second day, we left Davao early in the morning and took a private car to Tupi town, which is just before our destination, Lake Cebu town. This is also a Balangon banana producing area, and we had a short time interacting with a producer group. There were so many questions and so many exchanges that we ran out of time, but we arrived at Lake Sebu town around 7pm. Day 3: Visited Balangon Banana Producers Group in Lake Cebu Town. Lecture and cooking exchange session On the third day, August 27th, we went to the seminar house of UAVOPI, the Balangon Banana Producers’ Association, who had accepted our tour. There, there was an
orientation session about the history, significance, and current issues of Balangong Banana People to People Trade in Lake Cebu Town, and the participants interacted with young Balangong producers. In the afternoon, producers and tour participants will have time to make ice cream and banana chips together using locally produced rejected bananas (substandard bananas) that are rejected before they reach Japan. I had it.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-a787d3f21b995ca2ff8f59599184d417-2040×1536.jpg Orientation situation
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-42a80ec18a96d5155b81c945d5ae6b3c-1680×746.png From the left: banana ice cream, banana ice cream cake, and banana chips. The Filipino style (?) seasoning was much sweeter than the sweets eaten in Japan. For the past three years, APLA has been promoting an activity called the Poko Poko Banana Project, which promotes the effective use of substandard Balangon bananas. This is a project that utilizes substandard Balangon bananas that are sorted after they arrive in Japan. For APLA, which serves as the secretariat of the project, it was very stimulating to be able to work with banana producers to consider the use of rejected bananas. Day 4: Visit a plantation in a neighboring town and discuss the differences with Balangon bananas On the fourth day, August 28th, we visited Tivoli town, which is located next to Lake Cebu town. Tivoli town is an area where banana plantations (large-scale farms that produce a single crop mainly for export) are widespread, and problems such as aerial spraying of pesticides have been pointed out for some time. We were able to tour the plantation fields with the guidance of members of the Balangon Banana Producers’ Association.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-3d7a2f62dc7868bd6959fbbcf136ba80-1848×812.png Bananas grown at a plantation in the neighboring town of Tivoli. The soil is hard and the stems are discolored due to pesticides In the Balangon banana field, there is a lot of grass growing and the soil is soft, but in the plantation banana farm, there was no grass growing at all and the soil was hard. Some of the banana stems are also pale pink, and according to the person who guided us around, the unnatural color is probably due to pesticides. There was a fine white substance attached to the leaves. After completing the tour, tour participants said, “The fact that many of the bananas sold in Japan come from these farms is not widely known, which is a big problem.” Ta. Day 5: An hour and a half drive from the town center to a village in the mountain area. Experience banana harvesting. On the 5th and 6th days, August 29th and 30th, we headed from the town to the mountains and visited a production area in a mountainous area. When we arrived at the village after driving for about an hour and a half along a mountain road from the center of Lake Klebu town, we found a rich world far beyond our imagination. What left a strong impression on me was that the environment in which bananas are grown is full of “biodiversity.” APLA is currently producing a picture book that features Balangon bananas as the main characters, and the places where the main characters grew up are set in these mountainous production areas. Up until now, the picture book has been produced with reference to photographs taken by APLA and the banana representatives of our sister organization, Alter Trade Japan, a company that imports and sells Balangon bananas. What unfolded was exactly the world I was trying to depict. For example, Balangong bananas were grown together with various crops such as corn, cassava, potatoes, and coconuts, and some farmers even kept bees.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-2c49786ccc9636d1d34b917bfe095625-2025×2700.jpg In addition to the crops, we also met many kinds of animals in the fields. Carabao (buffalo), goats, horses, pigs, chickens, dogs, and cats. And lots of insects too. In the morning, I saw a large spider (I thought I saw it) and I jumped out of bed. It was truly full of biodiversity, both plants and animals.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-2f79a61d2714c185afaaa8757d02429b-1706×1150.jpg Producers lived with many livestock At the field, the tour
participants were shown the harvest process and experienced the harvest while receiving direct guidance from the producers. Balangon bananas are tall, so they are harvested by making a cut in the trunk (stem) with a machete and knocking it down, but when I actually tried it, I found that the cut was made high and the trunk was hard, so I didn’t have to use a machete to cut it. Participants who are not used to using it may find it difficult to make cuts. They were also surprised at how heavy the bananas they harvested were. Each lump (called a bunch) weighs about 30 kg, and we have a hard time lifting it. However, according to producers, depending on the field, they may have to carry the crops for hours to get to the collection point. The picture book also depicts scenes of harvesting and transportation to the collection point, and we strive to depict these processes carefully.
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https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-cd88237843b8fb044b60e3fa34c19388-1108×1477.jpg We returned to the village and interacted with the children until dinner. At first, there was a sense of distance between us, but as soon as we started playing with paper balloons and kendama that we had brought from Japan, we quickly warmed up to each other. At night, the village is pitch black. Since the village does not have electricity, the only light source is solar lights provided by the producer group. For accommodation, we rented a healthcare center (a place like a community center) in the village. After having dinner, I went to bed early.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-c91953ffd155f9871d35c07236e1cb79-1742×656.png Day 6: Depart from the village and go to the town’s packing center The next day I woke up to the sound of chickens crowing. Until noon, the tour participants enjoyed their time by taking walks, writing messages on commemorative banners, and playing with the children before they went to school. The participants said, “When I heard that I was able to buy rice after I started growing Balangon bananas, I realized that buying Balangon bananas was of some help to the farmers’ lives. I understand, I felt firsthand that “buying Balangon bananas supports the livelihood of the producers.” “I heard that you started beekeeping, and I wanted to try various things in the current environment.” It’s amazing how many people there are.” “I wrote a message in Japanese on the banner, and they asked me what the Japanese words meant, and even imitated the words.” I’m glad you said that to me,” and many other comments were made. Even though we only stayed for one night and didn’t really understand each other’s language, it was an intense time that made me realize how close our hearts can be.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-2f8b59ce576bcb96b4482b9791f24ad0-2560×1920.jpg A final commemorative photo with everyone in the village We returned to town and toured the “Packing Center”. Bananas brought in from each village are carefully washed with water, the stems are neatly cut, and then sorted according to standards. We will put 13.5 kg into each box. I was told that quality control is important, so there was a pile of rejected bananas (substandard bananas) next to me, and I learned once again that bananas that have been sorted this way come to Japan. Afterwards, tour participants also experienced cleaning and boxing bananas. We interviewed packers (people who work at packing centers). On this day, they had to finish packing 1,200 boxes by evening, so while they were talking to us, they were still working at the same speed, which surprised the participants. Voices were being raised.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-c9501ad3d3a89398a16cfea4532c1dea-1438×484.png From left: Banana cleaning, boxing, rejected banana Day 7: Review meeting with the producer group UAVOPI On the seventh day, August 31st, we held a review meeting with members of the producer
organization UAVOPI. Each of the tour participants made a presentation about what they felt after visiting Mindanao, and we also received messages from the people of UAVOPI. APLA also introduced a prototype picture book currently in production.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-fb78a314835740ea7d3ea68404a74ef3-1652×612.png Producers looking at the prototype picture book. Although I can’t read the text, I enjoyed looking at the illustrations Voices from tour participants: The next morning, September 1st, the tour disbanded at the airport in Jen Santos. Below are some comments from participants during the review on the 7th day. I had eaten Balangon bananas in Japan and knew what kind of bananas they were, but I was able to learn more deeply by actually seeing how they are cultivated and the efforts and ingenuity of the producers. Ta. I don’t think there are many opportunities to visit the production area. I’m really glad I was able to come this time. There are some people who can’t come even if they want to. In order to make the most of what I learned this time, I want to share it with various people after I return to Japan. It was great to be able to visit Plantation Banana Farm. I think most of the bananas sold in Japan are grown in these places. There are a lot of people who don’t know about it, so I want to tell them about it. As a university student, I am limited in what I can do, but I can buy Balangon bananas and tell others about them. Even after I return home, I want to continue thinking about what I can do as a university student. I received a lot of energy from the children. It was a short time, but it was an unforgettable time. I hope to be able to come again someday. I learned the importance of continuing to communicate with producers. I believe that by continuing to do so, we can build trust and overcome any major problems that arise. Although the time was short, it seems to have been a fruitful experience for the participants. Details are yet to be determined, but we plan to plan a tour like this next year as well.
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-15aefb56de4c5465345483fe43c86433-2400×1600.jpg Balangon Banana siblings Ran and Gon travel from the depths of the mountains of the Philippines to Japan, going through many stages. The two finally arrive in Japan, but before they know it, Ran has a scratch on her body… Banana no Ran and Gon Publishing Project, target amount is 2.5 million yen, until September 30 Target amount: 2.5 million yen Implementation period: 8/7-9/30 The Poko Poko Banana Project effectively utilizes Balangon bananas, which for various reasons become “substandard” and are thrown away, resulting in food waste. As a major activity this year, we are producing a picture book called “Banana no Ran to Gon” that will explain the existence of food waste in a fun way to even young children, and we are holding a fundraiser to raise funds for the publication costs.
https://camp-fire.jp/projects/764990/ ・What is Poko Poko Banana Project
https://prcdn.freetls.fastly.net/release_image/144576/5/144576-5-a95f683c5d2d344388c4dc9b5e6d439a-406×492.jpg This is a participatory project in which many people can utilize bananas that would normally end up as food waste because they end up substandard due to scratches or other reasons after they arrive in Japan. Start: September 2021~ Substandard Balangon bananas put to good use: 14,570kg (collected from September 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023) URL: https://poco2banana.info SNS: @poco2banana ・Organization overview Organization name: APLA (English name: Alternative People’s Linkage in Asia) Established: October 2008 Representative director: Zaihiro Mikoku Head Office: Sunrise Shinjuku 3F, 2-4-15 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0072 URL: https://www.apla.jp/ Camel shed sailing room Takako Chiba/Satoshi Chiba Office: 764 Kosaka, Nachikatsuura-cho, Wakayama 649-5452 Store “Rakudasha”: 742-2 Kuchirokawa,
Nachikatsuura-cho, Wakayama 649-5451 URL: https://rakudasha.com ・Inquiries regarding this matter Poko Poko Banana Project Secretariat (within APLA, a specified non-profit organization) Person in charge: Fukushima E-mail: poco2banana@gmail.com tel： 03-5273-8160 fax： 03-5273-8667 Sunrise Shinjuku 3F, 2-4-15 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-0072