Aired (December 14, 2024): Noong 1521, natagpuan ni Magellan sa Cebu ang isang puno na kalaunan ay nakilala bilang "Kaningag" o cinnamon. Bagamat sagana ito noon sa Pilipinas, unti-unti na itong nakalimutan. Ngunit ngayon, may isang grupo na layuning buhayin muli ang "Kaningag" o cinnamon sa bansa.
Samahan si Mav Gonzales na tuklasin ang yaman ng kaningag sa bansa at ang mga benepisyo nito
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Samahan si Mav Gonzales na tuklasin ang yaman ng kaningag sa bansa at ang mga benepisyo nito
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00:00AYON SA NAITALA SA KASAYSAYAN
00:11According to history,
00:14when Magellan sailed to Asia,
00:17he brought along spices.
00:23In 1521, he went to Cebu,
00:27where they saw a type of tree spreading.
00:35Later, the Spaniards discovered
00:38that there are many of them in the Philippines.
00:41But as time passed,
00:44it suddenly disappeared
00:46due to the Filipinos' negligence.
00:52Now, there is a group
00:54that aims to multiply it and make it popular again.
01:08I accompanied them to climb the mountains of Negros Occidental
01:15to look for the trees that Magellan knew
01:19and now it is in the care of the people.
01:25The cinnamon.
01:28Also known as cinnamon.
01:33It sounds far-fetched and strange.
01:35First, we think of a fancy type of bread.
01:39But this ingredient comes from different types of cinnamon
01:44in the Philippines.
01:49DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO
01:51DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO
01:53DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO
01:59From Bacolod City,
02:01the trip takes more than an hour
02:03to the town of Don Salvador Benedicto or DSB.
02:09The road is not yet cemented.
02:11Climbing the mountain.
02:20DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO
02:22DON SALVADOR BENEDICTO
02:26The trip is intense.
02:50When it comes to Situlagdic,
02:53the real expedition has just begun.
02:59We are looking for a place at the top of the mountain.
03:03I am with November, the founder of Plantsville Health.
03:08A social enterprise that produces products with cinnamon in the Philippines.
03:13She is a gardener at home
03:15when it occurred to her to plant cinnamon,
03:18which is considered a superfood.
03:21That's where she started her research
03:23and got in touch with a friend
03:25from the Provincial Environment Management Office of Negros Occidental.
03:30We import up to 98% of cinnamon in the Philippines
03:34and yet we have 21 species of the Philippine cinnamon.
03:38They just knew that there was such a tree as kaningag
03:41that it smells good,
03:43that they make it as a snack
03:45because they sell it for chicken inasal.
03:48Now, when I told her,
03:50do you know that the kaningag is cinnamon?
03:53Oh, really?
03:54Even the mayor at the time did not know that the kaningag was cinnamon.
03:58And that phenomenon is actually still a phenomenon
04:01in the Philippines.
04:03November was given funding
04:05from the Women Helping Women Innovating Social Enterprise Program of the government.
04:11Before this,
04:12the farmers did not know
04:14if they were going to be able to produce
04:16a product with cinnamon.
04:18But now,
04:19with the help of the government,
04:21the farmers are able to produce
04:23a product with cinnamon.
04:25The government is now able to produce
04:27a product with cinnamon.
04:29Before this,
04:30the farmers did not know
04:32how important cinnamon was.
04:35What Ma'am November does is
04:37she teaches how to plant cinnamon
04:41and at the same time,
04:43she also trains them
04:45on how to produce high-value products out of cinnamon.
04:52The walk up the mountain is rainy and slippery.
04:56Obviously, this is not a frequent occurrence.
04:59But as November said,
05:01this might be the reason
05:03why you can see trees and plants
05:06that are already dry in other places.
05:08We stopped a few times
05:10because there are special plants that November can see.
05:15Can you smell?
05:16Can you smell?
05:18Can you smell?
05:19Just a little bit.
05:20Just a little bit?
05:21Yes.
05:22Usually, the essential oils
05:24like lemongrass,
05:25are high in essential oils,
05:26but there are like cinnamon.
05:28The oil content is only 0.2%.
05:31These plants are used
05:33in essential oils and aromatherapy.
05:37But the most important thing for them
05:39is the cinnamon.
05:42Before the Spaniards came,
05:4430% of the land in the Philippines
05:47is covered with Philippine cinnamon.
05:50So, and before the Spaniards came,
05:53we were trading already cinnamon
05:55in the silk route.
05:58But there is a rumor
06:00about cinnamon in these trees.
06:02It just looks like cinnamon.
06:04Here, it's close.
06:05This is our mistake with cinnamon
06:07because there are three lines.
06:12But smell it.
06:16Nothing, it's just grass.
06:18Peke!
06:19Yes.
06:21There are more than 250 species of cinnamon
06:25in the whole world.
06:27More than 20 are found here in the Philippines.
06:33But unfortunately,
06:34most of the species here in the Philippines
06:37are endangered.
06:41That's why November wanted
06:43to find all kinds of cinnamon in the country
06:46before they disappear.
06:48According to a story,
06:50the Spaniards wanted
06:52to have a monopoly on cinnamon.
06:57When I was in Cebu,
06:59there was an old man
07:01who said that they have a lot of cinnamon
07:03but they cut it
07:05because they were told it was fake news
07:07by a man who said that cinnamon is dangerous.
07:11The reason for that is
07:13during the Spaniards' time,
07:15and the Portuguese did this also
07:18because they wanted the locals
07:20not to plant cinnamon
07:22because they wanted to control the price of the cinnamon.
07:24But there's one group of people
07:26who didn't believe them
07:28and these are the IPs.
07:30Because, how did it become dangerous?
07:32Well, it's their medicine.
07:35So the DSB originally,
07:37this is really an IP community,
07:39there are two tribes here,
07:41Bukidnon and Ata.
07:43So they protected the cinnamon.
07:47This might be the reason
07:49why the information
07:51that there's a lot of cinnamon in the Philippines
07:53suddenly disappeared.
07:55Only a small group knows about it.
08:00Cinnamon is called Kaningag here in Visayas.
08:03Kalingag in Luzon
08:05while Karingag in Mindanao.
08:13In our walk,
08:15we saw the most endangered species of cinnamon
08:17in November.
08:19So, can you see?
08:21Are the leaves different?
08:23They're different.
08:25So this one is
08:29Cinnamon Ebaloy,
08:31Cinnamon Rupestre,
08:33and this one is Cinnamon Inners.
08:35So the shape of their leaves
08:37are different, right?
08:39The size is also different.
08:41Their texture is also different.
08:43This one is very, very important.
08:45There's no record now in the Philippines
08:47that it is here.
08:49It's recorded only in Malaysia.
08:51But it's here in the Philippines.
08:53This is 100% Betalinalul.
08:55So if you crush this,
08:57you smell on it,
08:59and it hits you,
09:01you'll wake up the next day.
09:03Their research also continues
09:05on the different species of cinnamon in the Philippines.
09:07With the funding of DOST,
09:09we were able to identify the species
09:11through collaborating
09:13with scientists, taxonomists,
09:15and then chemists
09:17to identify the chemical characteristics.
09:19That's a scientific breakthrough.
09:21So what we just need is
09:23to find a way how to propagate
09:25this in thousands
09:27and find a market
09:29for the products
09:31that we have.
09:33After an almost one-hour trek,
09:35we finally reached
09:37the top of the mountain
09:39and the only house here.
09:41We were greeted by
09:43Mrs. Mercedita.
09:45Hello!
09:47I'm Ma'am.
09:49I'm an eyewitness.
09:51Hello!
09:53Where did you start?
09:55In...
09:57Oh, Sinamanayon!
09:59Where are the others?
10:01Down there.
10:03Here, there's a new one.
10:05There's one over there.
10:07Let's see. There's a lot more.
10:09In 2018,
10:11Mrs. Mercedita started planting
10:13cinnamon with the help of November.
10:15The tree has been with them for a long time,
10:17but they don't know
10:19what it is.
10:21Do you know what cinnamon is?
10:23Do you know that you have it here?
10:25We know, but we haven't taken care of it
10:27because we don't know
10:29if we can sell it.
10:31Where do you use it?
10:33For cooking.
10:35My tooth hurts
10:37because it has a hole.
10:39We just plucked
10:41the leaves.
10:45From 10 trees before,
10:47she has planted
10:49600 trees now.
10:51Cinnamon is not easy to sell,
10:53so it's easy for them to multiply.
10:55But they have to wait
10:57for 2 to 3 years
10:59before they can sell it.
11:01In 3 years,
11:03it will be like this.
11:05It takes a long time to grow.
11:07Yes, just like this.
11:09Or maybe 5 feet.
11:11That's enough.
11:13Because there are some like this.
11:15What is it for?
11:17We add
11:19it to kalabaw.
11:21To make it bigger?
11:23Yes, to make it bigger.
11:25To grow faster.
11:29If you plant it fast, it will take a long time to grow.
11:31But if it's already there,
11:33it's worth the wait.
11:41I accompanied
11:43Mrs. Mercedita to plant
11:45new trees from wildling
11:47or the grass
11:49that grows in the mountains.
11:51There.
11:53There are a lot of roots, that's why she's doing that.
11:55Okay.
11:57So it should be
11:593 meters by 3 meters
12:01the distance
12:03of the plants to each other.
12:05Because it's getting bigger
12:07when it's old.
12:09Then they said,
12:11you should plant it under
12:13trees so it has shade.
12:15So it's not
12:17sensitive.
12:19It's not good for the sun.
12:27Mrs. Mercedita also encouraged
12:29other farmers to plant
12:31cinnamon.
12:33So aside from the
12:35common root crops,
12:37the trees of cinnamon spread
12:39in their fields.
12:49Last year,
12:51the Provincial Government of
12:53Negros Occidental also started
12:55a campaign for cinnamon.
12:57They regularly help
12:59cinnamon farmers.
13:01They gave 50 pcs.
13:05Then I bought
13:0750 pcs from Mrs. Mercedita.
13:11They all grew
13:13but when you bought,
13:15they died.
13:17Only 2 left.
13:19That's the problem
13:21with cinnamon.
13:23It should have shade.
13:25Because they are natural.
13:27They came from the mountains.
13:29Then we move them down.
13:31When the sun hits them,
13:33the soil hardens.
13:35They don't have enough water.
13:37That's why they die.
13:41Here in Negros,
13:43locals don't forget
13:45the benefits of cinnamon.
13:47Just last 2 weeks ago,
13:49I got sick
13:51and then my mother
13:53used the leaves
13:55then boiled it
13:57and then she make it
13:59to like
14:01I drink it
14:03and then I guess it really helps.
14:05What they want now is
14:07to introduce it to the Filipinos.
14:09That's our mission.
14:11Healthy environment,
14:13sustainable economic growth
14:15and empowered communities.
14:17We want
14:19the real
14:21Negros wood to come back.
14:23The indigenous wood.
14:27Our wood,
14:29our breath.
14:31That's the real Negros.
14:37That's why they encourage
14:39the residents to plant
14:41even though they are sick.
14:43Jemica is a college student now
14:45but she helps
14:47her parents to plant.
14:57They have a lot of plants
14:59outside their house.
15:01There are a lot of benefits
15:03that can help
15:05people
15:07in health,
15:09not only in health
15:11but also in livelihood.
15:13One kilo of leaves
15:15is 15 pesos.
15:17Is that a lot?
15:19Yes, because
15:21we don't cut the leaves.
15:23Just the leaves.
15:25So it's forever?
15:27Yes.
15:33Next to the mountain
15:35of Mother Mercedita,
15:39Father Paulito also
15:41takes care of
15:43the trees.
15:45When I was young,
15:47I didn't pay attention
15:49to this.
15:51There are a lot of people
15:53who cut the trees
15:55along with the residents.
15:57Now,
15:59we know that
16:01it can help us.
16:03We plant a lot of trees
16:05to help us
16:07find a way to live.
16:09Don't throw it away.
16:13He met November
16:15through the LGU.
16:21They taught him
16:23how to plant cinnamon.
16:39He likes to plant it
16:41instead of other fruits and vegetables.
16:43It's hard
16:45to live here.
16:47Our products
16:49get spoiled
16:51before they reach the market.
16:53When they reach the market,
16:55instead of buying
16:57whole bananas,
16:59we reject a lot of bananas
17:01because our roads
17:03are full of bananas.
17:05If I plant eggplants
17:07and tomatoes,
17:09they will be spoiled.
17:11I reject them
17:13because it's a waste.
17:17But,
17:19you don't harvest
17:21the cinnamon?
17:23No.
17:25We harvest the leaves
17:27because it's easier
17:29to work.
17:33Today,
17:35the cinnamon farmers
17:39are harvesting the leaves
17:41from Mother Mercedita's garden.
17:55The essential oil
17:57is extracted from the leaves of the cinnamon.
18:01While the bark
18:03of the tree
18:05is extracted from the cinnamon
18:07from Mother Mercedita's garden.
18:15But our harvest
18:17has just begun.
18:27I saw right away
18:29why cinnamon is
18:31a treasure.
18:33The heavy rain
18:35poured down,
18:37but we continued
18:39to harvest the leaves of the cinnamon.
18:47The rain is heavy.
18:53This is the bark.
18:55When it was like this,
18:57it took about a year
18:59before it came back.
19:01And
19:03the bark is used
19:05for sugar.
19:07That's what we eat.
19:09The leaves
19:11regenerate faster.
19:13You can harvest it every 6 months.
19:25Actually,
19:27compared to those
19:29that we have here,
19:31this one smells
19:33more like the regular cinnamon we know.
19:37It smells good.
19:39I just
19:41crushed it.
19:47Some of the trees
19:49are already in the field.
19:51Ma'am November said
19:53that they are trying to
19:55make the trees taller.
19:57You need to be able to reach it.
19:59Of course, a normal person
20:01can reach it.
20:03If Mother Mercedita
20:05and her husband are the only ones
20:07who do this,
20:09it will take
20:11a whole day.
20:13But because we are together,
20:15the work will be done
20:17faster.
20:21There's no stopping it.
20:23Even if it rains and suns down
20:25the trees will still grow.
20:27Actually,
20:29the branches are hard.
20:31It hurts your hands
20:33when you squeeze it.
20:35They are just used to it.
20:37That's why
20:39it grows so fast.
20:41Mine is slow.
20:43Five.
20:45I have five.
20:47It's heavy.
20:53It's heavy.
20:55After that,
20:57the branches are
20:59planted in the field.
21:01Five.
21:07This is how
21:09the tree is put down
21:11because the truck
21:13can't carry it.
21:17There's a lot of work.
21:19It's surprising
21:21how little
21:23the farmers earn.
21:25One kilo
21:27is Php 15.
21:29How much did you harvest?
21:31In 2021,
21:33we harvested
21:35100 kilos.
21:37That's a lot.
21:39Yes.
21:41We earned
21:43Php 1,500.
21:45Php 1,500?
21:47Yes.
21:49Is this just for you?
21:51Yes.
21:53It's just for you?
21:55Yes.
21:57What helped you
21:59to earn Php 1,500?
22:01We buy rice
22:03and vegetables.
22:07It's been a long time.
22:09It's 2018.
22:11You've been planting
22:13cinnamon trees.
22:15Why did you decide to continue?
22:17We thought
22:19that
22:21it's easy
22:23to buy
22:25cinnamon.
22:27You can buy it right away?
22:29Yes.
22:33When the trees are put down,
22:35they are placed in a truck
22:37to be taken to the
22:39Plantsville Health Facility.
22:41The truck is then
22:43transported to the
22:45Plantsville Health Facility.
22:57The trip takes
22:59more than half an hour
23:01to the Plantsville Health Facility
23:03in Bacolod City.
23:11Here, the cinnamon is processed.
23:13The government also
23:15gave a fund in November.
23:27When Father Paulito
23:29arrived,
23:31he weighed the
23:33bags first.
23:41Mother Mercedita
23:43and Father Paulito
23:45brought a lot of bags.
23:51But I found out that
23:53from these bags,
23:57only a small amount
23:59can be produced
24:01from the leaves.
24:09In 7 bags of cinnamon leaves,
24:11more than
24:13Php 1,000
24:15are earned by the farmers.
24:17There is also a pay for labor
24:19and transportation,
24:21so production costs increase.
24:23In the facility,
24:25the leaves are placed
24:27in a distiller.
24:31How much oil
24:33can you get here?
24:35Usually, from about
24:3780 kilos of leaves,
24:39we get around 400 ml
24:41of essential oil.
24:43400 ml?
24:45That's just a small amount.
24:47It's a good thing you asked
24:49because people are asking
24:51why essential oil is so expensive.
24:53The reason for that is
24:55we only get
24:570.2% of the oil
24:59from the leaves.
25:01What's the difference in smell?
25:03If you're buying from
25:05Sri Lanka,
25:07most likely they will have
25:09Ceylon cinnamon leaves.
25:11The smell is
25:13a bit sweet, like a cinnamon bun.
25:17For us,
25:19it's hard to enter.
25:21If you smell it,
25:23it has minty,
25:25lemony, cinnamon,
25:27and camphor smell.
25:31Our leaves are more complex.
25:33But I'm biased.
25:37I think I need
25:39a smell test.
25:41According to November,
25:43the smell of each batch
25:45of cinnamon is different.
25:47It depends
25:49on the species of leaves
25:51they got.
25:53In Negros,
25:55there are 7 different kinds of cinnamon.
26:01After
26:034 hours,
26:05the cinnamon oil came out.
26:09We know the brown cinnamon
26:11that is added to food
26:13and drinks.
26:15But you can get more
26:17from its leaves.
26:19The November
26:21developed different products.
26:25There's massage oil,
26:27sleep aromatic water,
26:29liniment, mouthwash,
26:31and more.
26:33They also sell
26:35pure cinnamon oil
26:37for Php 1,700
26:39per 10 ml.
26:41A showroom was built
26:43by the provincial government
26:45of Negros Occidental
26:47to promote the local
26:49product of MSMEs in the province.
26:55The November
26:57continues to look for
26:59other kinds of cinnamon in the Philippines.
27:01It's very important
27:03that the farmers are planting it
27:05and that they understand
27:07the significance of the Philippine cinnamon.
27:09The farmers
27:11want to increase
27:13the production
27:15of raw materials
27:17so that the industry
27:19can flourish.
27:21The government continues
27:23to support them
27:25through the November group.
27:27With that,
27:29if the demand increases,
27:31they get a lot of
27:33cinnamon plants
27:35from the farmers.
27:37That's the effect.
27:43The world is full of
27:45thieves
27:47who are looking for spices
27:49like cinnamon.
27:51Let's not forget
27:53the riches
27:55that are in our pockets.
27:57We should
27:59protect ourselves.
28:03I am Mav Gonzalez
28:05and this is
28:07Eyewitness.
28:11I'm hoping that they can protect
28:13their mother trees.
28:15We have found that
28:17when you plant the cinnamon,
28:19you have to plant the cinnamon
28:21that's native in your area.
28:35EYEWITNESS
28:55Thank you so much for tuning in
28:57to Eyewitness, Kapuso.
28:59What can you say about this documentary?
29:01Comment below and subscribe
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