Have you ever met Takyung?
Takyung or what is scientifically known as the Helicostyla daphnis is an upland bush snail which is a delicacy in Borbon, Cebu. This unassuming mollusk has the characteristic of the escargot or cohol as commonly known but lives in the bushes or short trees like the local labnog, coffee trees or even jackfruit trees. The species are seen to thrive on the sap or dew and algae that come from the leaves of these trees and bushes in the uplands where the climate is cool. They also feed on algae that adhere to the bark and when they let go of the leaf or the bark and land on the ground, they become prey to ants and other predators that is why they are said to die when no longer attached to a tree or its foliage.
We first learned about Takyung when Vicky Dy, of Adnet Cebu and I were assigned by the Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry to mentor along with the business students of Southwestern University, a beginning entrepreneur from Borbon.
Borbon is a municipality in the north eastern side of Cebu, where the Takyung snails abound. The mentoring project was part of the Obra Negosyo project chaired by Mr. Glen Soco under the umbrella of the One Cebu program of Governor Gwen Garcia.
The Obra Negosyo encourages the growth of business and entrepreneurs in the province The municipality of Borbon, led by Mayor Bernard Sepulveda, identified their local delicacy of Takyung Guisado, as an entry to the Obra Negosyo.
It was only here that we learned about this snail. With the assistance of biology professors from the University of the Philippines, Mary Joyce Flores and Eukene Oporto we looked into the life cycle and production pattern of the said snail to ensure the sustained availability of the said species for business.
Nonito Romagos and Eutropia Precillas, the entrepreneurs from Borbon, raised the Takyung in their backyards along with their relatives to keep the supply of Takyong for their delicacy.
The snail which is said to cost one peso each is rumored to have therapeutic effects on those who have asthma and allergies. Local folks claim that when they eat the Takyung, they are relieved of their respiratory and allergy-related ailments, and the meat seems to be a good source of energy and stamina. Some even consider it an aphrodisiac. The Takyung meat is soft and very delicious when cooked as pate, grilled, stewed or part of another dish. Its commercial value is seen to appeal to the gourmet market aside from the local folks and tourists
As the students of Southwestern University and their professor Atty. Daylinda Suan, continued to search for ways to market the product, the University of the Philippines professors also looked into the habitat and viability of the bush snails. Through their research it as was later discovered that the snails were considered among the world’s rare species.
This compelled the local government of Borbon to prepare a resolution to regulate the harvesting of the said snail to protect the animal from extinction and to encourage people to plant trees so that more of the Takyung would thrive. This opened the need to maintain and augment the trees in the uplands.
The Takyung delicacy now becomes a valuable product and with it is the move to encourage ecotourism as a call to keep the Takyung of Borbon. As this development evolved, the students of Southwestern University, the Unversity of the Philippines and the entrepreneurs in Borbon are now working together with the local government to look into ecotourism as a broader business that would bring attention to this rare snail. Among the approaches seen is that tourists who climb to the uplands of Borbon should leave their mark there by planting trees.
Seeing the snail in its natural habitat will also show the unspoilt sites of Borbon, and promote the protection and propagation of Takyung so that it would reach our palates without guilt.