CEBU, Philippines - Don’t worry, this doesn’t bite nor burn you to ashes.
Its looks can be deceiving. Though it doesn’t carry the features of the beautiful and luscious strawberry, this fruit comes with either round-edged spikes that grow from its leathery skin or the spiky rough skin that by its appearance none can guess its many wonders.
Let me give you a bite of this super fruit.
My recent trip to Ilocos Norte in Luzon, through the invitation of the Ilocos Norte Provincial Government and Cebu Pacific Air, did not only include an itinerary to its tourist spots but also introduced me to its lucrative businesses such as loom-weaving, salt-making and of course, the less familiar dragon fruit cultivation. The farm we visited is erhaps the biggest in Region I with the owners as prime movers of the dragon fruit revolution in the northern frontier, REFMAD-V Farm owned by the Dacuycuy family in the municipality of Burgos.
According to Mrs. Edita Aguinaldo Dacuycuy, formerly a manager of a pre-need company, her introduction to this vine-like cactus varietal began in 2005 when her eldest daughter, a physical therapist in Macau who at that time studied constipation, recommended the fruit to her mother. The youngest daughter’s constipation woes is a common problem for people who have cerebral palsy. After purchasing the super fruit via the internet and upon reaching the Dacuycuy home, the fruit was immediately given to their ailing daughter. “It worked like magic. Her bowel movement was regular right away,” Mrs. Dacuycuy recalled.
Surprised on the immediate effect, its magical result as a “cleansing” fruit, the couple initially grew their own supply of dragon fruit/pitaya in their backyard in Pasuquin in 2006. A huge influx of visitors frequented their backyard, so that in 2009 the family decided to utilize their five-hectare property in Brgy. Paayas, Burgos for the propagation of dragon fruit. No one in the family is an agriculturist but Mrs. Dacuycuy certainly has a green thumb. She and her husband did some research and sought help from the different agricultural agencies. They even sent a daughter to Thailand for further studies on dragon fruit.
To date, the plantation has grown to seven hectares and the Dacuycuys developed an al fresco dining area, swimming pool, receiving area/gift shop with rooms for transients on the second floor to accommodate buyers and health buffs. They now harvest tons of dragon fruits 10 to 12 times a year, beginning April to November, making Region I as the biggest supplier in the country.
Locally named as saniata, the REFMAD-V Farm has 11 organically-grown varieties that include the white (spikes are farther apart), red (spikes are closer to each other), yellow and pink varieties. The reds are naturally sweet, rich in lycopene and is more beneficial to health. The yellows, on the other hand, are the sweetest and sold from P400-P450 per kilo. The rest are sold at P150 per kilo. They supply the supermarket dealers as far as Mindanao.
Worthy, indeed, to be identified for the province’s One-Town-One-Product (OTOP) program, saniata has numerous uses:
Roots – boiled as cleansing tea (not commercially sold)
Bark/stem –anti-aging, anti-wrinkles and whitening bath soap sold at P45 per 30 grams. It has a medicinal property good for cuts. Mrs. Dacuycuy had to attend a soap-making seminar to come up with the combination.
Young shoots – can be made into salads, mix it with your pinakbet which serves as okra (because it’s slimy), adobo and karekare
Dried flower – cleansing tea, vegetarian meals such as Dragon Balls (meatballs), siomai, Saniata/Shanghai Rolls, longganisa,
Fruit – snacks like cookies, hopia and cupcakes that go well with KangKang Windmill Café’s brewed coffee (Kalinga Robusta, Arabica High Grown) in Bangui Bay, ice cream, smoothies and wine. The fruits with damaged skin don’t go to waste, as they are used as ingredients for the snacks.
Peelings/skin – cooked as vegetable (chopseuy, pinakbet, malunggay soup), snacks – chips
“I learned all of these through experimentation, self-instigated exploration and through the continued process of finding out what else can we make out from dragon fruit,” she explained.
And in the Dacuycuy farm, they implement the economical “zero waste management,” hereby nothing is gone to waste.
Natural alternative medicine
Dragon fruit was primarily introduced to the Dacuycuys as a cleansing fruit but later on, after scientific studies conducted by research agencies, they found out the following health benefits:
-it contains Pythoalbumin, an anti-oxidant that prevents formation of cancer-causing free radicals
-it has proteins that enhance body metabolism
-it contains fiber to improve digestion and reduce fat
-carotene to improve memory
-calcium that strengthens bones and teeth development
-phosphorous for tissue development
-Vitamin B1 to metabolize carbohydrates and produce energy
-Vitamin B2 that improves appetite
-Vitamin 3 that moisturizes and smoothens skin and decreases bad cholesterol level
-Vitamin C that improves immune system and promotes healing of cuts and bruises
- B-Sitosterol that reduces hypertension
-it has antimutagenic activity and hepato-protective effects for liver, digestive and endocrine problems
-helps in reducing blood glucose level in people with non-insulin dependent hyperglycemic conditions
-prevents constipation and good for UTI
-improves eyesight and prevents diabetes and rheumatism
In three years since the start of growing saniata, the Dacuycuy family shared seedlings (especially the cuttings) to every barangay. “We have encouraged a lot of people to adopt the project. Foremost is letting everybody know that there is a fruit/plant that could bring good health to everyone. Also, the fact that there are a lot of marginal lands in our area that can be utilized. Because of climate change, it’s very hard to grow plants that need a lot of water. Dragon fruit is ideal since it doesn’t need to be watered regularly,” she shared. In fact, she heads the SANIATA Dragon Fruit Growers Association, a cooperative that the family spearheads.
Getting there:
Cebu Pacific has daily trips from Cebu to Manila, as well as from Manila to Laoag City (capital of Ilocos Norte). Lowest Lite Fares: Manila to Laoag – P999; Cebu to Manila P649.