Bicolanos earning big money from anahaw plantations

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – Big money now virtually grows in anahaw plantations in the Bicol region.

And Bicolanos who had the foresight to put up such plantations are now reaping the bonanza.

Anahaw (scientific name: Livistona rotundifolia) is a palm tree whose straight durable trunk is highly in demand for poles and pillars, flooring, pack carriers, fishing rod bows, canes and spear shaft.

In recent years, research has proven its viability as a good material in the manufacture of floor tiles.

Ecologically, anahaw leaves can purify air, has a cooling effect, and improves water supply, and its roots hold the soil.

Bicolanos who years back began planting this palm tree that gave the Philippines its national leaf are now reaping the fruits of their efforts.

Take Remil Bautista of Malilipot, Albay. Out of selling anahaw leaves from his plantation, he has sent his children to school and invested in a piggery and stalls for rent.

Jaime Torente, of Virac, Catanduanes, has bought a mini-truck, built a boarding house, and bought a residential lot from the earnings of his three-hectare anahaw farm.

A ready supply for local cottage industry and a thatching materials business, as well as a farmhouse, were the benefits derived by Severino Listana of Daraga, Albay.

“The unique beauty and quality of our national leaf, including its trunk, has given countless benefits to several Bicolano farmers who invested in anahaw,” said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Service (DENR-ERDS) in Region 5.

“The beautiful green, uniquely shaped, broad anahaw leaves, aside from their aesthetic uses, are raw materials for Japanese and braided fans, hats, novelty items, Christmas lanterns, raincoats, huts, and cottages,” it added.

But owing to indiscriminate harvesting brought about by the great demand for its leaves and poles, anahaw has dwindled, according to the Los Baños-based DENR-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB).

It takes 20 to 25 years before anahaw could be harvested for the production of anahaw-based items, said forester Jerry Adviento of the DENR-Forest Management Service in Region 5.

To save the remaining anahaw in the wild and at the same time cope with the demands for this raw material, the Region 5 office of the DENR-ERDB has conducted information, education and communication campaigns on the application of the anahaw seed technology leading to plantation management.

“With our campaigns, anahaw plantations have been established by farmers in Bicol,” DENR-ERDB director William Palaypayon said.