By Zac Sarian
Jaden Tan, owner of a big Leisure Farm in Alishan Mountain in Tainan, Taiwan visted some of the Philippines’ successful local farms.
By Zac B. Sarian
Jaden Tan, owner of a big Leisure Farm in Alishan Mountain in Tainan, Taiwan, visited local farms together with three companions from January 11 to 16. The group included his wife Chen Mei Ian, businessman Chen Ti Yi and his wife Yen Chin Hsin.
They visited the Sarian Farm in Teresa, Rizal straight from the airport in the morning of January 11. There they observed exotic fruit trees grown in rubberized containers and in the ground.
Ronald Costales and his wife Josie joined them, bringing with them their signature organic lechon and organic vegetable salad. Pol Puente who owns Aztec Spirulina Farm joined, too. After that the group proceeded to visit Pol’s high-tech Aztec Spirulina Farm in Cainta, Rizal. On January 14, the visitors proceeded to Ronald Costales’ farm in Majayjay, Laguna where they enjoyed the cool weather, the fresh vegetable salad, meat and fish, and the beautiful country scenery.
Two days before the visit to Costales’ farm, Jane Chen brought them to Cebu and Bohol.
HONDURAS BANANA: Jaden Tan, owner of Long Yun Leisure Farm in
the Alishan Mountain in Tainan, Taiwan, was really fascinated by the big bunch of Honduras banana
at the Sarian Farm in Teresa, Rizal. Like Jaden, many visitors love to have their picture taken with the unusual banana. One bunch usually has moret han 10 hands. Ripe fruit is nice to eat.
ORGANIC LECHON:
This is the organic lechon that Ronald and Josie Costales prepared for the Taiwanese and local visitors. From left: Ronald Costales, Josie Costales, Napoleon Puente (Spirulina producer), Jane Chen (travel agency owner), Chen Mei lan and husband Jaden Tan (Long Yun Leisure Farm owners), Chen Ti Yi and wife Yen Chin Hsin (Jaden Tan’s friends). The visitors really loved the crisp skin and luscious meat.
Chen Ti Yi and Jaden Tan pose with fruiting Vietnam pomelo at the Costales Nature Farms growing in a half drum plastic container. This is a superior variety with big fruits that are sweet and juicy. Ronald has planting materials of this variety for sale to visitors. Other exotic fruits are imported makopa, balimbing and others.
The Taiwanese visitors accompanied by Jane Chen (right) arrive at the Costales Nature Farms in Majayjay, Laguna. Here, they are looking at the lettuce grown in soft plastic pots and in white tubular planting bags.
Jaden Tan and Chen Ti Yi pose in the field while the workers are busy. Vegetables are grown both in the open field and inside greenhouses.
LUNCH TIME AT COSTALES NATURE FARMS:
The Costales couple served mint-flavored juice, fresh organic lettuce salad, chicken adobo, chopsuey, organic tilapia and a dessert of sugarcoated fried camote. Jaden demonstrated a simple way of making the sugar coating of the fried camote slices crispy. That’s by immediately immersing for a few seconds in cold ice water the sugar-coated camote
slices straight from the frying pan. From left: Jane Chen, Zac B. Sarian, Jaden Tan, Chen Mei Ian, Ronald Costales, Yen Chin Hsin and Chen Ti Yi.
SWEET
BALIMBING: Jane Chen poses with a big fruit of Sweet Balimbing at the Sarian Farm. She is the owner of a travel agency who accompanies
Filipino visitors to Leisure Farms in Taiwan. She accompanied Jaden Tan and his companions in visiting the Costales Nature Farms, Aztec Spirulina in Cainta and the Sarian Farm in Luzon. They also visited tourist spots in Cebu and Bohol.
BRIEFING AT AZTEC SPIRULINA FARM:
At left, Patricia Puente Suanino briefs the Taiwanese visitors and their Filipino companions about the Aztec Spirulina Farm which is the first Spirulina enterprise in the Philippines. The company produces granules and capsules of Spirulina. A new product is a 5-in-one coffee blend with
Spirulina and mangosteen.
This appeared as in Agriculture Monthly’s February 2015 issue.
