This July, we hosted a group of visitors from the United States to visit the site, check out the nursery and survey the planned plantation site. The group spent a couple of days visiting the community, meeting people, learning about their history and getting to know the Bugkalot Coffee Company (BCC) team as well.

Having the team from the US visit the site was the perfect way to cap off the last few months’ work, as we have been partnering closely with BCCPC (the Bugkalot Casecnan Coffee Producers Cooperative), our partner in managing the plantation, as we prepare for planting season.

As rainy season begins, we have started clearing the land. We will then start laying out the individual plots and planting the 330,000 coffee trees. We aim to complete planting in 2-3 months.

The pictures below show the team learning about the community & Bugkalot culture, the latest images from the nursery and the newly built tribal style house the team built near the plantation.

The Bugkalot put on a presentation with their traditional gear to demonstrate some old hunting rituals

The group learning about how the Bugkalot hunted and what weapons they used

Surveying nearby rock formations and rivers

The team viewing the planned 200 hectare plantation site

Inside the nursery

We have more than 400,000 seedlings in the nursery waiting to be planted

We also have additional seedlings to prepare for next year’s expansion and ensure we have more than enough seedlings for this year’s planting season

The plants continue to do well. They look lush and healthy, and have grown to about 18-24″ in height

The team’s newly built house, with traditional bamboo & rattan floors, to create the ‘tribal’ feel

Early morning view from the BCC house