Bohol Coco Farm: The Real Ultimate FarmVille

Accomodation. As a backpacker, this always comes out on our list as one of our priorities that we need to consider. Unlike travellers who love and who can afford checking in to some fancy, luxury hotels; backpacking mainly aims to reduce the expense of travelling. That is the reason why I always choose to stay at pension houses and dormitories. It’s cheaper yet comfortable. It also gives a greater access to expose myself to deeper local interactions and to the region’s holistic cultural behavior.

During half of my stay in Bohol, there’s one place over here that I just felt in love with. Without the suggestion of my Australian friend, Rachael, this place might have been left forgotten because as a matter of fact, I had a hard time looking for cheaper accommodation in this area.

When she said to me that I can stay here for just P300 pesos, I was surprised but I was kind of hesitant though—what a 300-peso accommodation would look like?

So when I arrived in Tagbilaran half past twelve in the afternoon, I rushed down to the city immediately. After having a sumptuous lunch at Tarsi Restaurant, I rode a jeep to Panglao and instructed the driver to drop me by at the Bohol Coco Farm in Tawala in Libaong.

In an hour, I arrived there. I don’t know but my expectations have changed immediately. I started to think about F-U-N. I was discreetly ‘jumping’ like a kid inside and I could not hide the happy feeling. I smiled while walking: “This is the place that I was looking for.” I said to myself.

Staying at the Bahay Kubo

Unlike the usual dormitories that I have checked in before, this place is incredibly different. You won’t see a story building here with air-conditioning units attached. Houses (as I call it, which is true) are made of Bohol’s native but finest materials. The house’s walls are made of bamboo and wood while the roof is made of nipa (a type of palm that usually grows at the seaside). It’s cold to stay here in the afternoon and even colder at night. This type of houses is considered as one of the basic physical home for Filipinos as early as before the Spanish came on the 1500s.

The Bahay Kubo where I stayed

At the veranda--where you can eat or just enjoy a good chat with some friends

What to Do in the Farm

Basically, this is not just merely a place where you can stay. This is not just your ordinary accommodation where you usually leave early in the morning and just arrive late at night. It’s basically a huge farm that highlights the important and creative uses of coconuts and some other medicinal and non-medicinal plants. This place also contributes to a healthier lifestyle by integrating all-organic way of farming.

As a typical Manila boy, there are some things that I enjoyed doing here. For me, this is an opportunity to switch back to the basics. I got the chance to enjoy running with the chickens and ducks, visit the plantations, and feed the pigs and more!

More fun gardening here!

Pig-Feeding 

Bignay fruit-tasting

Farm tour is more fun here!

Playing with the kids

Chicken-chasing

When I was here, I also got to learn to love the coconut and the environment. I had enough time talking to Mr. Efren de Guzman (owner) about his mission-vision and aspirations to promote the use of the coconut. I was convinced that this tree really is the tree of life since it has more than a thousand of uses. His encouraging words also taught me to value the earth more, to love the environment and to be more conscious about how we manage our waste.

This farm also contains a never-ending list of plants that can be seen here—from vegetables, trees, up to various types of medicinal plants. When I was here, it looked like I was taking up a Biology/Botany 101 with Sir Efren. It’s unbelievable that he almost know the uses of all the plants here. This experience taught me about getting more conscious on herbal plants and their medicinal use. It simply conveys that fact that treating an illness has other options too—that synthetic drug is not just the only one.

The Coco Skywalk

One of the fascinating things to see and enjoy here is the Coco Skywalk. A long narrow bridge made of bamboo, the main use of this skywalk is not really just for you to have a 360-degree-birds-eye-view of the entire farm but this was built to facilitate the ease of harvesting the extracted coconut sap on the trees. Most of the sides of this bridge are connected to the each coconut; thus, creates a longer pathway for you to walk along as you enjoy the scenic view of the farm.

The view from the Coco Skywalk

It’s also my first time to taste what the locals call tuba, generally called as the coconut sap. It’s a sweet, nectar-tasting juice coming out from the coconut’s flower. It usually goes through the process of fermentation converting it into wine.

A simple way to obtain coconut sap

Enjoying the sweet tuba

The Palwa Restaurant

Along with their promotion of organic, all-natural farming, this place also promotes a healthier food, of course.  Naturally and organically grown vegetables are freshly harvested everyday to avoid oxidation as it decreases the amount of essential nutrients within. The restaurant also offers native chicken, goat meat and pork. Different from others, these farm animals don’t feed on synthetic-formulated feeds but were nourished naturally by feeding them with some plants and other stuff formulated inside the farm.

Accessibility

Bohol Coco Farm is located in Tawala in Libaong, Panglao Island, Bohol. It’s also near some tourist destinations like the Alona Beach, the Panglao Centro and the Hinagdanan Cave to name a few. There’s also a beach that is only 800 meters away from the farm in case you want to swim in the afternoon or early in the morning. For an express night out nearby, Alien Disco is banging every night when you turn left from the coco farm’s main entrance.

The beach that is only 800 meters away from the farm

An Ultimate Farming Experience Indeed

If you are missing out some things that you feel you might have not done yet or if you just want to experience more than your usual accommodation, I suggest this place for you.  I felt a combination of sad and funny thoughts during my last hours before I left because I still really want to stay longer but I can’t. This place is really hard to leave that it felt like a second home for me. The staffs here are all friendly and accommodating—I guess that’s one thing that made this place so special.

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I also want to express my appreciation to the farm owners—Mr. Efren and Ms. Julia De Guzman, for the real Filipino hospitality and also to their son, EJ, for becoming a good buddy for two days here. I also enjoyed the funny and friendly conversation I had with the girls—Jen, Rose and Ar-ar. You girls rock!!

My Coco Farm Family

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