Tayasan Root Crop Belt
Description
Upland root crop farming in the Tayasan barangays. In Tayasan, a northeast upland town away from the main coastal traffic. Cassava, camote, gabi and ube are the fallback staple in the uplands here — boiled as merienda, and the base of kakanin and budbud. Native siling labuyo grows in backyards rather than fields: small, fiercely hot, sold by the heap in the market.
Tips
Cacao here is made for household use rather than sale, so there"s no shopfront to find. Asking at barangay level gets you further than looking for a producer with a sign — go with someone local if you can.
Stops
Dumaguete–Valencia Food Belt
How to get there
Northeast upland, inland from the coastal highway — habal-habal from the coast road is usually the last leg.
Best Times
Early morning — markets, landings and roadside stalls all run hardest before 8am.