SITIO BELIS ATOK BENGUET PHILIPPINES

ORIGIN

Atok, Benguet, Cordillera Administrative Region

PRODUCER

KALSADA

ABOUT

Belis is more than just an origin to Kalsada. If the towering mountains surrounding Belis could talk, they wouldn’t just tell stories of a community abundant with coffee and vegetables—they would also speak about families generous with their time and knowledge, rich with a willingness to try and try again.

This spirit of resolve and bayanihan has been powering Kalsada’s work since 2015. Kalsada started in Belis with 15 farmers who had the same vision and a Kickstarter fund that allowed us to obtain 18 drying beds and one locally-fabricated pulper. 

Eight years later, in 2023, Kalsada has gone from being able to produce a ton and a half of coffee to 11 tons. Kalsada now works with 72 highly-engaged farming families and one school. In 2018, with the help of the Metrobank Foundation, we were able to build two drying houses with 150 beds. Our processing equipment and facilities have since expanded to a privately donated 600-kilo-per-hour capacity ecopulper, a huller, and a storage area.   

"We’re proud of the increase in specialty coffee production in Belis, but the impact is most tangible in our farmers who reinvest in their communities. Our partners here use their earnings from coffee to invest in their farms, improve their homes, and send their kids to school, with more and more next-generation farmers being able to finish tertiary education."