I've been living in the Philippines for almost 3 years...
and I thought I understood how things worked.
I didn't.
This time, my day started in the city—
and two hours later, I was on a motorcycle deep in the mountains of Catmon.
No jeepneys.
No buses.
No easy way to reach the market.
I came here with one simple question:
Why is cassava ₱50 in the market...
but only ₱15 for the farmers?
At a small processing space in Barangay Amansyon,
I met 26-year-old Melvin.
He lost his job during COVID,
returned to his hometown,
and learned cassava from his mother before starting his own processing business.
He told me:
"Farmers are only getting ₱15 per kilo.
I buy cassava at ₱25 so they can get a better price."
Not because he's trying to be a hero.
But because he understands what it means to have limited choices.
During our conversation, he showed me a photo on his computer screen.
Two sacks.
Almost 100 kilos.
On one motorcycle.
That's how cassava travels down the mountain.
That's when it hit me.
The problem wasn't farming.
It was getting to the market.
I came here asking about the price of cassava.
I left asking something else—
Who actually gets to decide its value?
After a long day, I found myself back in the city...
but my answer didn't come back with me.
Still Learning.
Still Exploring.
I went to Catmon thinking this was a story about farming. A photo Melvin showed me of two sacks of cassava and kamote on one motorcycle told me there was much more to the story.
Melvin buys cassava at ₱25 per kilo while many farmers receive around ₱15. Not because he's trying to save anyone. Because he understands what it feels like to have limited choices.
It made me realize the question wasn't only about cassava. It was about how value moves between the people who produce something and the people who buy it.
This was never really just about cassava.
It was about the people, roads, and choices behind the products we see every day.
The real gap wasn't only in the cassava or the farming — it was in who gets to decide what it's worth.
| Date | July 19, 2026 |
|---|---|
| Location | Amancion, Catmon, Cebu |
| Event Type | Market Price & Access Investigation |
| Access Method | Invited by a local contact (Melvin) |
| Food Featured | Cassava (Farm-to-Market Pricing) |
| Cost to Attend | Free (by arrangement) |
| Rarity | 🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜ — A common challenge documented through a rare firsthand visit |
| Bayanihan Index | 🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜ — A private conversation, not a communal event |
Whether this is just one mountain road in Catmon, or a pattern quietly repeating across the Philippines, is a question I carried back to the city without an answer.