Amadeo, Cavite holds 11-day coffee festival

AMADEO, Cavite – This upland town popularly known as the coffee town of Cavite will hold a unique coffee festival dubbed as “Pahimis 2002” on April 19-29.

Local officials and residents here led by Mayor Albert Ambagan Jr., are already in the thick of preparation for the coming festival that will showcase coffee as the main topic of the celebration.

Ambagan said that the Pahimis Coffee Festival, a gesture of thanksgiving to God practiced by the local townsfolk more than a century ago will feature a series of cultural presentations including a coffee float parade and street dancing on April 19.

The 10-day celebration will also be capped by symposia on the coffee industry, Mutya ng Pahimis beauty contest, a job fair, amateur singing contest and a sports tournament for the coffee workers.

The celebration will culminate on the town fiesta on April 29 on the feast of Patron Saint Mary Magdalene.

Invited guest of honor and speaker during the opening day of the festival is President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. After her speech, the President will lead Cavite officials and other guests in the ceremonial toast of coffee that will be held at the town plaza.

According to Mayor Ambahan, the holding of the festival is aimed at promoting the coffee industry in the town that was perceived to be on the dying stage and at the same time promote local tourism.

He said that the town has some scenic spots to boast off aside from the vast coffee plantation that totaled to 4,000 hectares, the largest in the province.

“Actually we were inspired by Cavite Gov. Ayong Maliksi who had initiated several programs that would boost the morale of coffee growers,” he said.

When coffee growers in the upland towns of Cavite were about to give up because of losses due to low prices of coffee in the market, Maliksi asked the Likhang Kabitenyo Development Cooperative (LKDC) to help find ways of raising the income of farmers.

As a result, the LKDC and the municipal government of Amado are now distributing to individuals and various organizations samples of Cavite brew packed in 50 gm cloth bag.

Unlike in the past years, when coffee growers from the upland towns are dependent on some manufacturing firms, they can now sell their processed coffee direct to the consumers.

“This scheme is succeeding and we are now in the process of selling Café Amadeo nationwide through some distributors who have expressed their intention to market them,” the mayor said.

Complementing this scheme is Governor Maliksi’s decree to all employes of various offices and departments at the provincial capitol in Trece Martires City to drink and serve only the hometown kapeng barako.