This documentary is about the Abaca farmers living in a small community of Sitio Banli, one of the most far-flung

areas of Sarangani Province. Where the main source of living is harvesting Abaca once a year.

Abaca or the abaca fiber is the strongest in the world. It is strong as no matter how thin it is and how many times

it gets wet, it doesn’t easily tear. It is used to make ropes, paper and paper bills. And in all of Asia, the Abaca

tress can only be found in the Philippines.

Ironically, the families of B’laan Tribe or the people living in Sitio Banli, money seems rare despite the idea that

their source of living is the raw material for making money.

The small community of Sitio Banli is a 4-hour drive from Sarangani and six hours on foot on a slippery, steep

mountain. And because harvesting of Abaca only happens once a year, the family also get to taste different food

“once a year”. The rest of the year, the family eats nothing but sweet potato and taro for breakfast, lunch and

dinner.

It took 3 Abaca trees to have 1 kilo of its fiber to sell for 40 pesos per kilo. And each year a single farmer can

harvest about 20 kilos to earn 1000 pesos. Disregarding the heavy loads they are carrying, and six hours of walking,

just to sell the collected Abaca fibers and in order to buy food for their families.

The food they bought can sustain them for a week or two and the rest of the year, the daily spread on the table are

again the sweet potato and taro. Without knowing that, what they are collecting for a year, that could be their

source for rice meal once a year, is used to make the most important thing that people needs