61
Summer road trip
If you’re prone to cravings for tuna
kinilaw
or ceviche, the makings don’t
get any fresher.
The nuns and the
pineapples of Polomolok
As it happens, another of the region’s
marquee products is available not
far fromGenSan. As we drive into
Polomolok in South Cotabato, it’s all
pineapples as far as the eye the can
see. At least that’s the case until Mt
Matutum, an active volcano credited
for the area’s mineral-rich soil, heaves
into sight.
We roll along a wide, dusty road
that cuts through a large pineapple
plantation —we’re told it belongs to
Dole, the world’s largest fresh produce
company — before topping a hill and
heading into a Trappistine Monastery,
where a group of nuns have lived by
St Benedict’s creed of
hora et labora
(prayer and work) since 1995. It’s
not exactly the kind of place you’d
expect to find in these parts, but as the
monastery’s Mother Superior explains,
the land felt right andMindanao was
where they needed to be.
We load up on bread and pastries, all
baked by the nuns, at the monastery’s
small shop and follow Sister Julie as
she walks us through gardens tended
by another nun, Sister Stella. The view
from the top of the hill is of a small
pineapple farmwhere yet another
nun oversees the field work. During
harvest season, the pineapples are sold
to Dole and the income helps bankroll
improvements to the buildings here.
“We live a life of prayer and never
leave the convent, except on certain
occasions,” Sister Julie says. “We
belong here and this is where we’ll live
out the rest of our lives.”
The birds of Baras
Later, we set off again and by noon
we’re in Tacurong City, where deep
within an African palm plantation we
explore Baras Bird Sanctuary. Long
before environmental protection
became politically fashionable, the
owners of the bird sanctuary had
lobbied for local government support
and fought to keep this patch of forest
free from poachers.
The sanctuary has its origins in
the sighting by husband and wife Rey
andMary Anne Malana of four birds
— two pairs of black crowned night
herons — on their 1.3ha pepper farm.
Mary Anne doesn’t knowwhy the birds
chose to visit their backyard but they
As we drive into Polomolok in South Cotabato,
it’s all pineapples as far as the eye can see,
thanks to the mineral-rich soil aroundMt Matutum
Clockwise: Sister Julie stocks
us up on the monastery’s baked
goodies; Mother Superior takes a
break from her duties for a quick
portrait; delicious products of the
sisters’ handiwork
NECKLACE AND BRACELETS BY OLIVIA AND DIEGO; TOP AND PANTS BY FOREVER 21
