Dumagats
learn the right way to tap almaciga resin
A group of Dumagat tribesmen from Dinapigue, Isabela and Dilasag,
Aurora watch as FPRDI’s Forester Arsenio B. Ella shows the right
way to harvest resin from an almaciga tree. “ Seventy members of
the Dumagat tribe, including women and teen-agers, attended our
recent seminar on correct tapping techniques,” says Forester Ella.
“We want to give the local people, who depend mostly on banana farming,
a source of added income from resin extraction. However, we want
to make sure that they know how to do it correctly, otherwise, they
could harm and prematurely kill the almaciga trees.”
The seminar was supported by the Community Environment and Natural
Resources Officer in Dinapigue and Palanan, Isabela and Casiguran,
Aurora, the local government of Dinapigue and the management of
the Pacific Timber Export Corporation (Pateco) and Luzon Mahogany
Timber (Luzmatim) concession areas.
Large and columnar, almaciga grows in the mountains of the Cagayan
Valley, Southern Tagalog, and Central and Southern Philippines.
Locals living near the almaciga stands, especially in Palawan and
Samar, harvest the resin from the bark as a source of extra income.
FPRDI is currently looking for ways to develop important chemical
products from almaciga resin. While the material is used abroad
to make paper size, varnish and cation exchange resin for removing
heavy metals from industrial wastewater, the resin’s local application
is limited only to the varnish industry. #
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