Banolmi, a social enterprise, is working to expand its rainforest coffee model to additional indigenous communities in the Cordillera.
The company aims to improve farmers' incomes while promoting forest conservation and preserving indigenous heritage, according to its co-founder.
Banolmi was established as a marketing platform for sustainably grown products after its founders launched Barlig Rainforest Coffee in Mountain Province in 2021.
The enterprise initially focused on specialty coffee but has since expanded to market heirloom rice, forest products, honey, and wild foods sourced from indigenous communities.
Mr. Maches, co-founder of Banolmi, said that as the company engaged more communities and indigenous youth in agroecological coffee farming, it decided to establish a marketing platform to showcase its produce.
The name Banolmi, derived from the Kankanaey words banol (word) and mi (us), means "our word" and reflects the company's connection to indigenous identity and ancestral land.
Banolmi currently works with about 30 indigenous coffee farmers in Barlig, Mountain Province, as well as communities in Kabayan and Kapangan, Benguet.
The company plans to replicate its Barlig Mountain Forest Farm and Ikalahan Heritage Farm models in other communities to encourage agroecological coffee farming.
Banolmi differentiates itself by integrating environmental conservation into its business model, aiming to bridge practical or economic opportunity with nurturing and taking care of the land.
Coffee grown beneath rainforest canopies ripens more slowly, producing sweeter and more complex flavors, according to Mr. Maches.
Banolmi aims to engage more indigenous youth in agroecological farming as part of its conservation efforts, with the goal of protecting and preserving more of the country's remaining rainforests.
Only about 7% of the country's intact rainforests remain, most of them within indigenous ancestral domains in the Cordillera, prompting Banolmi to advocate for agroecological farming as a way to restore degraded mountains while creating sustainable livelihoods.
