I have immediate family in Zamboanga del Norte, but not the southern part more northern towards Dipolong.
Im just curious if there are any filipinos or expats from that area on here? This banana variety below is apparently the best ever lol. They say it taste amazing even green. A new addition. Im always encouraging them to plant more fruit. They have unlimited mango, coconut, papaya and banana patches on their properties so its hard to get people inspired to plant more fruit. Im trying to get family to plant the thai giant jujube since they cant grow apples but want them… Of course we want what we cant have. Its a long shot but who knows, there could be some locals or expats on here. My father is an army vet who runs a rice distribution charity thing over there. Hes alright. If you’re local i wanna see what youre growing lol. Show us your exotic plants and garden
Right on brother! Our farm is up for sale and as soon as that happens we will be buying / building a place in the Leyte area to be within driving shot of the 100’s of wifes relatives. You can bet that after all the years of managing our diversified fruit orchard my wife is itching to be planting every type of tropical fruit she can get her hands on.
Very cool! The islands are a fruit growers paradise
The builders used wood from their land in Mindanao to build, cutting each board to size instead of importing lumber. Paying extra, feeding and giving your workers a shot or two of alcohol after work is a good idea. Even if they are muslim workers, theyll most likely drink over there and love you for it.
Dont get hustled, make sure the builders don’t buy cheaper materials for the house then you paid for.
Avoid loaning money, it gets intense and they can easily get automatic weapons over there. Youll be expected to pay for everything everytime no matter how many people are with you so youve got to nip that in the bud if you havent already. Charity is good, plenty of orphans to feed, my father is into rice distribution actually… but being everyones personal bank isnt good because youll have random people approaching you and they can get aggressive with money, everyone can of course, but beware lol.
Sorry Im sure you know all this, but just in case you dont.
Anyways sorry to ramble. Dont forget to add a Celeste fig to your garden! Not native but so good. I grew up eating them in South Carolina and i 100% endorse them. Definitely worth growing on the island. They will do well there.
Take care and have fun!!
