How’s the salt in your kitchen?
The one that you bought from the sari-sari store, or that one in a big plastic from the market. Do you know where these come from?
Probably, you’d say, Come on Jon, it’s just salt. Just like you, I also thought that salt is just salt. A basic condiment or food ingredient. But after I’ve participated in a Salt Farm Tour at Pacific Farms Inc. (PFI) in Bolinao, Pangasinan, my perspective has changed.
I’ll share you more of this experience. But first, let’s go back to my question. Where does your salt come from?
It’s quite surprising to learn that most probably, that came from China or Australia. Yes, you read it right, because our country’s salt supply is roughly 75% imported from those countries. Just like what import does to rice, it kills the local industry, it kills the livelihood of farmers.
A mountain of salt
Imported salt is cheaper, but the question is, is this the best healthy option? Probably not, because most rock salt in the market are actually industrial salt which is high in sodium chloride. Bad for the health. It is the bad salt that your doctor is warning you about, that one that can cause or worsen high blood pressure.
The question is, why is this happening? Why do we let this happen?
Why aren’t we patronizing the Philippine-made salt?
These are the same questions that echoed in my mind when I had the chance to join the salt farm tour in Bolinao. Pacific Farm Inc. is the largest salt farm in the country with 500 hectares wide, producing 15,000 metric tons of salt annually.
Content
Start of the Salt Farm Tour
A day before the tour, we were already at our hosts’ rest house in Alaminos. The company’s Business Development Manager and son of the owner, Sir Glenn Khonghun provided us with some important knowledge and information about salt.
Did you know that salt has 14,000 uses, ranging from food, health, beauty and a lot more? Salt is not just an ingredient to your favorite food. At PFI, they continuously innovate and research for new products, one of these is their 60 variants of salt for very specific needs of their clientele.
One notable achievement of the company is by creating Fidel Iodized salt. For the 90’s kids out there like me, I guess you’d remember the campaign of the Department of Health (DOH) to combat the iodine deficiency in the country. Fidel Iodized Salt was PFI’s answer to help bring a solution to the problem, which turned out to be effective. In the coming years, cases of iodine deficiency decreased, which a huge win for the government and private entities like PFI.
It was too much information to digest before the tour has even started, but everything made sense when we were experienced the tour, the next day.
We were all ready by 5 AM the next morning since it’s still a 45-minute land travel from Alaminos to Bolinao.
It was still dark when we arrived at the farm’s Sunrise View Deck, the first stop. The entire tour is actually called Pacific Agri-Eco Farm Tour, comprising of different stations like the Sunrise View Deck, Chapel Ruins, Love Bridge, Salt Harvesting, Salt Mountain, Salt Lake, Locomotive Ride, and PFI Administrative Office.
At the sunrise view deck
Each stop has a significant purpose in the entire tour, building up until fully appreciating the value of our salt industry. At the first stop, we witnessed the break of daylight with the magnificent views of the entire salt farm and the Lingayen Gulf. The team also served us a delectable breakfast that is truly Pangasinense like Binungey, the sticky rice slowly cooked inside a bamboo shell with coconut milk. This delicious kakanin is best paired with mango.
The delicious Binungey.
It was also a chance for us to try PFI’s product, the Aro-en gourmet salt, which provides different varieties of salt for very specific usage. Some of the most popular are Calamansi salt, Bitter salt, Mineral Sea, Garlic Pepper and the famous Fleur De Sel which is used for Krispy Kreme’s salted caramel.
I got the chance to try most of the variants by sprinkling on top of a spoonful of Binungey, and I must say that it try enhances the taste of the food, bursting a different kind of flavor in my palate. (sosyal. LOL.)
Aro-en Gourmet Salt
The History of Pacific Farm
It is important to know the history of PFI because it is connected to their values as a company and how they uphold the local salt industry.
After our breakfast, we then proceed to our next stop – the PFI Chapel Ruins, the venue of the company’s annual Unity Day for may years in the past. This is celebrated every October as a way for the employees to welcome the bountiful harvesting season. They celebrate it through a mass and get together at the farm’s loyalty park while feasting on their products – mighty energy egg which I’ll give more details later in this post.
Going to the Chapel Ruins
Although what remains in the chapel are the cemented walls and floors because it was struck by typhoon Emong in 2009, it has become a huge part of the company’s values formation. Through the chapel, ruin’s they are reminded of their traditions and history that foster camaraderie and hard work among employees, which is in a way related to our next stop – The Love Bridge.
The Chapel Ruins
This is the bridge that connects the main pathway to the salt farm. It was 1983 when Sir Johnny Khonghun (Sir Glenn’s father) took over the ownership of the farm from the Araneta clan. During those times, the company was in financial turmoil with debts and unpaid salaries of employees.
On Sir Johnny’s first day as the new owner, hundreds of employees met him and the bridge was the only thing that separated him from the workers. There was a chance that it could lead to chaos as the unhappy employees were skeptical that the new owner could revive the company from debt, demanding their salary.
But something unexpected happened, a pregnant goat walked towards the bridge and gave birth there. That clearly diverted everyone’s attention and eased the tension which gave Sir Johnny that opportunity to talk to the employees, convincing them to work together assuring that the company will recover.
The Love Bridge
That unexpected moment served as a new beginning for everyone – for new owners and employees alike.
These first 3 stations of the tour; the sunrise view deck, the chapel ruins, and the love bridge, collectively says a lot about what the company stands for and how they value the salt industry in uplifting the lives of their people. The next stations of the tour gave us a clear understanding of how salt is created and how the salt impacts our lives as a community and as a nation.
How salt is made
This is where we fully understood how salt is made. In the harvesting area, we witnessed a wide salt farm. Our new guide emphasized that the most noticeable part of the farm would be the crystallization bed where we witness how salt is harvested. But actually this is just around 10% of the entire farm, a small part. The bigger part which is 90% are actually the lakes or the evaporators. This is where seawater is collected and let the seawater concentrate into high brine then will be transferred to the reservoir, until it reaches the crystallizer where the salt is produced and harvested.
Harvest time
Salt!
The harvested salt is then gathered into a salt stockpile that obviously looks like a salt mountain. This where they store the 15,000 metric tons of salt that they produce every year. We witnessed how the workers put the salt into sacks and then delivered to manufacture a variety of products.
Ehem. LOL.
We also visited the Salt Lake, which is the heart of the evaporator. The lake’s temperature ranges from 70 – 75 Degrees Celsius making it hot enough to cook the ducks’ egg by dipping it into the lake and leaving it there for 3 days.
The outcome is the nutritious Mighty Energy Egg that is filled with essential nutrients and minerals, and it actually tastes good. We tried it during our brunch.
The Salt Lake
The Mighty Energy Egg
After that, they showed us around the farm and let us experience the locomotive ride for a few minutes. This is usually fully functional during harvest season as this is used to transfer salt from one station to another. This just proves that the farm uses technology and innovation to modernize their operations.
People’s Story
The PFI Administrative office might look like just a typical office but this is where some of the memorable moments of the tour happened. Well, that’s for me because I enjoy listening to stories. This is where the souvenir shops is located where the PFI’s products are displayed from the Aro-en gourmet salt to fish sauce and Nigari drops which is rich in essential minerals. But aside from that, this is where we met the farm employees and listened to their stories of how the farm and the salt industry as a whole changed their lives.
We met there the 3 generations of employees who have worked and stayed with the company. I felt their genuine appreciation for their employer, but more than that it is the core message of their stories on how the salt industry has not just put food on their tables, but how it changed their lives for the better.
kakaibang lechon for lunch
Sea Purslane Salad
The entire experience gave me a new perspective on salt. Witnessing how it is produced and harvested gave me a new sense of appreciation. But more than that, it opened my eyes to the current situation of the industry. The videos that Sir Glenn showed us the day before wherein the salt is collected and discharged from huge vessels as import to the country really stayed with me and my consciousness. Why? This is salt, a natural resource that is readily available in the Philippines, but we do we resort to imports?
This is a wake-up call to me, and for everyone to patronize the local salt industry by supporting further innovation. Let us influence the local businesses and consignees that before deciding to import salt, look around. There might be a local salt farm that can meet their business needs. Let’s choose Filipinos first and support the further growth of the salt industry in the country.
Book the Salt Farm Tour
You may book the Pacific Farm Agri-Eco Tour by getting in touch with below contact persons and details.
Pacific Farms Inc. (Manila Office)
33 Scout Rallos St., Quezon City
Telephone Numbers’ 371-4304 / 371-4305 /371-4303
Mr Glenn Khonghun – 09994296902
Ms. Irene Robrigado – 0939-5123156
Email: gjck@pfi-ecotour.com / tour_reservation@pfi.ecotour.com
Website: pfi-ecotour.com
Tour Rates:
This is a day tour package:
Salt Farm Tour – Php 1,800 per pax (minimum of 20)
Salt Farm Tour with 100 Islands – Php 2,400 per pax (minimum of 20)
Travel Bloggers with Sir Glenn. Photo Credit: Erica, The Girl with the Muji Hat
How to get to Pacific Farms
By contacting the above details, they will help you with the pickup at the Alaminos Bus Terminal going to the farm in Bolinao.
You can take a bus going to Alaminos. Bus companies like 5 Star and Victory Liner have daily trips to Alaminos.
Pacific Farm Inc. Address: Tambac Bay, Brgy. Zaragosa, Bolinao, Pangasinan
Note: Thank you to the owner of Pacific Farm Inc. for this opportunity. I’ve learned a lot about our salt industry. Thanks to Sir Johnny Konghun, Mr. Glenn Konghun, Mr. Gerald Konghun, and to the people and employees, for sharing your stories. To my fellow travel bloggers, I had a great time.
3 Comments
Nice
September 12, 2019 at 8:31 pmWow salt di ako pwding kumain ng wala nito…even sa fries ……grabe pla gabu dok na salt
Jon Espina
September 14, 2019 at 2:34 amYes Ate Neizel. Maraming gamit ang salt. Learned a lot from this tour.
Jogi P
September 25, 2019 at 12:06 amAfter reading this post, I realized how little I knew about salt. Glad you shared