THE BOUNTIFUL SCENT OF FLOWERS: Anao, Tarlac - galing pook

Asturo Asprer planted ylang-ylang seedling at the municipalcompound. This compound eventually became the MunicipalYlang-ylang nursery. Not long after, the Biyaya sa AnaoFoundation was formed to spearhead the cultivation andpromotion of the Ylang-Ylang Livelihood Program. Thefoundation was given 10,000 seedlings of Ylang-Ylang.Trial Phase. In December 1990, the municipality and thefoundation did a trial extraction of Ylang Ylang oil using afive-kilogram capacity oil extractor from DOST. During thetrial phase, Anao residents gave the flowers to the localgovernment for free. The following year, the local governmentstarted buying the flowers from the local residents. In 1994, akilo of flowers cost PhP30. In the middle of 1995, the buyingprice had gone up to P50 per kilo. Only golden yellowblossoms were bought for oil extraction. Initially, extractionhad been done once a week. As of writing, extraction is donethrice a week: on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays to meetthe demand. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays were buyingdays.Generating More Support for the Program. Theprogram generated support from a variety of sources, bothlocal and national.In 1990, the municipality became a recipient of theProgram to Refocus Orientation to the Poor (PROPOOR). Aspart of the program, national agencies such as the Departmentof Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Agriculture (DA),Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department ofScience and Technology (DOST) and the provincialgovernment pooled their resources to help the program DARdonated 40,000 seedlings while the DA gave another 10,000.Congressman Jose Cojuangco Jr. gave a five-kilogramextractor. The DOST gave a 50-kilogram extractor in 1992 andanother 25-kilogram extractor in 1994.Congressman Cojuangco also partially funded theconstruction of a two-story building known as Kabyawanwithin the municipal compound. This became the site for theextraction process.