Irosin Local Custom Tips by joiwatani

Copra crop in Northern Philippines

Copra is a major crop of the Philippines. It is exported abroad to be made into soap and shampoos.

During my last visit, I took some pictures of how the farmers gather the mature coconuts and turn them into copra so they can sell them. It is a very tedious process.

First, the farmers have to climb the tall coconut trees and gather the mature coconuts.

Second, they husk the coconut.

Third, the split the coconut and remove the water in them.

Fourth, the take out the meat of the coconut.

Fifth, they smoke the coconut meat on a make shift barn. until the coconut meat is dried and shrank one-third of its size.

Sixth, they gather the dried coconut meat and stock them in sacks.

Seventh, they carry the sacks of coconuts (now copra) from the mountains to the the town for sell.
Sixth,

Eating jackfruit and cooking it

Jackfruit is one of the biggest fruit found in Southeast Asia. It is found in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and in the Philippines. It can grow as big as a rice sack (80 kilos) and can feed 20 people.

In Irosin, the young jackfruit is cooked with coconut milk and seasoned with salt and hot pepper. Sometimes, the cook add some dried fish on it to make it tastier.

When the jackfruit is ripe, it has this sweet smell on it and eaten by taking out its large seed. The seed is also edible. The seed is dried and boiled and eaten as it is.

The jackfruit has a thorny covering and it is related to the Durian fruit.