Is Ube Being Stolen from the Philippines?

- So what's the problem
with this one?

- [Seller] That lasts for 3 days
and that's not real ube jam.

- Ah ok, it only lasts
for three days.

What's it made of?

- [Seller] That's not ube!

That's why
I don't recommend that.

- [Erwan] Ube is one
of the most culturally

important crops
in the Philippines.

Everyone has grown up eating it
or has memories

of their grandparents making
ube halaya,

our local jam.

It's actually hard to think
of a more recognizable

Filipino ingredient
and that's mostly due

to its deep purple color.

Thanks to it,
ube has recently become

the darling of pastry shops
and manufacturers

even outside the Philippines.

While this can be a good thing
for a cuisine

that's still trying
to establish itself internationally,

it's important that ube
does so

without losing its identity
and making sure

that the people who grow it
are compensated

for its surging popularity.

What is ube?

Where does it come from?

And how is it grown?

And where does
the Philippines fit

in this recipe?

- [Jam] It's not only part
of our cuisine,

it's part of our culture.

- [Ige] We avoid
all this controversy

about who owns what.

- [Aiza] The ube
is so delicious.

- [Ige] It represents
the unity of the Filipinos.

- My real first like love of ube
was Michelle's ube ice cream.

You know, who can say no
to ube ice cream?

Like you know,
look at me,

I'm like ube ice cream man.

Next thing you know,
I've got a bowl

of this big of ube ice cream.
And so, I fell in love

with the flavor.

You know, like when you have
your favorite band

or your favorite hip-hop group
and you're like,

"Oh, I know about them
before everybody else

knows about them."

You have like an affinity
all of a sudden.

I feel the same thing.
Like other people started

being like, "Wow.
That's cool!"

And then I'm like,
"Yeah. It's always been cool."

I wanted to have
that experience

where there eyes roll back
in their head

and they go,
"Oh, that's good!"

Most people they do it,
when they make something,

they're making it to sell it
to make a lot of money.

I was making
because I thought

it need to be made
and I thought it was beautiful.

Everyone knows bread.

It's striking and stunning
as far as like

the color of it.

And then, there's also...

Everyone knows that ube
isn't like...

Is it an incredibly strong flavor?
It's a delicate flavor.

So I do work really hard
to make sure

that it came across
in what I do.

But it is kind of like
a gateway, right,

where some people look
at things and they're like,

"Ooh, I don't know."

But with bread,
they're like,

"That's interesting.
I'll give it a try."

And then once they taste
the flavor,

now everywhere else
they go,

"I know what ube is.

I want to try it again.
I want to try it

in a different way.
I want to learn more about it."

A lot of people,
it's always funny

when they come up
to the markets,

they're like, "What's..."

They mispronounce it,
like my name, you know.

They're like sitting there
and like,

"What's an abe?"

And I'm like, "Huh?"

(giggles)

So yeah. So I think
it's definitely...

you know, getting to explain
what it is to people

and having people
be excited about it

is definitely a cool part
of what I feel like we get to do.

- We actually do some

Filipino-inspired breads
and pastries.

And one of that,
we actually have

our ube pop tart.

So it's made with puff pastry
and it's filled

with ube halaya jam.

Not a lot of people know
what ube is.

- What is ube?
- What is ube?

- Yeah.
- Where did it come from?

So we would always,
you know,

let them know
that ube is actually

from the Philippines.
- From the Philippines.

- We're very fortunate here
in the Bay Area

because we have such
a diverse community.

And majority of our customers
are Filipinos.

So they're looking
for a taste of home.

And for non-Filipinos,

we just have to educate them.

Unfortunately,
here in the US,

you cannot source
the freshest ube.

So what we do is...

what we use
is frozen ube purple yam

that we get
from a Filipino supermarket.

- So all
this international attention

is a good thing, right?

I actually believe that it is.
But let me ask you a question.

What are these two ingredients
have in common?

Let's talk about rice
for a second.

The Philippines was once seen
as the center

of rice production.

Other ASEAN countries
would actually come to us

to learn about rice
in the Philippines

and how
to plant it efficiently.

Eventually, we were surpassed
by them in terms

of export and revenue.

Each time you buy
a bag of Jasmine rice

from Thailand,
what does it say

on the packaging?
It says, "Thai Jasmine Rice".

Next, and this one
is particularly interesting

because it's still
in development.

Calamansi is one
of our endemic citruses,

and we're quite known
for growing it.

This is a brand from Korea
called No Brand.

And I used Google Translate
a while ago,

and what does it actually say
in the packaging?

It doesn't say
100% calamansi juice

from the Philippines.
It says 100% calamansi juice

from Vietnam.

Vietnam, in particular,
is actually starting

to really plant calamansis,
and eventually might even beat us

in calamansi exports,
which would be a shame.

So knowing how
these two things

are happening
to those two agricultural products,

is ube the next?

In the Philippines,
most people's first introduction

to ube is through halaya.

Back in the day,
everyone's lolas or grandmothers

would make it at home
for special occasions,

mixing it by hand for hours
and hours until thick.

This is the same tradition
that Marie grew up with,

who after learning
how to make it

from her grandmother,
has been selling it

from her home for years.

- I started cooking ube halaya jam
at 20 years old.

I tried
my grandmother's version of it.

By watching how she makes it,
I remembered

what the ingredients were.
And then, I started cooking it too.

First, you need to buy ube
from the local market.

And then boil it,

peel it, grate it.

Then get some coconut milk,
evaporated milk,

and sugar.

- When I was younger,
about 7 to 10 years old,

I remember my grandmother
would cook ube halaya

and we would all gather
around her.

My grandfather, my father—
everyone helped in mixing it.

- The kids would would eagerly wait
to get a taste of ube.

Now that I'm a mom,
I want to earn extra.

One day in December,
my aunt told me,

"Dear, why don't you sell
ube halaya?"

"You could get ube
at a cheap price these days."

"You could make more profit
since it's in season."

I told my grandmother,
"Auntie's right!

Let's make
some ube halaya."

The next day, I went
to the market

to buy some ingredients
and we cooked them immediately.

From then on,
we started selling ube halaya.

Today, we would sometimes
sell 70-80 tubs

of ube halaya per day.

Our ube halaya business
has been thriving.

Cooking ube takes three
to four hours of mixing,

but it sometimes depends
on the quantity.

The more you cook,
the longer it takes.

We still prefer
the traditional way

of cooking it,
because doing so allows us

to do it with love.

When you take shortcuts,
the essence of it is lost.

Like, the history behind ube
and our family, disappears.

It's delicious and makes
all the effort worth it,

especially when we get feedback
from people saying

how good our ube is.

- Our recipe remains unchanged.

I still follow the original recipe
to ensure it tastes great

until today.

Ube is not just being bought
by the Filipinos.

We plant it.

It's really from...

from soil to plate.

It's part of our culture.

- [Erwan] This is Jam,
founder of the

Philippine Culinary
Heritage Movement

where they promote
Filipino food locally

and internationally.

The recipes that we have
been doing are passed down

from one generation
to another.

It's very nostalgic.

I think just like ube,
the Filipino culture

is very diverse.

Ube is diverse.

- This looks like real ube.

I would say yes,
it has.

No!

- They add flavocol,
or flavor and color.

So it's different
from flavoring.

Despite having something
as popular as ube,

why is there still heavy use
of coloring

and artificial ube flavoring?

Is it really that hard
to find?

I checked local supermarkets,
definitely not going

to find any real ube there.

But now we are
at a wet market,

the Guadalupe Market
to be exact.

We're going to have
a look around

and hopefully,
we can find the tuber

that is so sought-after.

Hi! Do you have ube or not?

- Ube?

- Yeah.

- No.

- Not here? Okay.
Thank you!

Okay. So we've been looking
around for about 20 minutes

and I think we finally found
a stall that actually has ube.

Let's actually buy
a couple kilos.

Could I get some ube?

Where did this ube come from?

- Batangas.

This one, banana?

- No, no, no.
The ube.

- Ah! Batangas.

Php200 ($4)

- Php200 per kilo?

- Yeah.

- It's from Batangas also?

- That's from Batangas.

- Really?

This vendor was selling
her ube for Php200 a kilo

which is pretty high.

So I was curious
how much we can get it

from a farm.

Root crops have been
staple foods in the Philippines

for a very long time.

The Aetas, said
to be the first inhabitants

of the country,
have been cultivating it

for millennia.

And eating it not just
for sweets.

I expected a farm,
like a flat one.

I've been to potato farms before
and this is completely different.

We're literally on the cliff
of the mountainside.

And it's really hard
to actually find your footing.

And if you look
at all of this,

there's really
no organization.

So they really know
exactly where they plant things

due to kind
of like the leaves.

So they're looking
around now to kind

of find the ube trees,
which they know

where they are.

And now, it depends
on whether or not they'll be able

to find kind
of like sizeable ones

that's good enough
to harvest.

- Let's take a look.

This has seedlings.

This is how it looks.

This is an ube seedling,
this is what you plant.

It may look tiny,
but when you bury it

in soil, it grows bigger.

It's good to grow ube
in the mountains

because it multiplies.

I'm Aiza Lansang,
35 years old.

I live in Porac, Pampanga.
I'm a farmer.

I learned how to farm ube
from my parents.

Most Aetas in our community
grow and harvest ube.

We would plant ube in May.

Then, harvest them
from October to December,

or even until January.

It's our most expensive crop.

It sustains Aetas like me
who live in the mountains.

Every month, I harvest
about 200 kilos of ube

that I sell in the city.

This ube's huge.

Let's take off the soil.

- [Man] How many kilos
do you think that is?

- Probably 1 1/2 kilo.

Before, we didn't have access
to transporation,

not even a motorcycle.

We just walk all the way
to the city

with our mountain produce.

We carry them in sacks
over our heads

or our shoulders.

Then when we arrive
at the market,

the buyers won't even pay us
with money,

only in kind.

About 2 kilos of rice,
a pair of sachets

of instant coffee,
salt, and MSG. That's it.

We really suffer losses
considering how hard it is

to harvest ube.

Then when you get down
from the moutains,

especially when it's raining,
that's the toughest challenge

since we carry our produce
on our backs.

We even have to cross a river.

It's hard to imagine
how you can bring it

to the town proper.

In 2019, we met
Operation Share-A-Blessing.

They've become our partners
in our livelihood

since they buy our produce.

Before, our customers
would buy our ube

at Php25 ($0.5) a kilo.

But now, we thank the Lord
that we could sell it

to them for a little
over a dollar (Php60)

for every kilo.

Our mountain-grown ube here
is vibrantly purple.

It's all natural.

- [Erwan] By creating
a Facebook page

for the Aeta farmers,
Chef Chris Gomez and their group

helped the community
get more value for their produce.

By selling it Php100 a kilo,
Php60 goes to the farmers

while the rest goes
to logistics cost

and their outreach programs.

- [Aiza] Mountain-grown ubes
is very beautiful.

It's a deep purple.

- This is kind
of like your real jungle

wild farming
which produces this

kind of beautiful,
extremely deep violet purple ube.

And to think that they're able
to do this

for larger quantities
is incredible.

Okay. Let's taste it.

Here in the mountains,
we don't add anything

to our ube.
We enjoy it in its pure

and natural form.

- Even without sugar,
it's already sweet.

When we boil it like this,
it's so delicious

since you could really taste
the ube.

- Can I have a small chunk?
I'll just try a little bit.

- You can add a little sugar
or eat it straight.

- So this is without sugar
or anything,

just how it's supposed
to taste.

And when I explain flavor
of ube to people,

one thing that's really
like prevalent here

is you do get a lot
of the smokiness

from the wood fire,
which is quite nice.

It's like a nutty flavor.
It's like between

a taro root,
in terms of its consistency,

with this like sweetness
of let's say a sweet potato.

- Our ube is organic.

I'll teach my children
how to farm ube

so even
when they don't have rice,

they would have something
to sustain their families.

- [Erwan] Scientifically known
as "Dioscorea Alata,"

ube, commonly known as yam,
is one of the most important species

under the genus Dioscorea
with 600 species,

150 of which are cultivated
for food.

It is a perennial climbing herb
with fresh color ranging

from light to deep purple,
planted from April to June

and harvested
from October to February.

The origin of ube
or purple yam is unknown.

But a quick Google search
will tell you

that while it remains
a staple food

in some places
in Southeast Asia,

West Africa, and South America,
it is specifically grown

in the Philippines,
especially the most purple varieties.

There's no written documentation
as to when Filipinos

first started using ube
for deserts.

But remains of ube
have actually been recovered

from the Ille Cave,
archeological site, in Palawan

from 11,000 BC.

Food historian
Felice Prudente Sta. Maria

also said that the first Tagalog
and Spanish dictionary

published in 1613
mentioned ube.

But it was in 1918
that the second earliest

Philippine cookbook
showed a recipe

for halaya de kalabasa,
or pumpkin jam,

which may have inspired
the ube halaya jam.

- The Philippines
is a young country,

but at the same time,
we have ancient cultivars.

So even before the Philippines
was known as Philippines,

ube already existed.

- [Erwan] This is Ige Ramos,
a food historian

and author.

- But its culinary use
and its gastronomical importance

is only highlighted
in the last, well, 70 years.

That only now that we are,
you know,

realizing the importance
of ube,

not just in our culture
but in our economy.

In America, they confuse ube
with purple sweet potato

because of the color.

You know, it has
that really bright purple hue.

To know more about ube,
we drove up north

to meet a research team
that specializes on this crop

and its varieties.

But first, a quick visit
to the local market.

This is probably some
of the biggest ube

I've seen locally.

If you're in Manila,
clearly you can't find this size.

But what's even funnier here
is you're walking

through the stalls
and there are tons

of places that actually sell
processed ube goods

like the jams and all that.

Some of them real,
apparently,

and some of them fake.

But there's only one stall
that we found

that actually had
these massive pieces

of ube, which means
there's kind

of like a weird supply issue,
but also like

a usage issue
and how many people

and how people are using
this product

in their homes, right?

This look absolutely beautiful.

We're going to have
a look around a bit more now.

And then, we're going
to go ahead and go

to the Benguet State University.

How much for all these?
I'll get all of it.

- This one?
- All four.

- But I don't recommend
this one.

It's good for three days only.

- It's okay. Okay.

- Are you sure?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

What's the problem
with this one?

- [Seller] That lasts for 3 days
and that's not real ube jam.

- What it's made of?

- That's not ube.

- That's not ube?

- Yeah. That's why
I don't recommend that.

- Ah ok.

- Maybe you try
these ones only.

- No, no. It's fine.
I mean, we're making

a documentary about ube,
so all of it's fine.

- Are you sure?
- I'm sure.

Thank you for letting me know.

Well, I love this.
We bought four real ube jams

and one fake.
She actually told me

it was fake.

But the funny part is,
it says that it's real ube,

which is one
of the problems

we're trying
to address, right?

Why is a product
that's not ube allowed

to be called ube?

I'm so intrigued.

So we have
some proper ube jams.

And this is kind
of like the OG, right?

The Good Shepherd one.

And this is
by the most famous one.

Like compared
to all of these,

this one is really the one
that states like ube jam,

like the most flashy one.

So why is this problematic?

A couple things.

One, it says ube
when it's not ube,

which shouldn't be allowed.

Number two,
it actually says "Baguio"

which is kind
of a graphical indication.

So when people see Baguio ube,
they think

of Good Shepherd,
they think of a mark of quality.

But because it's unregulated,
anyone can call anything

anything they want
and benefit

from the marketing
of that city

and that know-how.

And the ingredients...
This is the best part.

The ingredients says
"Fresh ube".

It really does.

So that's a blatant lie
on their product.

Let's look at the product.

It's bouncy.

Clearly some gelatin
in there.

I think it's rice.

I mean, it's not bad.

It just tastes
like gelatin, rice flour,

and ube extract.

Okay. This is the real one.

There. See that's impossible
to fake.

Whoa.

Extremely sweet,
but delicious.

I'm actually really interested
as to why Baguio became

kind of like so known
for ube.

So I think meeting
our contact

at the Benguet State University
should clear some things up.

- Ube is one of the majors
we are researching.

So we have several projects.

One of the projects
is the variety improvement.

It's really very important
to distinguish

the ube varieties,
because the purple ube

is more in demand
for the processing.

These processing industries
have particular requirements,

like the varieties
that have small shape.

Also, they prefer
the deep purple fresh ube.

Root crops was once
the staple food

of the people here
in the northern Philippines,

most especially here in the
Cordillera Administrative Region.

But now that the production
of the root crops now,

and tuber crops now
is already dwindling

because they do not have source
of clean, planting materials.

These farmers already are going
into other cash crops

because of those problems.

In 2006, the supply of ube
in the entire country,

Philippines...

We have 30,000 metric tons.

Now, in the year 2021,
it decreased to 14,000 metric tons.

So there is really a decrease
of about 50%.

- [Erwan] So this is where
you already have full-formed ube

in the bottom.

- [Cynthia] Yes. There are
already ube that are ready

to be harvested,
the ube tubers.

This one, these are
for seed production.

So now, this is already
in its six months old ube.

We have already harvested
some of it,

because after three months,
we'll start harvesting tubers

here in the aeroponics.

- 'Cause I've seen
ube plants before

where the...

- Ah, the aerial tubers?

- The aerial tubers.

- Yes.

- What's the difference
between the ones

that grow here and then
the ones that grow undernearth?

- For seeds actually.

It's not for food.

- They usually fully mature
in the ground?

- Yes.

- Ah, okay. Got it.

So this is one of the...

So this is actually ready
for harvest.

We usually harvest it
when it's this big.

Then, let's remove the roots.

What's the most priced variety?

What do people want to plant?

- The Kinampay.
Yeah. The Kinampay

and then the Mindoro,
because of the deep purple.

- And the shape.

- Yeah. And the shape.

It commands also
a higher price in the market.

Yes.

Actually, the planting material
that we use

is typicall this size.

Small seedlings like these
are usually planted here

in the greenhouse.

But the bigger ones
at 50 grams and above,

we plant them in the field.

So after eight months,
the ube matures

before it's ready for harvest.

This is how we multiply
tissue culture plants for ube.

After a month, it becomes ready
for propagation

through nodal cuttings.

After removing the leaves,
we are left with the node.

Then, we cut them
into single node

so that it can multiply
on the ground.

These are the different varieties.

In Benguet, we collected
about 101 varieties.

- [Erwan] Wow.

- [Cynthia] Yes.

- But these are the main focus?

- Yeah.
These are the main focus.

- [Erwan] Okay.
So now we can taste them.

- [Cynthia] Yeah, you can.

- So excited to try
different varieties.

You don't know how like...

- [Cynthia] Saucer.

- When we were in Manila,
it's so hard to find

the varieties.

And when we go
to the market,

we asked what variety is it.

- Yeah. They don't even...

- People have no idea.

- Yeah. They don't have...

- So this is very exciting
for me.

- Yes.

So this is the Kina...

There are five varieties
that you're going to try.

- I'll try the Kinampay first.

Mindoro.

Sampero.

This is grainier
and much fluffier

in terms of texture.

But these two have stronger,
more determined flavor.

Zambal.

Yeah. That doesn't take
like anything.

(chuckles)

I mean, I don't want
to be picky with the bread.

But this one
has not much flavor at all.

And Padihot.

This is the prettiest purple.

It's the deepest purple.

More water content, right?

- [Cynthia] Ooh, watery.

- [Erwan] It would probably
be harder to work with

'cause it has
more moisture inside.

That flavor was also
very similar to Sampero, not much.

- And also,
that's Sampero.

Because when it comes
to aroma also,

this Kinampay and Sampero
has the best aroma.

That's why sometimes,
they are combining Mindoro

and Kinampay,
so that this one

will provide the aroma.

- But yeah, flavor wise,
the Kinampay's the best.

- So actually,
these are the Mindoro.

These are already the halaya.

- [Erwan] Halaya Mindoro.

So good.

Okay. Now you know.
If you want to buy ube,

buy Kinampay...

I would even say buy Kinampay
and then mix it with...

- [Cynthia] Padihot.

- Padihot for colors,
so you don't need to use

extracts or anything for color.

That was amazing
and so eye-opening.

Ma'am Cynthia...

You can really feel
how passionate she is.

She's been doing this
for 40 years.

She said next year,
she's going to be retiring,

which...

I mean, obviously at one point
you need to,

but I think it's also such
a same.

She's such an integral part
in kind of making sure people

know about ube
and farmers know how to grow it.

And that was, for me,
just eye-opening in terms

of not only different flavors
and tastes,

but also the technicalities
of ube farming

and why certain people decide
not to farm them.

But I do think it's an industry
that has a lot of potential.

Like it could have
a lot of benefits

for a lot of people,
and can just really represent

what the Philippines is
and really put

our agricultural products
on the international map.

- I think the government
should be more concerned

with the geographic indicators
of our product.

And we can actually command
a higher price

if we can actually designate
a geographic indication

on our products,
especially ube.

Now, that ube now
is getting popular.

The source of ube...

You know, like the information
should come from us

and not from them.

If we have that kind
of geographical indication

on our ube,

we can say that, okay,
so ube is from the Philippines

and this is the kind of cultivar
that we have.

And this is like the best
for making halaya

and starches.

And then we can actually claim it
as our own.

So that you avoid
all this controversy about,

you know, who owns what.

- [Erwan] With what we know
about ube so far

is there a way to guarantee
is authenticity, origin,

and the tradition behind it.

Actually, there is.

And the concept
has been implemented

by the European Union
since 1992.

Protected Designation of Origin
or PDO products.

With a PDO status,
the origin, quality, history,

and tradition behind a product
is valued and protected.

You'll find cheese, wines,
hams, seafood, etc.,

And you're right.
They are all under PDO.

Imagine if the same can be done
for Filipino products.

It would bring immense
to the farmers

and communities involved,
encouraging them to keep

these traditions alive
and motivating other people

to do the same
and not only focus

on commodity crops
that do nothing for our soil,

diversity, or culture.

We would have a sense
of pride for local products

that would translate
internationally.

If anyone from the government
is listening,

here we created a draft logo
that you can use if you want.

From up north,
let's go to Bohol

where ube Kinampay
is not only abundant

but also revered.

We talked to Esmeraldo
and Celencio,

president and vice president

of the
Bohol Ube Growers Association

or third generation
ube farmers.

- Based on my experience
and age,

because now that I'm
a senior citizen,

ube really
is the most important

since the time of our ancestors.

Ube really became important
because it is the savior

during these times
of food crisis especially

during those years
when we had

difficulty sourcing rice.

During those days,
I think it was the 60s or 70s,

we had a hard time.

- During the Hispanic era,
a great famine

caused by the long drought
occurred

Consequently,
all the green visitation died

and the new settler
around the municipalities

of Dauis, Panglao,
and Baclayon

in the province of Bohol
and other neighboring areas

were starved and many died.

In their constant search
for food,

someone accidentally struck
a fleshy tuber in the ground,

some white and purple
in color.

The family settler cook it
and found that the tuber

is very delicious
and very nutritious.

- There are so many stories
about how

if you dropped an ube,
you have to kiss it.

And that we have
to handle ube very well.

Or that you're nearly asked
to go to church

so you will not get bad karma.

It was said
that ube impacts your karma,

according to the elders.

But in the present,
in the modern age,

we can say that
that is not the case.

Because if you pay attention
to the old tales,

ube is kissed so that
the ube will not rot easily

because when the ube
is bruised or mishandled a little,

it really will rot easily.

So, it needs to be handled well.

- The ube in Bohol is...

We consider it unique.

In fact, in our Bohol hymn,
it's the only crop

that is being mentioned
in the lines of the Bohol hymn.

And when we spell,
our spelling of ube in Bohol

is not the u-b-e,
it's the u-b-i.

It is the acronym
of the Unique Boholano Identity.

More than 50% of the ube
in the whole country

comes from Bohol.

- The Kinampay really has
an aroma that lingers

and permeates
when it is cooked,

even the neighbors can smell it.

This is what is considered
the best Kinampay in Bohol.

- The style of preparation
is 6 openings of the spot.

So it will be the right size
of the...

We space it 60 by 60 cm
in between hills.

That's the standard
in growing ube.

Remove the rocks
so they will not disrupt

the ube growth.

On my part, I've been doing it
ahead because I'm older.

I think I've been gambling
on planting ube for three decades.

Because I've seen that
in the root crop,

there is profit
and it can be a source

of livelihood.

It's like you're banking
on the possibility

that within eight months,
you're holding on

to your money.

When you harvest,
you'll see the profit

because of how
in demand ube is.

- To think that I'm the president
of Bohol Ube Growers,

we made a record.

Including the 28 member cities
in all of Bohol.

Based on the data
that we gathered,

some are estimated,
but some are actual.

That harvest reaches
almost 30 tons in all of Bohol,

not including some walk-ins,
we call them walk-ins,

those who plant ube
that are not included

in our organization.

This is why at the moment,
our ube doesn't seem

to be enough to meet demand.

We can say that
it's not enough

because the past week,
someone called me.

They were looking for 70 tons.
It seems to be very difficult.

This is why it would be great
to encourage the other planters

and those
who don't even plant yet

to plant ube.

Because where are we going
to find that 70 tons?

The production of ube
in Bohol is really not enough.

No matter what we do
and how hard we try

to meet the demand.

One factor is the capital.

That is why when there's lots
of capital and there

are younger generations
who are interested to gamble

on planting ube,
and we can explain

to them properly that ube
does generate good profit.

- [Erwan] Besides the struggle
of beating the demand for ube,

the farmers in Bohol
also deal with other challenges.

- What we just prepared,
we will now plant.

Come here first.
Oh, this is ready,

and the soil preparation.

So when we plant this,
we tilt it sideways

so that it will be easy to grow
from its first planting.

Let's make it look like this.

So that when we bury it
in the soil,

it will be like that.

Cover it. And then,
we will wait until

it begins to sprout.

Around next month.

The difference between big scale
and small ube farmers

is that the small ones
yield small quantities

and they have less.

None of them have peso signs
in their brains.

Mid-scale is different
because the yield becomes bigger.

Incrementally, you will yield
more ube.

You then make the effort
to join seminars,

join the industry organizations,
so that you can get involved

in bigger harvests.

And then, you can sell faster.

Because there are programs
in the Department of Trade

and Industry
that require farmers

that are profit-centric.

Because if you aren't,
you will not improve.

- [Erwan] Once these challenges
are addressed,

there's so much
economic opportunity with ube.

Besides, retail farmers
can also sell their produce

to businesses
that process ube.

We took a closer look
to one such enterprise

which uses ube
in their snacks and pastries

by the volume.

- Ube Kinampay
is a much loved product here

in Bohol.

And it started
when the local government

here in Tagbilaran City,
they hosted ube festival

every year.

So they encourage Boholanos
to make different kinds

of ube products.

We grow our own ube
and we also get it

from our employees.

They grow it in their...

in their farm in the towns.

And it's ready for harvest,
we buy it from them.

Aside from our employees,
we also get it

from the local farmers here
in Bohol,

also in Mindanao.

We consume about 1,000 kilos
of ube every month.

And what we do is we mix
ube Kinampay and ube halaya

to get that nice color,
nice texture,

and a good taste.

- [Erwan] That's just one
of the many ways

medium to large scale businesses
use ube in their products

in conventional ways.

But how else can this distinctly
Filipino flavor

be integrated respectfully
while preserving its integrity.

We sat down
with Chef Joanna Arciaga

of Half Saints to know more.

- We celebrate
local ingredients.

We sort of challenge ourselves
because most Filipinos know ube

in its processed form,

the most famous processed form
which is the ube halaya.

So if it's not ube halaya,
then it's not ube.

They're like looking
for that certain flavor

that they can only taste
from ube jam.

That challenge is what sort
of inspire us to make

an all-ube dish
that presents ube

in a different light,
more subtle than what

most Filipinos know ube.

If you take ube...

fresh raw ube and you boil it,
the flavor is earthy,

but it's very subtle.

And that subtlety
is what makes it versatile

because you can combine it
with different flavors,

but still get a nice desert
out of it.

We get our ube
from our local supplier

who gets it from Nueva Ecija.

So the ube comes to us fresh.

It makes the tradition of,
for example,

making halaya sacred
as the stories behind it.

If we make halaya
in a different way

or a more modern way,
does it mean we lose

the stories behind making it
the traditional way?

I think it will be inevitable
for the method to change

through time,
because as more equipment

becomes modern,
the approach may not be

the same as
how we traditionally make ube.

But I think we can preserve it
by making it from scratch,

using less processed ingredients
as possible,

not putting artificial flavors.

You know,
making the ingredient stand out.

- We should take pride
in ingredients such as ube,

because it's not only part
of our cuisine,

it's part of our culture,
it's part of who we are.

This is why we should continue
this conversation

for people to get
a better understanding

about ube.

It's a lot of work.

And I believe as Filipino
because we are

on the right track.

But we lobby private
and public partnerships

for an in-depth research,
promotion, preservation

for Filipino food
and gastronomy.

Any country can grow anything,
can plant anything.

So we should make sure
that we,

not only focus
on the high score mango,

the usual crops
that we export,

we should also focus
with the heirloom produce

that we have.

And we should highlight this
because nobody will plant it,

nobody will buy it.
It's going to die.

Next thing you know,
other countries

will start planting it.

- Ube or purple yam
kind of became the symbol

of Philippines
on the artistic point of view,

because I'm a visual artist.

I know what color is.

So it kind of like represents
the unity of the Filipinos

because if you mix
the colors of our flag,

red and blue,
it creates purple or violet.

So I think that
that's unconsciously...

or unconsciously,
we think of ube

as like a unifying...

Like especially halaya ube
as like a unifying symbol.

And then when you put
like a yellow margarine

on top of it,
that is the sun and stars.

- For people to know
about Filipino food,

it's important
for our ingredients

to have a sense of origin.

Every time ube is eaten,
people should know

it's a Filipino ingredient,
just like how you have

Japanese rice, or miso.

Not only will this make
Filipino food part

of the international conversation,
but it will also motivate

local growers and farmers
to be more specific

with what they're planting,
and take pride

in their produce,
which could lead

to greater crop diversity
and food security

in a country
that direly needs it.