Ayungon's emerging attraction

CEBU, Philippines — Approximately two hours from Dumaguete City towards the northern stretch of Negros Oriental is the town of Ayungon. It is a second-class municipality that is currently getting attention for its hardwood-tree nursery, touted to be the biggest in the country, spanning almost 10 hectares.

The nursery can produce about 30 million seedlings in six months. Considering its size, machines are used for automated bagging of soil and planting. Human labor consists of about 500 workers hired from Ayungon itself and from neighboring towns.

An association of local people – called Asosasyon sa Katawhan sa Lamigan, Banban ug Nabhang nga Nagkahiusa  or AKALABANAN – runs the nursery. The group is headed by Banban barangay chairman Jose Montelibano, who describes the greening endeavor as a big help not only for Mother Nature but for the surrounding communities as well.

Ayungon’s current agroforestry initiative is only a new addition. The town has long been dubbed as the Rice Bowl of Central Negros. Its agriculture-conducive soil supports expansive rice fields, dense coconut groves, as well as pineapple, banana and sugarcane plantations.

There are many other interesting things about this naturally scenic town, established in 1924 by then Governor General Leonard Wood. Ayungon is endowed with abundant natural resources from its forest to its sea. The highlands of Ayungon are home to the three virgin forests still remaining on Negros Island.

Nature lovers are drawn to the town’s Nabingka Caves and Maaslum Falls. At the town center, the Ayungon People’s Park is a place where to be refreshed by the surrounding greens and engage in friendly chats with the local people. And these are just a few of the many nice places to visit in the town.

The thrust of the present municipal leadership, under Mayor Edsel Enardecido, is to develop the human resource and establish infrastructures to strengthen and promote the local agri-based ventures, and support eco-tourism while sustaining an ecologically balanced environment.

Ayungon’s agroforestry project is in line with the National Greening Program of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which aims to plant 1.5 billion trees, covering about 1.5 million hectares, in a period of six years, from 2011 to 2016.  It is not farfetched to imagine that the project will become another major tourist attraction in the town. The town’s mechanized nursery, for instance, is the only one of its kind and scale in the Visayas.

For the work-stressed urbanites, the town of Ayungon provides a sanctuary. There, nature soothes worn spirits. And the refreshing experience costs just a little more than deciding to go.