Catmon’s Kabog (Millet)
There is a rural-based movement organized recently in Catmon, Cebu, called “Slow Food (Kabog) Presidia.” One of the organizers is a relative of mine from my late father’s Orlanes side, former town councilor Vicente “Sensen” Orlanes Colonia together with his wife Monette.
Let me greet first Mano Sensen a happy birthday on his most important day yesterday. Our birthdays actually fall on the same day, February 21. Since I spent my teenage years and still at present live at the Colonia compound in Banilad beside the Pink Sisters Convent, it was oftentimes that we both greet each other happy birthday after attending the daily morning mass at the Adoration Convent of the Divine Peace Chapel.
It was Mano Sensen who introduced me to the Takakura composting method which uses micro-organisms to break down organic waste into nutrient-rich soil for organic gardening. Another beauty of this method is that the composting pile of waste does not smell bad at all.
Recently he and his group of slow food advocates organized the “Slow Food (Kabog) Presidia” which is based in our hometown Catmon. Presidia are projects established by local groups in any part of the globe that aim to “save artisanal food products, native animal breeds, plant varieties, and traditional farming and fishing techniques, as well as ecosystems and rural landscapes that are at risk of extinction.”
In other words, the movement promotes sustainable agriculture and food production. The idea is to promote cooperation and collaboration among small-scale producers in order to “resolve difficulties they face, unite isolated producers, and connect them with alternative markets that understand their situation and appreciate their quality products.”
In Catmon, the food product that may be at risk of extinction if no intervention is made is the budbod kabog, a glutinous delicacy made from a specie of millet (kabog) found in the uplands of Catmon. The traditional processing method for budbod kabog is known only to a few artisans in Catmon. Thus, the objective of Slow Food (Kabog) Presidia is to promote the various food products that can be made from Catmon’s Kabog.
As an offshoot to this initiative, the Catmon Delicacy Vendors Association was formed. You can buy their products when you reach Catmon at what is known there as Eskina Katambisan.
Not many people, including Cebuanos, know about the history of budbod kabog and why it is an important part of Cebuano heritage.
In fact, I’ve written about the budbod kabog in one of the chapters in the Catmon volume of the Cebu Provincial History Writing Project launched by Governor Gwen Garcia’s administration in 2007. So allow me to repeat here what I wrote about the budbod kabog. The younger generation certainly deserve to know about how and why Catmon is known for its budbod kabog.
Town resident Nelson J. Ares wrote that the grass “kabog” used to grow wild and abundantly in the Catmon uplands particularly in barangay Agsuwao. Folk tales say that the name originated from the seed being a favorite staple of bats.
People discovered the millet grains' potential use as food when they found scattered piles of grass stalks inside a cave in barangay Agsuwao. “They have long regarded the grass as wild and it was the first time they saw it strewn all over inside a cave. Later they discovered that bats, known locally as “kabog,” which were roosting in the cave, carried the grass with its grains for their food. If the bats can eat the grains, so do humans, the people concluded. Dugokon sa langgam nga kabog (The birds feast on the seeds), the locals would say.” (Manticajon, “The History of Catmon,” Provincial Government of Cebu, 2014)
For sure, the kabog grain or millet is not exclusive to Catmon. Similar varieties can also be found in other parts of Cebu and in Mindanao. What makes the Catmon millet most sought after, however, is its just being right for making budbod kabog.
Kabog millet grown in Mindanao lacks the viscosity when made into budbod. Mukagay (breaks apart), dili pilit (lacks stickiness), are how the millet from other places is described by Catmon locals. The millet in Catmon, when properly cooked into budbod, is glutinous and sweet.
“You can always distinguish Catmon’s budbod kabog from similar delicacies made in the nearby town of Borbon and in the city of Mandaue. Tab-ang (bland), mukagay (breaks apart, mushy), lacks viscosity are descriptions made by proud Catmon locals for budbod kabog other than those produced in Catmon.”
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