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SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan (PNA) Features) - Barangay Gamata, about 40 minutes from this city, is as common as any outlaying rural barrio. Continue below.

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But what makes Gamata outstanding from other villages is the conspicuously abundant rows of mango trees and its thriving bamboo industry, generating P350 million annually for barrio folk selling mangoes.

Mango fruits are aplenty during the summer months of March, April and May. San Carlos City "carabao" mangoes, though green, are known for their sweetness.

Visitors visiting Gamata for the first time can pick up the mangoes hanging from the trees and eat all they can for free.

"Whenever we have tourists around here, we let them pick as many mangoes as they can. We want them to taste the Philippines' sweetest mangoes," said Aling Lenny, whose family is taking care of about 50 mango trees owned by a couple who has migrated to the United States.

A "tiklis" containing about 18 to 20 kilos can be had for just P80. In Manila, it costs about P350.

The mango business is seasonal but a good harvest ensures an income that is good for one year.

San Carlos City Mayor Julian Resuello said the city government extends all the help they can give to propagate two of the city's top sources of income.

"We hold constant dialogues so I would know their problems and needs," he said.

Resuello said San Carlos used to be the biggest producer of the country's sweetest mangoes.

But they now have to compete with mango producing provinces such as Zambales and Guimaras island which is now exporting its mangoes.

Still, Resuello said, San Carlos City produces some of the country's sweetest mangoes.

The city has about 91,000 mango-producing trees aged 15 years old and above. The younger ones that are awaiting fruition number about 111,000.

Around 40 metric tons of mangoes are harvested here yearly, yielding gross sales of almost P350 million.

Bamboo-making is also a way of life in San Carlos.

Four men working nine hours for five days can build a six-feet-by-six-feet bamboo hut (similar to those being used in beach resorts) that can be sold for P12,000. If transported to Manila, the price escalates to P15,000. A bamboo hut with a small room, measuring 12 feet by six feet, is sold for P25,000.

"Our bamboo huts can last for at least 20 years," boasted Gener, a bamboo hut maker, who talks to delighted observes while putting the finishing touches on yet another creation.

The bamboo huts of San Carlos City have always been exhibited in various expositions around the country.

Basket-making is another common source of livelihood in Barangay Gamata, with a sturdy, middle-sized basket worked on for about one hour.

On a good day when there are a lot of orders for export, at least 200 basket a day are produced in the town, with a small-medium-large set costing just P50.

Aurea Gutierrez, 42, who is from another basket-making barangay, said the early 1990s were their best years in terms of income.

"I used to make 20 baskets a day and can still save a little. But now we've a lot of rivals in the business. Sometimes, we don't have money to buy materials. Other times, there are no materials at all," she lamented.

Mang Bert, an official of the city's Bamboo Manufacturers' Association, said their main concern is the cultivation of different varieties of bamboo.

"We make sure that bamboo will continue to be a source of livelihood for San Carlos and it would not become extinct," he said.

San Carlos, a second-class city located in the central part of Pangasinan, is bounded by the municipalities of Binmaley and Calasiao in the north; Malasiqui and Sta. Barbara in the East; Aguilar in the South; Basista and Bayambang in the Southeast; and Lingayen and Bugallon in the Northwest.

Every last week of April for the past four years, the country has been celebrating the Mango-Bamboo Festival as a tribute to the products that give them the chance to compete in the world market.

A brainchild of Resuello, the event is not meant to be a mere festival or a source of entertainment.

"We saw the abundance and quality of these products as strengths and opportunities to improve the marketing and increase the earning capabilities and mango growers and those engaged in the bamboo craft industry," the mayor said.

He noted that since they lack connection and access to export-traders, they rely solely on middlemen-businessmen to sell their products at much lower prices.

The first mango-bamboo fest was held in April 2001. The following year, they tapped the help of the Department of Tourism to help them promote the event.

Added attraction to the annual festival street dancing, float parades, mangocooking contests, bamboo-making shows and other fun-filled events to attract local and foreign tourists.

"Our products can compare and compete with the best. That is why we always exhort our people to improve and comply with standards so our items would not end us as "rejects," he said.

May 2, 2004

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