Sanon is the word dynamic, personified. He is in a perennial state of movement—never in one place for far too long and always with an exciting story to share. His primary work as a tourist driver—which involves taking visitors from the main municipality of T’Boli to a jump-off point to climb up Mt. Melibengoy and Lake Holon—is truly meant for him. As The Dream Coffee’s community facilitator, he is also ever in motion, traveling to different communities in the area to help educate his fellow Tboli about coffee. These are his dreams and his story, in his own words.
“Simple lang ang pangarap ko sa buhay: ‘yung anak ko makapagaral at makapagtapos. Kasi ako elementary graduate lang. Dahil sa hirap ng buhay, hindi na ako nakapagpatuloy sa pag-aaral. Kaya ‘yung dapat sana sa akin, hinahabol ko na lang para sa mga anak ko.
Malaking tulong para sa akin at sa community itong project na ginagawa namin sa coffee. Lahat ng mga community natutuwa kasi ‘yung mga produkto nila na coffee, maibebenta na nila. May value na ‘yung coffee nila. ‘Pag dating ng project na ito, maganda ang naidudulot sa community. May income na sila para makapag-aral ang mga anak nila.”
(“My dream is simple—for my children to be able to finish their studies. I’m just an elementary graduate. Because of the hardships of life, I wasn’t able to finish my studies. That’s why I’m chasing this dream for my children.
This project we’re doing on coffee has been helpful for me and the community. The community is happy that they can sell their coffee, that their coffee has value, and that it can be sold at a better price. When this project came about, it benefited the community. Now they can earn an income so that their children can study.”)
