Laguna family farm expands into tourism, food products

BUENAVITA Integrated Farm in Mabitac, Laguna, has transformed a neglected eight-hectare family property into a camping destination and food business, with plans to expand into export markets within three years. The farm offers camping, team-building and farm tours, while its food arm produces bottle

BUENAVITA Integrated Farm in Mabitac, Laguna, has turned a neglected eight-hectare family property into a camping destination and food business, with plans to expand into export markets within three years. The farm, established in 2020, offers camping, team-building activities and farm tours, while its food business produces bottled condiments and preserved food using ingredients grown on the property.

Founder Loida M. Ilagan said she returned to farming because she was missing her parents. “I want to keep their memories alive,” she told BusinessWorld in Filipino in an interview at the farm. The property originally belonged to her parents, Buenaventura Ilagan and Levita M. Ilagan, who depended on farming for their livelihood before the land was left unattended for about three decades.

Ms. Ilagan, the eighth of their children, rehabilitated the property after her mother’s death in 2013. The farm’s name combines her parents’ names. She said the property had been heavily deforested and overgrown with weeds when she took over. Ms. Ilagan and her partner, Erwin C. Mendoza, have since developed the site into a camping destination surrounded by fruit-bearing trees.

The farm attracts visitors, particularly employees of large companies in Metro Manila, for camping and team-building activities. It also offers overnight accommodations, day tours and a service that lets visitors pick and pay for fruits and vegetables grown on the property. “The farm has been transformed significantly from what we found, which was practically nothing,” Ms. Ilagan said.

The business is expanding amid growing interest in outdoor recreation. The Philippine camping and caravanning market is projected to reach $100 million by 2031 from $51 million in 2025, representing annual growth of 14.75%, according to consulting firm Ken Research. Despite the improvements, Ms. Ilagan said the family intends to limit construction to preserve biodiversity and maintain the farm’s natural surroundings. “After working for years in the US and Manila, this place has brought me so much peace,” she said.

The family expanded into food processing in 2021 through Buenavita Food Products, which uses farm produce to make bottled condiments and preserved food. “Our products are farm-to-table: We harvest the raw materials, I cook them and they become jarred products,” Ms. Ilagan said. Its products include gourmet salted dried fish or tuyo, hot sauces made from imported pepper varieties cultivated on the farm, chili garlic oil and pickled fruits and vegetables.

The company sells its products through online shopping platform Shopee and has participated in international trade fairs in Manila. Ms. Ilagan described the company’s participation in these trade fairs as its biggest achievement so far. Buenavita Food Products is preparing to enter overseas markets, including the US, Dubai and other parts of Asia.

The company was selected in September to join a Department of Science and Technology business incubation program, which provides support for product development and commercialization. Ms. Ilagan said the family seeks to use technologies available through the incubation program to improve production and prepare its products for international markets. The business is also awaiting Food and Drug Administration accreditation after submitting its application last year.

Ms. Ilagan plans to refurbish some of the farm huts and improve visitor facilities without significantly altering the property’s natural environment.