Behind the now well-known Tuburan coffee is a group of farmers who have dedicated a part of their lives to coffee farming and have grown together with Cebu’s first and largest coffee provider. Among them is 46-year-old Criselda Lapus, a Tuburan coffee farmer for eight years.
 
Criselda entered coffee farming with the intention of helping her husband in providing for their family. The couple’s only source of income back then was growing corn which was still not enough to sustain their basic needs. But the Tuburan Coffee Farm has given them more than what they expected to acquire – additional livelihood, skills, and knowledge.
 
“Taking care of coffee is surprisingly fun. Apart from the weekly pay that we receive, we also feel happy every time we gain new learnings about coffee farming. It feels good entertaining questions about our product and confidently answering them,” she said.
 
One of the ways that they could reach their customers and showcase their products is through their social media platforms, which also shows how communication and connectivity play a huge role in introducing Tuburan coffee to the rest of the world. Even Criselda, who is not tech-savvy, has started promoting their product online. “It is nice to hear the positive feedback from our customers, both online and those who personally visit our farm,” she shared.
 
Apart from that, Smart Communications Inc.’s reliable network signal has helped keep the farm personnel connected wherever they may be in the wide coffee plantation. This has allowed them to quickly attend to urgent tasks communicated to them via call or text. 
 
“It is empowering to know that we are contributing to the growth of our town’s tourism sector,” Criselda said. “We, coffee farmers, are the proudest among all Tuburanons with the success of a product that we personally tend and grow,” she added. 
 
PLDT and Smart’s push to provide connectivity for all benefits farmers like Criselda, enabling them to integrate digital ways in promoting and selling their products. These efforts also underscore PLDT and Smart’s commitment to help the country attain the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal No. 11 on Sustainable Cities and Communities.