Philippines /
Central Visayas /
Pitogo /
Bien Unido
Hingotanan Island (Bien Unido)
World / Philippines / Central Visayas / Pitogo World / Philippines / Bohol / Bien Unido
A Glimpse of a World Class Seaweeds Producer in the Philippines
Hingotanan is one of the coral islands dotting the north-eastern coastline of Bohol in Central Visayas. It is one of the bigger ones though and the most densely populated. In the late 1970's, due to its swelling population going over 5,000 of about 700 households, a move to split the barangay into two was initiated by the late MR. APRONIANO PADEN who was then a setting municipal councilor of Bien Unido, the island's mother town. The plan of course bears the blessings and concurrence of the local council and the entire Hingotanan populace. The painstaking task of holding meetings and caucuses among the people in getting a consensus to split the barangay hurdled numerous bumps on the issue. Eventually, the sincere efforts of those who were behind it, paid off and a decision was reached. Hingotanan was officially divided into two separate barangays which are now known as Hingotanan East and Hingotanan West.
The total land area of the entire island is only 32.7 hectares or roughly 327,000 sq. meters of pure sandy soil and coconut mangroves. The beach lines of its oval shaped geography is majestically ringed around by a sugar like textured white sand that most world renowned beaches are known for. Accessibility to the island is unfortunately only by sea with mechanized outriggers popularly known by the locales as "pumpboats". It is the only means of transportation to go in and out of the island in between its neighboring barangays and coastal towns of Bohol, Leyte and Cebu. Business and commerce are mostly done and engaged in by the local enterpreneurs in the City of Cebu where big traders are usually based.
The island is composed of four sitios namely: 1) Lugating on the West, 2)Tunga on the North. These two sitios form Hingotanan East and the other two, 3) Lawis on the East and 4) Luyo at the South, belongs to Hingotanan West. Its inhabitants are predominantly Roman Catholics and very few are affiliated with either the Baptists or the Presbyterian Protestants of the United Church of Christ congregations.
The early 1980's were the pivotal years and the dawn of a miraculous economic transformation amongst the people of this island, when its naturally abundant marine product SEAWEED (with varieties like: agar-agar, eucheuma, cottonii and spinosum and when processed will have a by-product called, Carrageenan) was scientifically found to be an excellent stabilizer for toothpaste making; thickener for fire fighting foam, shampoo and cosmetic creams; gel for shoe polish, ice cream, milk shakes, sweetened condensed milk and sauces and many more.
Seaweed farming is a booming $7-billion global industry presently shared by 15 countries in the world. About 15 million metric tons were harvested in 2007 from these countries, nearly double the total of a decade earlier, according to U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization. China is the largest producer and exporter and nearly all its crop is farmed in operations that fill entire bays and estuaries.
The unprecedented demand of this product from industrial countries like Japan, Europe and the US reached a fever pitch that eventually opened up the floodgates to a more promising and lucrative industry for the people of Hingotonan who used to depend a lot on fishing as their means of livelihood. More often than not, the daily catch is not always enough to survive them for a week or two of daily sustainance until the next catch. Basically, life in the community was being carried out on a "hand to mouth" existence by most families during those hard times.
This seaweed phenomenon has dramatically elevated their lives economically in total contrast with what they used to do and have in fishing. Every able family member of any household in the community are either directly or indirectly involved in the overall cycle in the cultivation of the product, of course with monetary considerations as to labour being invested from its preparation prior to planting, to harvesting and drying for final delivery to the buyers. Consequently, the limited earning capacity of the people on fishing had been satisfactorily augmented and practically made easy and tenable by the advent of this industry.
Seaweed is a primitive sea plant belonging to the algae family with origins dating back millions of years. It comes in four popular varieties (scientifically known as: cottonii, agar-agar, spinosum and eucheuma). It is an important food in many Asian cultures. Japanese cuisine employs different varieties (such as kombu, laver and nori) for many uses including soups, vegetables, tea, sushi and as general seasoning. It is also a rich source of iodine, an important nutrient. Many seaweeds also provide alginic acid, a jellylike substance that's used as a stabilizer and thickener in a wide variety of commercially processed foods such as ice creams, puddings, flavored milk drinks, pie fillings, soups and syrups.
The second largest producer of seaweeds in the world after China is the Philippines where the cultivated varieties are vastly produced in commercial quantities and accounts for 30% of the world supply. Hingotanan and Dawahon share about 35% of the country's total production. The most common variety being cultivated here are Cottonii (Kappaphycus alvarezii) and Spinosum (eucheuma denticulatum) which together provide about three quarters of the world production. They grow at sea level down to about 2 metres. Seaweed is normally grown on nylon lines strung between bamboo floats and harvested after three months or so when each plant weighs around 1 kilogram. The shallow waters along the Dawahon Reef was found to be perfectly suitable in the cultivation and farming of this marine plant commercially.
After harvest, the seaweed is dried, baled and sent to the carrageenan manufacturer. There the seaweed is ground, sifted to remove impurities such as sand and washed thoroughly. After treatment with hot alkali solution (e.g. 5-8% potassium hydroxide), the cellulose is removed from the carrageenan by centrifugation and filtration. The resulting carrageenan solution is then concentrated by evaporation. It is dried and ground to specifications.
On top of these God given bounties, the island is also blessed with intellectual abundance in reference to its numerous professionals who are mostly successful in their individual fields of endeavor locally and abroad. Some are in high places in the government, numerous managers in different private companies and many are successful private practitioners in the field of law, medicine, engineering and entrepreneurship.
Hingotanan is one of the coral islands dotting the north-eastern coastline of Bohol in Central Visayas. It is one of the bigger ones though and the most densely populated. In the late 1970's, due to its swelling population going over 5,000 of about 700 households, a move to split the barangay into two was initiated by the late MR. APRONIANO PADEN who was then a setting municipal councilor of Bien Unido, the island's mother town. The plan of course bears the blessings and concurrence of the local council and the entire Hingotanan populace. The painstaking task of holding meetings and caucuses among the people in getting a consensus to split the barangay hurdled numerous bumps on the issue. Eventually, the sincere efforts of those who were behind it, paid off and a decision was reached. Hingotanan was officially divided into two separate barangays which are now known as Hingotanan East and Hingotanan West.
The total land area of the entire island is only 32.7 hectares or roughly 327,000 sq. meters of pure sandy soil and coconut mangroves. The beach lines of its oval shaped geography is majestically ringed around by a sugar like textured white sand that most world renowned beaches are known for. Accessibility to the island is unfortunately only by sea with mechanized outriggers popularly known by the locales as "pumpboats". It is the only means of transportation to go in and out of the island in between its neighboring barangays and coastal towns of Bohol, Leyte and Cebu. Business and commerce are mostly done and engaged in by the local enterpreneurs in the City of Cebu where big traders are usually based.
The island is composed of four sitios namely: 1) Lugating on the West, 2)Tunga on the North. These two sitios form Hingotanan East and the other two, 3) Lawis on the East and 4) Luyo at the South, belongs to Hingotanan West. Its inhabitants are predominantly Roman Catholics and very few are affiliated with either the Baptists or the Presbyterian Protestants of the United Church of Christ congregations.
The early 1980's were the pivotal years and the dawn of a miraculous economic transformation amongst the people of this island, when its naturally abundant marine product SEAWEED (with varieties like: agar-agar, eucheuma, cottonii and spinosum and when processed will have a by-product called, Carrageenan) was scientifically found to be an excellent stabilizer for toothpaste making; thickener for fire fighting foam, shampoo and cosmetic creams; gel for shoe polish, ice cream, milk shakes, sweetened condensed milk and sauces and many more.
Seaweed farming is a booming $7-billion global industry presently shared by 15 countries in the world. About 15 million metric tons were harvested in 2007 from these countries, nearly double the total of a decade earlier, according to U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization. China is the largest producer and exporter and nearly all its crop is farmed in operations that fill entire bays and estuaries.
The unprecedented demand of this product from industrial countries like Japan, Europe and the US reached a fever pitch that eventually opened up the floodgates to a more promising and lucrative industry for the people of Hingotonan who used to depend a lot on fishing as their means of livelihood. More often than not, the daily catch is not always enough to survive them for a week or two of daily sustainance until the next catch. Basically, life in the community was being carried out on a "hand to mouth" existence by most families during those hard times.
This seaweed phenomenon has dramatically elevated their lives economically in total contrast with what they used to do and have in fishing. Every able family member of any household in the community are either directly or indirectly involved in the overall cycle in the cultivation of the product, of course with monetary considerations as to labour being invested from its preparation prior to planting, to harvesting and drying for final delivery to the buyers. Consequently, the limited earning capacity of the people on fishing had been satisfactorily augmented and practically made easy and tenable by the advent of this industry.
Seaweed is a primitive sea plant belonging to the algae family with origins dating back millions of years. It comes in four popular varieties (scientifically known as: cottonii, agar-agar, spinosum and eucheuma). It is an important food in many Asian cultures. Japanese cuisine employs different varieties (such as kombu, laver and nori) for many uses including soups, vegetables, tea, sushi and as general seasoning. It is also a rich source of iodine, an important nutrient. Many seaweeds also provide alginic acid, a jellylike substance that's used as a stabilizer and thickener in a wide variety of commercially processed foods such as ice creams, puddings, flavored milk drinks, pie fillings, soups and syrups.
The second largest producer of seaweeds in the world after China is the Philippines where the cultivated varieties are vastly produced in commercial quantities and accounts for 30% of the world supply. Hingotanan and Dawahon share about 35% of the country's total production. The most common variety being cultivated here are Cottonii (Kappaphycus alvarezii) and Spinosum (eucheuma denticulatum) which together provide about three quarters of the world production. They grow at sea level down to about 2 metres. Seaweed is normally grown on nylon lines strung between bamboo floats and harvested after three months or so when each plant weighs around 1 kilogram. The shallow waters along the Dawahon Reef was found to be perfectly suitable in the cultivation and farming of this marine plant commercially.
After harvest, the seaweed is dried, baled and sent to the carrageenan manufacturer. There the seaweed is ground, sifted to remove impurities such as sand and washed thoroughly. After treatment with hot alkali solution (e.g. 5-8% potassium hydroxide), the cellulose is removed from the carrageenan by centrifugation and filtration. The resulting carrageenan solution is then concentrated by evaporation. It is dried and ground to specifications.
On top of these God given bounties, the island is also blessed with intellectual abundance in reference to its numerous professionals who are mostly successful in their individual fields of endeavor locally and abroad. Some are in high places in the government, numerous managers in different private companies and many are successful private practitioners in the field of law, medicine, engineering and entrepreneurship.
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Coordinates: 10°14'21"N 124°29'8"E
- Poro Island 54 km
- Olango Island Group 55 km
- Pacijan Island 57 km
- Mactan Island 63 km
- Panaon Island 69 km
- Panglao Island 107 km
- Camiguin Island 110 km
- Homonhon Island 144 km
- Siargao Island 157 km
- Samal Island 362 km
- Dawahon Reef 10 km
- Canigao Chanel 24 km
- can iwan 31 km
- ANG DATING DAAN- CABULIHAN, MAASIN CITY 32 km
- Matalom Town Proper 33 km
- Maasin (Panan-awan) Airport (RPSM) 33 km
- Sitio Limpajuan 36 km
- Cuatro Islas 36 km
- Soon -Ok 37 km
- Brgy Concepcion 38 km
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