The Philippines is known as the coffee capital of the world, and it's not hard to see why: Decades ago, the town of Amadeo was mostly green.
Today, it's filled with fruit trees that yield banana, pineapple, santol, and guyabano, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
"I think this love for food and coffee got me into the organic, which then led to biodiversity, which now is a social issue," says the founder of ECHOfarms, an herb farm owned by one of the town's residents.
After working for 15 years as CEO of the Figaro Coffee Company, Evangeline "Chit" Juan decided it was time to get into social entrepreneurship, a cause close to her heart.
So she teamed up with an architect and a chef to start the farm, which produces organic lettuce, herbs, fruit teas, and more.
Most of the products come from women farmers, Chit says, and the farm now draws chefs from nearby areas who come to pick herbs for their dishes.
"Today, this green space draws chefs from the neighboring areas who come to select herbs that can be incorporated into their dishes," she says.
"Whether it be for Italian or Asian cuisine, herbs that can be incorporated into their
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