#155 Veggie Supply Chain

Want to create more jobs? Eat more veggies. Say what?

If you live in Manila, chances are the vegetables you eat are grown in La Trinidad in Benguet. What will surprise you is how many people are involved in getting them to you.

It starts on the farm where farmers hire truckers to send their produce to the vegetable trading post in La Trinidad. From there a marketer sells the produce to buyers through a transaction conducted entirely in whispers! (On the left side of today's postcard, the marketer is wearing a green cap and the buyer sports a red scarf.)

When a sale is consummated, vegetable packers (on the van) pack the correct quantity into plastic bags and hand them over to the buyer's porter. The packers are paid by the number of kilograms packed. The porter is paid by the number of loads he carries to the buyer's truck. That's an entire job ecosystem there. Bet you didn't know you put so many people to work just by eating your veggies! Enjoy.

(Pixel peepers: When the brightness range between your subject and the background sky is too great, there is little choice but to allow the sky to blow-out. It helps if you limit the amount of blown-out sky shown in your composition.)

Where in the world is La Trinidad, Benguet??

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But wait, there's more...

For those who've inquired about buying prints of my postcards, you may purchase them directly from master printmaker Arnel Murillo (murilloarnel@yahoo.com), one of the country's foremost fine-art printmakers.  Arnel uses archival inks and museum-grade paper to ensure his prints will not fade. You will not be disappointed. (All my images are provided gratis to help showcase the beauty of our country. But if you feel generous, help me uplift the lives of the Children of Payatas.  No donation is too big or too small. Get in touch with Fr. Aldrin Suan at aldrinsuan@yahoo.com of the Vincentian Missionaries in the Philippines. As always, thanks and enjoy.)