Medicinal Raw Honey Hunting in Ifugao and Ilocos
One of the goals of our 10 day Luzon road trip was to hunt for wild honey in the far flung provincial markets. My usual suppliers of honey have dried up. Even the bees in the farm in Alaminos are on honey strike when I visited last month.
Our first leg through Nueva Ecija, to Bayombong, to Ifugao netted 2 big quattro kantos bottles in Lagawe costing a lot each.
Later in Bangui, Ilocos Norte we were able to buy up 10 bottles of wild honey, of course they tasted different from the Ifugao wild honey. But this was much cheaper per quattro kantos. They also sold en mass some farmed honey which was obvious to my taste buds, they cost less, but still I only bought 1 farmed honey bottle.
Later on in Vigan, we met up with my sister in law who just went honey hunting in the wild mountains with native honey gatherers and she brought back 30 bottles (tasted different too)! And she’s asking us to pack this big box in our car! And she gave us the story of how they got the honey and with pictures too.
Of course we will find a way to accommodate this new honey stash. We will be sending our used clothes in our big maleta by bus. Then we can stuff the big honey box in the car! Hooray for honey.
I’ve learned how hard it is to have to go out of your way to collect true wild honey. And found out from Ifugao that the people there just buy up all the wild honey immediately… it is medicine… medicine primarily for children.
I give raw honey for myself and my children as a digestive aid. Raw honey with raw calamansi is also a remedy for coughs. I’m valuing these raw wild honey so much I’m keeping a good amount of stash in the hidden cupboards for medication emergencies. Must never run out of raw wild honey ever again.
Will make a write up of my sister in law’s adventure in wild honey gathering. Awesome story coming up!