Red Lady Papaya Rescue

These are Red Lady Papayas.

THE GYPSY PAPAYA FARMERS OF QUEZON. I am writing on behalf of a group of brave papaya farmers that are trying to help themselves. They are from the small town of Buenavista in in Quezon province. Every week, they pool their money to hire a jeepney and cram it with as much papaya as it can carry and take it as far as it’s allowed. They are lucky to be able to reach the Pasig City Public Market, six hours and 250 kilometres away. They can only load as much (1,500 ~ 1,800 kilos), sell as much (the better half of their cargo) and stay as long (two days because any day longer, the jeep rentals starts costing more than the profit). With half a jeep of unsold and ripening papayas, they make their slow way back to their hometown. They make brief stops at the towns of Imus in Cavite, in the Batangas town of Sto. Tomas, and in the Quezon towns of Lucena and Sariaya in an effort to sell more. So many towns, so many buyers hands that pinched and poked their papayas, they always end up with about 400 kilos unsold. Every trip is a loss, but they keep trying.

This was the story that led us to do numerous Rescue Buys in Buenavista, and we are going to it again this week.

Important Info:
1 Price — P299 for 5 kilos
2 Dispatch date — TBA