We at Ilog Maria Honeybee Farms have been renting out our honeybees for contract pollination since 1980. To date, we have incidentally pollinated or contract pollinated: Acacia mangium and other Acacia species like: Aurecoliformis and native Acacia. Arabica, Liberica, Exelsa & Robusta Coffee Chayote Kalamansi Oranges Pomelo Various Vegetables in the East – West Seed Farm Strawberries Blackberries Raspberries Various Cucurbits Melons Some greenhouse crops like tomatoes and bell peppers Coconuts Kakawate (Gliricidia sepium) Narra (Pterocarpus indicus) Eucalyptus (Camaldonensis and Deglupta) Annatto or Achuete Tamarind Avocado Gmelina Mangoes: Indian, Cambodian, Carabao and Piko Papaya Passion

Starting in Honeybees I started keeping honeybees in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, in the late 1970's. It began as a hobby, with two colonies in my mother's garden. There were many attempts to develop a technology heretofore untried, untested. Very few were interested in honeybees. Early attempts… One day, there were crawling and dead bees all over the garden. They must have been poisoned. Next day, we were on our way to Tagaytay, Cavite. A friend of a Ian Aranza, who got me started in beekeeping, was building a house there. We met Mike Harpst, who graciously agreed to let us bring our bees there. Thus began the start of my lifetime adventure with honeybees. We "contract pollinated" the first A

We live a natural lifestyle. Our business uses natural ingredients. We sell all natural products. In 2006, we started losing our bees to what is now called "Colony Collapse Disorder". Bee experts worldwide have their own theories on why the world has lost about half its honeybees. These range from cell phone radiation to "the bees going ahead to another dimension in preparation for 2012." Up to the present, nobody knows for sure. We studied all we could about this phenomenon and decided to address it from the angle of the main "pollutants", fuels and energy. We also decided to employ whatever was locally available. We managed to invest whatever profits we have made in over 5 years into our c

It was a Saturday, 3 am, November 13, 2004. I had wakened to go to the bathroom. As I got up, I keeled over, hitting a TV on a low table. I was disoriented, still sleepy, quite angry at myself as I struggled to my feet, in vain. Our room was dark and I made a racket, just trying to get up. As my whole family wakened, I realized that I had lost all control over my right side. I used my left side and I finally got to the urinal, assisted by my wife. As it was 3am and no one could bring me anywhere, we prayed as a family our devotion to "Our Lord of Pardon". I awoke at 6am. I could stand up! I hugged my children. It was a miracle! I spent the morning puttering about. It was a normal work day. L

We used to do this as a public service. BST jump starts your immune system, much like jump srting a car, when the car's battery is weak. Sometimes, we get instant results. But, if your immune system is weak or if you do not discard bad habits, the problem recurs. About one third of ailments are directly related to your immune system. Gout, rheumatism, neuropathy, frozen shoulders, tendonitis, tennis elbow respond favorably to BST. We have gotten good responses with more serious conditions such as psoriasis, chronic fatigue, paralysis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and cancer. However, most people come to us as a last resort. This is understandable. They see their doctors first, who promptly a

APITHERAPY Is the use of bee products to help detoxify your system and bring your body's biochemistry back into balance. Apitherapy best prepares your body for Bee Sting Therapy; as it employs foods of the bees. This helps your auto-immune system do it's primordial task of protecting you from disease. This also helps abate the symptoms of disease. Your body regains balance and heals itself. We do not process our bee products in any way that will diminish their effectiveness. First, we must always remember that our beehive products are not ours. They belong to our honeybees, who use it to nourish, maintain and protect themselves. Second, we must always remember that there are seasons in the y

NATURAL LIFESTYLE We live a natural lifestyle. As much as possible, we plant, grow what we eat and use. We care for a vegetable garden. We have sweet potatoes, cassavas, a variety of yams and other root crops. Coconuts provide food, fuel, utensils and tools. We have planted selected fruit trees and always have fruits in season. We care for a lot of herbs and medicinal plants. What we cannot produce, we source from our neighbours. Our business uses natural ingredients. What we cannot produce from natural ingredients, we do not make. We sell only those products that we have been using ourselves in our household for decades. We are quite amused that our lifestyle has now come into vogue, after

The Ilog Maria flows from seven natural springs within the Magsaysay Family's farm in the highlands of Silang, Cavite. Silang- - Cavite's largest town is renowned as Manila's source of fresh fruits and excellent coffee. The entire town of more than 20,000 hectares is planted to a variety of fruits intercropped with coffee trees. This pristine environment is an ideal setting for a healthy rural lifestyle. It is also perfect for keeping honeybees. Ilog Maria Fresh Bee Products I started keeping bees at Ilog Maria about thirty years ago with just a few bee colonies. My wife, Violaine, has also been a beekeeper since 1987. Together with our four children, who are beekeepers from birth, we now ru

LIFE IN THE FAST LANE I was living life in the fast lane, working hard and playing harder. I tried a series of jobs. I was a hot shot. In between jobs, I became a beach bum. SERENDIPITY We were in deep water; gunmetal blue. Huge, rolling ocean swells pushed us farther from shore. April Amihan winds whipped whitecaps all around us. The wind was coming from shore. We were beginner windsurfers, left alone by tired or distracted instructors. We had been trying from morning to raise our sails; unsuccessfully. The wet and the cold were taking their toll; we could not even close our hands. Our arms, legs and backs ached. Our knees shook. I turned to Eddie Boy Ochangco, who was falling all over the