Sorsogon Foods Enterprises (SFE) is a small family enterprise established in late 2003 with the aim of helping save Mother Earth, in its own humble way, by propagating organic agri-aqua culture and espousing organic practices in food production.  SFE’s initial venture was into aquaculture, organically culturing bangus (milkfish), tilapia, alimango (mudcrab) and shrimp in brackish water. In line with its organic vision, SFE has also been planting more mangroves around the vicinity of its farm to provide sanctuary to the fishes and other marine life.  

We also ventured into honeybee culture having been inspired by the fact that the Bicol Region is a “paradise” for bees because of its vast coconut plantations. According to a bee expert from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños Laguna, the “blossoms of the coconut tree are among the major sources of nectar for honeybees.”  Having committed itself to help protect the environment and help lessen people’s exposure to chemically-treated foods, SFE has conceived the idea of producing vinegar the organic way and making use of the nectary juice from the blossoms or the unopened inflorescence as the raw material for vinegar.

Vinegar-making from coconut sap or coconut nectar is already considered a “dying art” in Bicol and the “vanishing breed”  of tuba harvesters is now close to extinction and it is in this circumstance that SFE decided to revive this dying art to rescue this “endangered species” from extinction.

This traditional vinegar-making from coconut sap was actually started in the ‘50’s by the matriarch of the family. She would serve freshly harvested tubâ (coconut toddy) as an organic alcoholic drink in a small bar beside her home.  Tubâ used to be staple in sprees and social gatherings, but the tubâ-drinking culture has turned passé because of commercialized drinking. After two or three days, the tubâ would turn sour and could no longer be taken as an alcoholic beverage, she would then place the unconsumed ones in earthen jars and let it ferment naturally for a couple of months without any preservatives or additives. She would eventually sell the naturally-fermented vinegar to neighbors and friends. It was in this context that I branded my vinegar “Lola Conching” as a tribute to my mother and keep her priceless legacy alive.