Nestled in a pocket valley below Sagada’s misty pine forests and terraced highlands, Sitio Pide in Barangay Balugan continues to pulse with the rhythm of panagdapil—the centuries-old communal practice of sugarcane milling. Here, the hum of the sugarcane press, the laughter is more than sounds of labor; they are echoes of heritage sustained across generations.

A Communal Journey of Labor and Sweetness

The process begins with careful preparation. All materials must be gathered, and equipment ensured to be clean and in good condition. Firewood is collected a month ahead for cooking, with the men tasked to chop the wood. Before the work proceeds, the pinikpikan is performed. Elders call upon the spirits to watch over the process, asking for protection against accidents and for peace with the spirits of those who passed away due to misfortune. This sacred act ensures that the harvest is dedicated to kagagasing—joyous occasions such as weddings—rather than for sorrowful times of mourning.

Once the ritual is complete, the harvest begins. Cane stalks, matured over a full year, are cut and cleaned during the dry months of March and April, when their sucrose content reaches its peak. Children, women and men who are able take part in harvesting. The stalks are then brought to the dapilan, a traditional wooden press powered by carabaos or able bodied people circling a lever. As the carabaos move steadily, the rollers crush the cane, releasing its sweet juice.This liquid is strained and collected in vats, ready to be transformed into the community’s cherished product.

From there, the juice is boiled in large iron cauldrons (silyasi) over firewood. Hours of stirring transform the liquid into thick syrup (dingke), eventually crystallizing into muscovado. The syrup itself is shared to village folk in what is known as kalti. During these moments (kalti), neighbors dip bananas, sweet potatoes,  into the bubbling sweetness, or given a spoons full to taste or take home and use the syrup for rice cakes -turning hard work into celebration.

The family whose sugarcane harvest is being processed takes responsibility for providing food throughout the work. No one is paid in cash for their labor during the process; instead, participation is seen as communal service. However, each individual who helps is given a share of the syrup (dingke). Even the carabaos get their share of dingke and sakati (silage). Even community members who are in mourning (nasasangew) and unable to participate  receive a portion, ensuring that everyone remains included in the spirit of reciprocity and caring.

The entire process from harvest to cooling takes not less than eight hours for a modest harvest. It is more than agricultural labor—it is a cultural practice woven with ritual, respect, and tradition. Each step, from chopping wood to pressing cane, reflects the community’s bond with nature and the spirits, ensuring that the sweetness of the harvest carries with it blessings of life and celebration.

Sustaining Tradition Amid Modernization

In Pide, the farmers’ collective PIGAS deliberately maintains these tradition, incorporation mechanization for efficiency. Their efforts embody ob-obbo, the Cordilleran ethic of reciprocal labor, where neighbors gather to share the grueling tasks of harvesting, milling, boiling and mixing.

While Pide has sustained this practice for centuries, other Sagada barangays have rekindled interest in muscovado-making after the Department of Agriculture distributed modern presses and equipment in the late 2010s. Nearby Besao, meanwhile, has become a hub—where Sagada farmers often bring their cane for processing. In Sadanga, the tradition continues under the name saknit, enriched with rituals of rest days, prayers to Kabunyan, and communal feasts. In Bontoc’s ALBAGO barangays and upland communities, panagsaknit remains a seasonal anchor of agricultural life.

Roots and Adaptation

Oral histories trace Pide’s sugarcane milling innovation to Benguet Gawili, who went to Abra and Ilocos Sur. He saw how the locals there produced crystallized sugar or muscovado from their sugarcane processing – different from the traditional dingke or syrup and inakub produced by the locals then.

In 2009, the group received support from Montanyosa Research and Development Center (MRDC), a non-profit organization based in Sagada primarily to support agrarian based livelihoods. PIGAS then received their first mechanized sugarcane press and trainings to improve the quality of their muscovado. This machine was used for close to a decade, until 2017. In 2018, then barangay kagawad Michael Baani lobbied for an allocation from the Barangay local government funds for the purchase of a sugarcane press to replace the broken machine from MRDC. The barangay approved the purchase of a second hand mechanized sugarcane press from a portion of SMART Telecoms rental at their Mt. Ampacao cell cite tower. In 2025, the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC) provided funds for the improvement of the dapilan. A house was build to shelter the equipment as well as the community folk during the panagdadapil. With the modest building came two cauldrons and a stainless steel cooling table.

Ob-obbo sweetens the harvest

Priority to use the sugar press goes directly to the hardworking men who collected and chopped firewood (manga-iw). Once their milling is done, the rest of the community takes their turn. Even families who couldn’t join the early preparation work are welcome to use the dapilan later—they just bring their own firewood. If they don’t know how to process the sugar themselves, neighbors gladly step in to help through traditional collective labor exchange (ob-obbo). No one gets left behind.

To keep the machine running smoothly and cover electricity costs, a small fee of 4 kilos of muscovado sugar is collected for every 200 liters of sugarcane juice cooked. In 2026, 24 local families successfully produced a massive 1,944 kilos of muscovado. From that harvest, 216 kilos (valued at ₱180 per kilo in local markets, or ₱38,880 in total) went straight into the maintenance fund to preserve their equipment for future seasons.

How is the rest of the sweet reward shared? After the maintenance fee is set aside, the remaining muscovado is divided into three equal parts. One-third goes directly to the sugarcane owner, and another third for the community members who contributed their hard labor but do not have sugarcane of their own to be milled. The final third is used to cover food expenses and the wood consumed during the process. The community maintains traditional use of muscovado for household needs, but is also a cash product. This augments other cash-based needs for childrens education and additional fund for their vegetable production inputs. It is a beautiful, fair system where everyone’s effort is valued, and the whole community tastes the sweetness of success.

Over time, these new practices were indigenized—woven into Pide society, its communal labor systems, and seasonal rhythms. What began as an adaptation became a distinct tradition, shaped by the terrain and the people’s values.

A Living Heritage For the people of Pide, muscovado-making is not simply about producing sugar. It is about sustaining a living history—one that binds families, neighbors, and generations together. Each harvest season, as the dapilan motor hums and syrup bubbles in iron vats, the community reaffirms its identity. In the sweetness of muscovado lies the resilience of culture, proof that tradition can endure even as modern tools arrive.