ROLDAN Labrador, 40, wakes up at 6 a.m. to climb trees to get honeycombs in Toong, a mountain barangay in Cebu City.
For 20 years now, Roldan, a father of four, has been selling honey to send his children to school. He sells a bottle at P250.
Roldan just finished Grade 6, so he had to work hard for his family, ignoring the stings he gets from bees every time he disrupts a beehive.
“Sakit kaayo ang paak oy! Pero madugay maanad na ka, mura na og pinaakan og hulmigas (The stings are painful. But once you get used to it, it feels just like ant bites),” Roldan said.
His children Ritchie, 21, and Michelle, 18, are now working as massage therapists while Gefran, 17, is working in a factory in Lapu-Lapu City.
His youngest child Mary Jean, 16, is in high school.
The family is living in Toong.
Roldan climbs trees for beehives. But before that, he burns twigs and leaves to drive the bees away.
But the gloves he wears sometimes don’t assure protection from bee stings.
“It is hard when bees are distracted. They run after you. Even though you stay under water, they will still wait for you to come out,” Roldan said.
The honeycombs that he gets can fill a regular-size pail. He places the honey in bottles and goes around town for customers.
He can sell four bottles on weekdays and 10 to 15 bottles on weekends.
He goes to Barangay Tayud, Consolacion on weekends because he has loyal customers there.
Roldan said honey is good for the health. He used it as vitamins for his children when they were young.
“Di ko mauwaw mamaligya. Wa gani mauwaw ang nangawat, kani pa nuon nga tinarong (I’m not ashamed with this job,” Roldan said.
Old man’s hunts
He learned how to get beehives from his grandfather Rodrigo who brought him along in the old man’s beehive hunts when he was young.
Among the trees that Roldan climbs are balete and mango.
Roldan said he is not afraid to climb a balete tree, a subject of numerous superstitions. He said according to the advice of the elders, he only needs to knock on the tree before climbing.
“Kon naay gapuyo, naay motubag og tuktok. Kon way motubag, mopadayon og saka ug kuhaon ang balay sa putyokan (If somebody lives in the tree, he will tap back. If I don’t hear any sound, I climb,” he said.