Sweet Potato (Camote) Culture (Alternative Crops in Besao's Highlands)

Sweet Potato Culture in Besao’s Highlands
The Humble Camote That Helped Feed a Mountain People

By Ginawang • The Besao B/Vlogger

If there were a contest for the most underrated hero of the Cordillera highlands, the sweet potato would probably win while quietly sitting in a woven basket, covered in soil, asking for no applause.

Rice may be the celebrity. Corn may be the hardworking supporting actor. Yet for generations of i Besao families, the sweet potato, locally known as camote, has often been the dependable friend that never abandoned the household during difficult times.

And unlike many heroes, this one occasionally rewards its admirers with a generous amount of flatulence.
Such is the complicated relationship between people and camote.

A Traveler from Across the Ocean

Many people assume that sweet potato has always been native to the Philippines. Surprisingly, it is not.

The sweet potato originated in tropical regions of Central and South America, particularly around present day Peru and Ecuador. Long before Europeans arrived in the Americas, Indigenous peoples were already cultivating and improving sweet potato varieties.

Following the Spanish colonization of both the Americas and the Philippines, sweet potatoes became one of several crops transported across the Pacific through the famous Manila Galleon Trade. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, sweet potatoes had spread throughout the Philippine archipelago.

The crop proved perfectly suited to mountain environments. It tolerated poor soils better than many grains, survived periods of drought, and produced reliable harvests even in rugged terrain. As a result, sweet potato steadily climbed the mountains and eventually became deeply rooted in the Cordillera.

Somewhere along this journey, camote found a permanent home in Besao.

Why Camote Became a Highland Favorite

The ancestors of the i Besao were practical people. They valued crops that could survive challenging conditions and provide dependable nourishment.

Camote checked every box.

It grows in upland fields where other crops struggle. It requires relatively little maintenance. Its roots can remain in the ground until needed, serving as a natural underground food storage system. When families needed food, they simply harvested what was necessary.

For communities accustomed to the uncertainties of weather, pests, and occasional crop failures, camote offered security.

In many households, sweet potato became more than a supplementary crop. It became an essential food reserve that helped bridge the gap between harvest seasons. During lean months, camote often stood between hunger and survival.

One might say that while rice was the king, camote was the emergency savings account.

The Many Ways i-Besao Enjoy Camote

The versatility of sweet potato is one reason for its enduring popularity.
Freshly harvested roots are commonly boiled and eaten as a meal or snack. Their natural sweetness pairs beautifully with coffee during chilly mountain mornings.

Roasted camote remains a favorite comfort food. The aroma alone can draw family members toward the kitchen faster than any dinner bell.

Camote can also be sliced and dried for later use, extending its shelf life and ensuring food availability during difficult periods.

The leaves are equally valuable. Tender camote tops are cooked as vegetables, added to soups, or prepared with local ingredients. Rich in vitamins and minerals, they contribute significantly to household nutrition.

Nothing is wasted.

The root feeds the stomach. The leaves nourish the body. The vines can even become animal feed.

That is efficiency worthy of a mountain farmer.

Distinctive i-Besao Camote Traditions

Across the Cordillera, every province and municipality cultivates sweet potato. However, local traditions and food habits give each community its own character.
In Besao, camote is closely associated with self sufficiency and upland agriculture. Many traditional gardens include sweet potato alongside beans, taro, squash, and other crops. This mixed farming approach reflects the practical wisdom of highland communities.

Unlike areas where sweet potato has increasingly become a commercial crop, many i Besao households continue to value camote as part of everyday subsistence farming and family food security.

Traditional preparation often emphasizes simplicity rather than elaborate recipes. Boiled camote, roasted camote, and cooked camote tops remain staples because they fit naturally into the rhythm of rural life.

The distinction is not necessarily found in exotic dishes but in the cultural role camote plays within the household economy and community resilience.

In other words, the uniqueness lies less in the recipe and more in the relationship.

More Than Food

Camote has accompanied generations of i Besao through seasons of abundance and hardship.

Children carried it to school as snacks. Farmers packed it into baskets for long days in the fields. Families shared it during community gatherings. Elders passed down stories while peeling freshly cooked roots beside the hearth.

Few crops are so deeply woven into daily life.

Its importance extends beyond calories. Camote represents adaptability, resilience, and the ability of mountain communities to thrive in challenging environments.

When outsiders see a basket of sweet potatoes, they may see only a root crop.
The i Besao see history.

The Great Camote Side Effect

Of course, no discussion about sweet potato would be complete without mentioning its most famous social contribution.

Gas.

Camote contains dietary fiber and complex carbohydrates that can be fermented by gut bacteria. The result is a biological phenomenon capable of surprising both family members and innocent bystanders.

In many homes, this side effect has inspired jokes, laughter, and perhaps a few strategic seating arrangements during gatherings.

One could argue that camote not only feeds the community but also provides free sound effects.

Science calls it digestion.

The rest of us call it the Camote Symphony.

A Root Worth Celebrating

Today, as modern crops and imported foods become increasingly common, the humble sweet potato remains a reminder of the ingenuity of highland communities.

From its origins in the Americas to its journey across oceans and into the mountains of the Cordillera, camote has traveled far. In Besao, it found fertile soil, hardworking farmers, and a people who understood its value.

It may never receive the prestige of heirloom rice terraces or the attention given to commercial vegetables, yet its contribution to the history of Besao is undeniable.

Quietly growing beneath the soil, camote continues to do what it has always done.

Feeding families.

Supporting communities.

And occasionally making everyone laugh.

References:

The historical and cultural information presented in this essay draws from the following scholarly and institutional sources:

1. The Sweet Potato. International historical review of sweet potato origins, domestication, and global dispersal. The study identifies tropical America, particularly regions of present day Peru and Ecuador, as the center of origin of sweet potato.

2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Sweet Potato Resources. Provides agricultural and historical information regarding the worldwide spread of sweet potato and its role as a food security crop.

3. William Henry Scott. His works on precolonial and colonial Cordillera societies discuss indigenous agriculture, subsistence strategies, and the adaptation of introduced crops in the highlands.

4. On the Cordillera. Contains discussions on Cordillera agriculture, food systems, and the integration of introduced crops into indigenous economies.

5. H. Otley Beyer. Early ethnographic studies documenting agricultural practices and subsistence patterns among Cordillera peoples.

6. National Museum of the Philippines. Publications and exhibits on the Columbian Exchange and the introduction of American crops, including sweet potato, into the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period.

7. International Potato Center (CIP) Sweet Potato Knowledge Portal. Research on sweet potato origins, genetics, nutritional value, and historical dissemination across Asia and the Pacific.

8. Department of Agriculture. Agricultural reports identifying sweet potato as an important food security crop in upland and marginal farming areas throughout the country.

9. Ethnobotany literature concerning the adaptation of introduced crops into indigenous Philippine food systems and mountain agriculture.

#Besao #MountainProvince #iBesao #CordilleraHeritage #SweetPotatoCulture #Camote #HighlandAgriculture #IndigenousFoodways #CordilleraFood #PhilippineHeritage #FoodHistory #MountainLife #SustainableAgriculture #LocalFood #RootCrops #CulturalHeritage #IgorotCulture #BesaoStories #HighlandTraditions #CamoteChronicles

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