I was told that what used to be known as Canlaon vegetables in fact did not come from Canlaon City in Oriental Negros but from Codcod, San Carlos City in Negros Occidental.
Brgy. Codcod is one of the 18 barangays of San Carlos City. It used to be more accessible from Canlaon City when access road directly linking it to San Carlos City was not yet constructed. Thus, vegetables which were grown in Codcod used to be transported to Canlaon City where people mistook it to come from that city. It used to be 42 km from San Carlos City before the Negros Translink Ecotourism Highway was constructed and now it’s only 34 km from San Carlos City.
Codcod is located at the foot of Mt. Kanlaon where 10 of its 12 sitios are part of the Mt. Kanlaon National Park. Codcods high altitude gave it a cooler climate. Its fertile soil and climate make it ideal for ornamental plants and high value vegetables.
The prices of vegetables are really rock bottom during market day every Thursdays. Traders usually bring trucks and canters for bulk buying. Codcod vegetables are even sold by traders to as far as Panay and Oriental Negros, making it the vegetable basket of Negros. Vegetables are sold through auction so traders come at dawn in order to get the freshest vegetables and get the best deals.
Other Interests
It’s a pity that it was fogging when we were at Codcod thus we were not able to have a good view of Mt. Kanlaon’s crater which is very visible from Codcod on a bright and cloudless sky.
On the way to Codcod, you will see a big rock in the middle of the road that is said to be an enchanted rock. It has an interisting story which I featured this in my previous posts on enchanted places in San Carlos.
Farming is the main source of income of the people of Codcod and it’s no surprise that they carved out rice terraces from the side of mountains. Codcod is also the rice granary of San Carlos City.
The climate at Codcod is also appropriate for dairy production. A local cooperative, Codcod Multi-Purpose Cooperative, process and markets fresh milk under the label Highland Squeeze. Their fresh milk is used by the local government in its feeding program.
I made this short video on dairy processing when we had a chance to observe how fresh milk was processed.
How to get to Codcod, San Carlos City
Codcod is accesible via Canlaon City in Oriental Negros and San Carlos City in Negros Occidental. Ceres buses regularly ply the Bacolod-San Carlos route either through the coatasl road or via DS Benedicto throught the Negros Translink Ecotourism Highway. Bus fare from Bacolod City to San Carlos City is a little over P100. There’s a bus and double tire jeepneys that service the San Carlos-Codcod route at approximately an hour’s travel at around P150 fare.