A few weeks back, Roneto Guzman of Gonzaga, Cagayan, visited our farm in Teresa, Rizal with some members of his family. When I asked a young girl where she was enrolled in college, her father was quick to tell me that the young girl, his daughter, is already a medical doctor.

In fact, the young girl, Mary Grace, Roneto said, had just finished her two-year tour of duty as Doctor to the Barrio in Batanes. As a government scholar, she had to serve as a Doctor to the Barrio for two years after graduation.

That excited us because I wanted to know if she had ever heard of Chayi or Chawi, a native tree in Batanes that we had planted in our farm and which had produced fruits for the first time earlier in 2019. Oh yes, Dr. Mary Grace said. She volunteered that it is better known as the Batanes Lychee. She said she loves to eat the soft and sweet aril of the fruit. 

By the  way, we have germinated the seeds and the seedlings are now very robust in our farm in Teresa, Rizal. They are ready for planting in the ground. Chayi is fast growing and can be a reforestation or commercial tree plantation material because it also produces quality lumber.