Kalamay:A century-old delicacy in Indang, Cavite

MANILA, Philippines — Kalamay Buna or Kalamay Indang, designated as a one-town-one-product (OTOP) by Cavite’s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), is a famous local delicacy for more than a century to date.

This traditional kakanin is described as sweet and chewy. It is made of glutinous rice, coconut milk, brown sugar, and fortified with young coconut meat or ripe jackfruit strips.

The Department of Labor and Employment  Regional Office IV-A, in cooperation with Cavite Provincial Cooperative, Livelihood and Entrepreneurial Development Office, sponsored the Kalamay Buna Product Development and assisted the Samahan ng Magkakalamay ng Buna Lejos to improve their livelihood project.

The group further enhanced its skills and improved its produce through the technical assistance of DTI and financial support of the municipality of Indang by way of the skills training program and bottom-up budgeting project.

Through DOLE and DTI, their produce has been standardized and well-packaged.  There are two kinds of packaging – the square box contains 12 pieces of smaller calamay worth P50 while the rectangular box with 10 pieces of large Kalamay is worth P100.

The Indang municipality also  facilitated the construction of a building near the old Indang municipal hall to serve as outlet of kalamay, dubbed as Bahay Kalamay, the pasalubong center in town.

The lifespan of Kalamay Indang is two weeks even if not refrigerated.  Kalamay serves as a favorite present or pasalubong to loved ones and friends.

Kalamay making in Indang is an old industry as exemplified by Librada Costa, a 95-year old kalamay producer. 

She started making kalamay at age 18.  For more than seven decades in the industry, she was able to send all her seven children to college and finished their respective courses – two of them are optometrists, one dentist, one became captain of Philippine Navy, two agriculturists, and one marine transportation graduate.

Indeed, Kalamay Indang is a thriving indigenous industry of the town and has contributed to the economic welfare and development of this agri-tourism first class municipality and its populace.