Traditional Sugar Extractor

The late Nong Mario Eli of Barangay Tibolo, Sta.  Cruz, demonstrated to us during a familiarization tour a couple of years ago about how to extract juice from sugarcane plant. Showing some signs of creativity, he developed a manual extractor which his children and grandchildren still uses nowadays. Nong Mario was a good friend, a pure Bagobo-Tagabawa elder who had been helping us document some of the tribal practices of Bagobo-Tagabawa. The equipment he invented is part of the traditional simple machines of the dwellers in remote areas of Mt. Apo Natural Park.