A black-naped yellow bird flits through the trees as three children run barefoot through a cacao grove. It’s morning in Ibaan, Batangas — and something familiar is coming back.
Families are breathing freely in open air together, again. What began as a pandemic retreat has now become a living sanctuary called Kilyawan Farm Resort in Batanagas.
Among cacao trees and bamboo groves, three sisters and their families reclaimed something city life had slowly taken away: the comfort of silence, the beauty of shared labor, and the joy of simply being present. That reconnection sparked something bigger.
Today, Kilyawan stands as a love letter to slow living, sustainable design, and the Filipino spirit of community.
From Poultry to Purpose
Set within the 8.5-hectare Villa Vicenta Farms, Kilyawan Farm Resort now thrives on land that once held 55,000 chickens under contract with San Miguel.
The family transformed those poultry houses into seven bamboo-framed cabins and a master villa, with architect Dominic Galicia leading the redesign.
These structures embrace light and air. Glass walls, bamboo windows, and ceilings lined with banig woven by women from Tingloy filter the daylight. Old mahogany from the farm shapes the stairs, and eco-bricks made from recycled plastic, produced by Green Antz and women in San Juan, form the walls.
This design blends history with modern sustainability. Even before its public debut, Kilyawan Farm Resort earned a spot on the 2024 World Architecture Festival shortlist and appeared in Tatler’s roundup of exemplary Filipino eco-design.
But the resort doesn’t exist for accolades. It invites people to breathe.
Farming That Feeds More Than Just Hunger
Everything at Kilyawan grows with a purpose.
Farmers cultivate thousands of BR-25 cacao trees that blush red and yellow as they ripen. Golden queen mangoes—Taiwan’s sweetest variety—hang heavy, sometimes weighing more than two kilos. Avocados, rambutan, lanzones, and papaya grow in abundance.
The team turns fruit that isn’t kitchen-ready into jam, pickles, or feed for the animals. Nothing goes to waste.
The farm raises native black pigs and free-range chickens like Rhode Island Reds and Australorps. Workers feed them surplus fruits and farm-grown greens.
The lechon guests enjoy often comes from animals raised right here. The cycle reflects the resort’s belief: everything belongs, everything gives.
Meals That Tell a Story
At The Courtyard Farm Kitchen, the team serves dishes that connect guests to the land.
They use house-fermented tablea in their champorado. They toss golden queen mangoes into salads, blend them into shakes, and whisk them into vinaigrettes.
On weekends, guest chefs join the kitchen. KRISP from La Union once served a sisig grilled cheese that sold out in hours. Guests dine beside the very garden where staff picked their lettuce that morning.
These plates don’t chase trends. They return you to the ground.
Built by Many Hands
Kilyawan carries the fingerprints of communities.
Women from the Ibaan Sunrise Weavers Association—heirs of the town’s historic kulambo weaving legacy—handcraft the vibrant green and yellow pillowcases in each cabin.
Women from Tingloy weave the banig that line the ceilings. Local social enterprises build the furniture.
Even the walls tell a story. Made of eco-bricks and earth, they turn discarded waste into something strong and enduring.
The Call of the Kilyawan
The resort takes its name from the black-naped oriole bird, or kilyawan. It’s not a bird you see often. But when it sings, you hear it—clear, joyful, unmistakable.
Each morning, its call rings out across the trees. That presence—vibrant yet gentle—captures the spirit of the farm: honest, grounded, and in harmony with the land.
You won’t find infinity pools or glass-bottom tubs here. Instead, guests ride tractors through cacao rows, nap in hammocks under bamboo canopies, and linger over long, quiet meals.
Kilyawan Farm Resort doesn’t aim for luxury. It offers memory, meaning, and a place to listen—truly listen.
Come for the tablea. Stay for the silence. Let the kilyawan sing you home.
Visit Facebook: Kilyawan Farm Resort and Instagram: Kilyawan Farm Resort
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