Members of the Dalayapan Agrarian Reform Cooperative (DARCo) are back in business this month to welcome visitors to the coffee shop and ecological park operated by their farmer-members in Barangay Caduhaan, Cadiz City in northern Negros Occidental.

About a 10-km. ride from Caduhaan proper, the Dalayapan Ecopark and Café DARCo has become a destination for coffee and nature lovers, as well as adventure seekers wanting to relax with an overlooking view of greenery.

As of Wednesday, the ecotourism site has already been operating for weeks after a more-than-two-month renovation of its facilities, according to the Department of Agrarian Reform Negros Occidental-I, which covers organizations of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the northern part of the province.

“We worked hard for the reopening of the café. With the support of the local government unit and the DAR, we will give our best efforts for the success of our business,” DARCo chairman Rodolfo Arco said in a statement.

During the re-launch earlier this month, Provincial Agrarian Reform Program Officer Edwin Mendame Jr. expressed the agency’s support for the 102-member farmers’ cooperative.

“We wish you success as you continue this business venture. We will help and coordinate with the LGU to provide you with all the help you need,” he added.

As a cooperative, DARCo has 135 laborers and cultivates 251 hectares of sugarcane plantation out of 342.49 hectares acquired area under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.

It receives development and support services intervention through training programs, and construction and rehabilitation of infrastructure facilities implemented by the DAR Negros Occidental-I Program Beneficiaries Development Division.

DARCo has also availed of financial support for the promotion of environmentally and socially responsible tourism development and for the cooperative’s various projects from the city government. (PNA)