AGWAS CAFE
A small bamboo café nestled within the trees of Alhibe Farm, designed to preserve the land’s quiet and natural atmosphere. The name Agwas, a Visayan term for a water source. Built using locally sourced bamboo and crafted by local hands, the café was thoughtfully designed to weave between existing trees, allowing guests to dine beneath the forest canopy and reconnect with nature.
Recognitions: Blue Mango Placemaking Finalist 2023
Good Design Award Philippines PLACEMAKING RED AWARD 2024
Haligi ng Dangal Award Honoree 2024
Agwas Café is the bamboo café of Alhibe Farm, born from the same spring-fed story that gave the farm its name. “Agwas” means a source or flow of water—an ode to the spring that nourishes the land, the trees, the gardens, and the community around it.
The café was created not only as a place to eat, but as a space to experience the farm through food, architecture, and atmosphere. Built with bamboo and nestled under the tree canopies, Agwas Café reflects Alhibe’s belief that design should feel rooted in place—shaped by local materials, natural surroundings, and the quiet rhythm of the land.
From the beginning, the menu was curated with the intention of using local and farm-based ingredients whenever possible, helping reduce the carbon footprint of what we serve. We initially envisioned offering more plant-based meals, inspired by what grows around us and by the belief that food can be both nourishing and gentle to the earth.
We explored tisanes, drinks, and seasonal flavors from what could be harvested at Alhibe Farm—leaves, flowers, fruits, herbs, and native ingredients that carry the taste of the land. Even the colors of plants became part of our creative process, translated into food and drinks, such as our blue biko, inspired by natural plant color and the joy of turning local ingredients into something both familiar and new.
Agwas Café continues to be a living expression of farm-to-table thinking, slow food, bamboo architecture, and regenerative hospitality. It is a place where guests can gather, pause, taste the seasons, and experience how food, design, farming, and nature can belong to one story.
