Aside from the walis tambo, coffee alamid and Baguio Country Club’s raisin bread, the ube (purple yam) jam from the Good Shepherd Convent tops the list of pasalubong (souvenirs) from the City of Pines that you can bring home to family and friends.
The Good Shepherd Convent manages the Mountain Maid Training Center. It is a social enterprise borne out of the need to sustain the convent’s mission of the sisters which is “bringing about fullness of life with care and compassion, by enabling the economically challenged, deserving youth from the six tribes of the Cordilleras to live in dignity and integrity” through a regular income from product sales.
Today, the training center produces a number of food products that are recognized for their quality with the famous ube jam comprising half of their total sales. Proceeds of the sales of these products support the college education of 370 working students from the convent’s adopted communities.
Fortunately, the Good Shepherd Convent is just a 5 to 10-minute walk from Summerlin Appartelle, where we lodged during our stay in Baguio. Hubby and I made our way there while the kids were resting.
Our stash of Good Shepherd Convent goodies included:
- An 850g bottle of Ube Jam – of course! – (Php350)
- Two 440g bottles of Ube Jam (Php210 each)
- A 12oz bottle of Peanut Butter (Php185)
- Two jars of Lengua Cookies (Php175 each)
- A 280g jar of Chocolate Crinkles (Php175)
- Two 320g jars of Snowball Cookies (Php200 each)
- Two jars of Caramel Alfajor (P200 each)
Here are some reminders to make the most of your visit:
- Bring your own reusable shopping bags. Baguio City has an ongoing ordinance that prohibits the use of plastic bags and styrofoam. You can buy ecobags at the counter for as low as Php20 per bag but if you have a huge collection of ecobags at home (like I do!), you might want to bring those instead.
- To save time, write down your orders on a slip of paper (there are some provided) before you line up at the counter. The prices of the available products are featured in one of the store windows.
- Check out the view. The convent has a lookout point where you can see the vista of houses lining the mountainside. The lookout point houses a gallery that documents the history of the convent, a mural of Jesus, the Good Shepherd and a statue of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd.
The Good Shepherd Convent is located at No. 15 Gibraltar Road, Baguio City. For inquiries, call + 63 74 4241109.
Jellybeans in the City 
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