Our Story
Plantsville Health is a Philippine social enterprise founded in 2017 by November Canieso-Yeo. She is a passionate advocate for conservation, natural health, and community livelihood. What started as a personal blog about organic home gardening grew into something much larger. Her mission became saving the endangered Philippine cinnamon.
While researching superfoods for her garden, November made a surprising discovery. The Philippines is home to 21 native cinnamon species, and 18 of these are endemic. Furthermore, the IUCN lists nearly all of them as threatened species. Even more striking, the Philippines imports over 95% of its cinnamon. Meanwhile, its own native species were quietly disappearing.
That discovery sparked one important question: What if we could bring Philippine cinnamon back — and build a livelihood for farmers in the process?
From 50 Trees to 14,000 Seedlings
November first reached out to the Negros Occidental Provincial Environment Management Office (PEMO). As a result, they directed her to communities where Philippine cinnamon still grew. She then met small farmers in Don Salvador Benedicto who had cinnamon trees on their land. However, they didn’t know the trees were valuable. In fact, some farmers had cut them down to make charcoal. At that time, only 50 trees remained in the town.
Together, November and the farmers took action. They wrote to the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Don Salvador Benedicto to request replanting funds. The LGU approved the request and released the funding. Consequently, the farmers planted 14,133 Philippine cinnamon (kaningag) seedlings. This became a turning point for both the species and the community.
Today, Plantsville Health works with 23 Integrated Social Forestry (ISF) farmer organizations. These groups span 8 towns in Negros Occidental. In total, over 1,150 farmers now actively plant and cultivate Philippine cinnamon.
What We Do
Plantsville Health develops, manufactures, and sells natural health and food products. We make these products from Philippine cinnamon to create market demand for kaningag. As a result, farmers earn a sustainable income — and they have a reason to protect the trees rather than cut them down.
Our products include the Natural Sleep Aromatic Water and Cinnamon Coco Sugar. We also offer Philippine Cinnamon Essential Oil, Relaxing Massage Oil, and Natural Mouthwash. Additionally, our range includes a Ginger Cinnamon Liniment and a Moisturizing Sanitizer. All products are FDA-registered and free from synthetic chemicals. Furthermore, we manufacture everything in a GMP-compliant facility.
Browse our full range of natural Philippine cinnamon products →
Awards & Recognition
Plantsville Health has earned recognition from leading organizations. We won 1st Place in the World Vision Philippines Social Innovation Challenge. In addition, we received a research grant from DOST PCIEERD through the WHWise program. FEATR’s Erwan Heussaff also featured our story in his food documentary series (watch here). Our partners include TUPV, FSSI, DTI Negros Occidental, PEMO, and the Innovation for Social Impact Partnership (ISIP).
Our Vision for the Future
Plantsville Health believes conservation can be self-sustaining and profitable for communities. Therefore, we are developing new models to further reward farmers who protect kaningag. For instance, we plan to introduce carbon credit payments for planting cinnamon trees. We also hope to launch crowdfunding campaigns for seedling cultivation. Additionally, we want to create programs that exchange tree planting for computers and internet access for farmers’ children.
Conservation. Livelihood. Health. Climate Change. These are not just words — they are the four pillars that guide everything we do.