LA TRINIDAD, Benguet — The “Valley of Colors” at the mountain side is seen to shine more, making the residents more proud and tourists more amazed as they will see the repainted and redesigned famous “Stobosa” of La Trinidad, Benguet.

Visitors from the National Capital Region and other places from north to south of the country who are going to the Strawberry farm at the swamp area of La Trinidad town will first pass at the area where the “Stobosa “ is.

StoboSa stands for Sitios Stonehill, Botitiw and Sadjap of Barangay Balili of La Trinidad, Benguet and tourists and locals alike will be treated to a sight of colorful houses painted like large murals featuring the product of the capital town of Benguet — the strawberry.

The “Colors of Stobosa” was a project of the Department of Tourism Cordillera as part of its program “Revive, Revitalize and Rev up the “bloom” or “Rev-Bloom Urban Redevelopment Tourism Campaign” under its former regional director Ma. Venus Tan.

The painting of the houses was inspired by the Favela houses of Rio de Janiero of Brazil to battle the negative impressions as it was used to be a lair of criminal gangs among others.

Painted houses in Stobosa were meant to uplift the image of the houses which are located just beside the Balili River — the subject of campaigns for its revival it as it is on the verge of dying because of its waters polluted by wastes and others from residents of La Trinidad and also of Baguio City.

According to La Trinidad municipal tourism officer Valred Olsim, the first painting of the Stobosa was on July 2016 which was spearheaded by the local government unit of La Trinidad, DoT Cordillera and with the support of Davies Paint which provided the paint.