Apart from the picturesque and majestic mountains, a panoramic view of the vegetable farms and rice terraces can be seen as you travel along the highlands of the Cordillera region. These features draw a crowd of tourists to visit the northern part of Luzon. Sadly, most people don’t know the stories and culture embedded in every grain or plant sown.
In the earlier days, no one applied the term “heirloom” to the various varieties of rice grown in the Cordillera mountains. Villagers knew them simply as their local rice. (Carlisle, 2016)
Like the old Filipino tradition of passing down jewelries to surviving descendants, which, in Filipino means ‘pamana’, the Cordillera traditional rice farmers also pass their rice variety and knowledge of farming practices to their descendants. (The Heirloom Rice Project, 2019)
In Pasil, Kalinga
As Ms. Rowena B. Gonnay, an Agricultural Extension Worker (AEW), guided the visitors along a narrow path that snakes its way up to the mountain, one can’t help but ask “Are we there yet?” For a first-time visitor, the ‘5-minute walk’ that they initially described turns out to be an hour of the hike through a rugged footpath.
The farmers are accustomed to trek about 2 km of rugged terrain daily to reach their rice paddies, early in the morning and late in the afternoon, most often than not, with a sack of rice on their back.
At the top of the mountain, what dawned before them is an awe-inspiring view of rice paddies that weave around the mountainside. An elderly lady stoops in a field, wearing a flowery hat to protect her head from the sun’s scorching rays. On the nearby terrace, a man stands knee-deep in a layer of mud, carrying a bundle of rice on both shoulders. A young boy, on the other hand, tries to balance himself as he carries a sack of rice on his back going down the mountain.
These are the usual activities in the community atop the mountain, the Fummag Rice Terraces of Brgy. Balatok, Pasil, Kalinga.
Husband and wife Arden, 60, and Clarita Boman-as, 63, have been farming heirloom rice all their life. With the addition of planting corn and some vegetables, farming has become their bread and butter. It has sustained them all through the years and helped send their two children to school.
Now having three (3) grandchildren, they continue to till the 0.7 hectares of land they owned. Yearly, they plant ‘unoy’ and ‘jekot’. They harvest at least 500 kgs of ‘unoy’ and 400 kgs of ‘jekot’ per cropping season. These are being sold to their cooperative at P80/kg for unmilled ‘unoy’ and P60/kg for unmilled ‘jekot’.
“Agmula kami tinawen. Agsuro kami metlang tinawen ta maamuan dagijay ubbing,” said Ms. Boman-as. [We plant yearly. In every year, we also teach the younger generation so the knowledge will pass on.]
The century-old rice variety and traditional farming practices that they’ve inherited from their ancestors will now be carried on by the next generation. Their oldest grandchild, a 10-year-old boy, is actually with them at the rice paddies to practice the actual rice harvesting.
Heirloom rice farmers practice organic farming by default and apply indigenous farming practices. These practices differentiate the Cordillera from other rice farming systems in the country. This is what the couple Boman-as want to pass to the younger generation.
Mr. Boman-as also pointed out the high nutritional content of heirloom rice which makes it more advantageous compared to commercial rice.
Based on the nutrition analysis conducted by the Heirloom Rice Project, heirloom rice is generally rich in iron, sodium, calcium, niacin, potassium, folic acid, proteins, carbohydrates, antioxidants, fat, fiber, zinc, vitamin B and E, and magnesium.
These are being sought after by health practitioners, especially in all product labels. In terms of antioxidant properties, the more colorful the grain, the higher the antioxidant contents.
Built next to the granary of Mr. and Ms. Boman-as is the humble granary of Ms. Claudith Gail Gumabay, 44, a widow, and a mother to five (5) children. After her husband’s demise due to cancer four (4) years ago, Ms. Gumabay was left to raise their children, not alone but with the full support and guidance of her fellow heirloom rice farmers in their community. It is true to say, ‘It takes a village to raise a child’.
All her five children were taught how to plant heirloom rice including her youngest who is 11 years old now. The summer vacation and weekends of most of the youth in their community including Ms. Gumabay’s children are spent on the farm helping and learning the trade.
With the 150 square meters that they farm, the family is harvesting about 400 kgs of unoy and jekot each. 60% of the harvest is being sold while the rest are for their personal consumption.
As the income from farming is insufficient, Ms. Gumabay also works as a health worker in their barangay. Her earnings and a steady supply of food from their farm supported them, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.**DA-CAR
