Experimentation of natural lifestyle in the rice terracesBANAUE- Philippines- Ten hours away from Manila stretch out Banaue rice terraces, drawing flours in the slopes of the mountains. Arriving at 7 a.m. last Friday, August 24, a friend and I decide to set off for a three-day trek, following a guide we just met at the bus station.
In the narrow path, the only people we meet are Pilipino young men carrying wood boards. Talking with them, we learn these students spend their free time in this exhausting activity to finance their studies. Coming from their village, two hours away from Banaue, they usually manage to make the round trip three times a day, earning about 3,000 pesos.
In the narrow path, the only people we meet are Pilipino young men carrying wood boards. Talking with them, we learn these students spend their free time in this exhausting activity to finance their studies. Coming from their village, two hours away from Banaue, they usually manage to make the round trip three times a day, earning about 3,000 pesos.
After a day walking, we finally meet a family of farmers. The seven year-old boy, his thirteen year-old brother and their sister, aged of ten, are taking a rest with their father before going down from the fields to their village with bags full of potatoes on their backs. “After going to school in the morning, these children climb up the stairs recently constructed to link the village to the fields, and work the whole afternoon”, our guide Jordan tells us.
Farmer and his son coming back from the fields to Pula, on Friday evening (CLT)We travel with them to Pula. Walking is the only way to go there, and everything around is nothing but the nature. Here life seems to keep up the pace of the harvests. Corn, potatoes, and above all rice, are the condition of this village self sufficiency.
We share dinner with a native family. Around the table, lighted thanks to solar energy, few words are exchanged. But while wondering what happiness is, I observe the faces and notice that they express both tiredness and serenity.
Old man having a rest after dinner in Pula, Friday evening (CLT)These thoughts remain in my mind on Saturday morning, when I notice old people strangely sat on their feet along the fields. Hurt by a life of work in the rice terraces, their bodies do not enable them to stand up anymore. “They must stay bent”, our guide says.
Maybe, the harshness of this life is one of the reasons why people have dreams of succeeding elsewhere, as do the owner of Batad guest house we reach at nightfall. Proudly, this wood artist, named Joseph, tells us in English his project for the following months. “Two Americans offer me a job in Palawan, to make woodcarving; I will be paid 2500 pesos a month.” I ask him how he feels before leaving his family. “No choice to pay my children’s studies”, he answers.
On the way from Banga-an, the last village of our trek, to the road, we meet more people than in three days. Thanks to what Jordan taught us the day before, we guess they are relatives coming from the whole country to take part in an old man death ceremony in this village, and that the pigs carried by the men are fated to sacrifice.
On the way from Banga-an, the last village of our trek, to the road, we meet more people than in three days. Thanks to what Jordan taught us the day before, we guess they are relatives coming from the whole country to take part in an old man death ceremony in this village, and that the pigs carried by the men are fated to sacrifice.
Men carrying a pig for the death ceremony in Banga-an, SundayIndeed, during our break in Maggor Saturday afternoon, Jordan told us about popular believes, and we understood how such a culture can keep a community alive. Ceremonies celebrating the rice god or other meaningful divinities, give rhythm to the life. It led my friend wondering in which extent the threat of being punished prevents people from behaving badly, contributing to peaceful human relationships.
After such an experiment, we cannot refrain from thinking about the Philippines as a heterogeneous society. Away from the modern life of Manila, we have become aware of the social complexity of this country. Helping people is all the more difficult as the needs vary: while the government should supply these villagers with materials to build stairs, it should rather give subsidies to business owners. As a result, the development process is much more complicated.
After such an experiment, we cannot refrain from thinking about the Philippines as a heterogeneous society. Away from the modern life of Manila, we have become aware of the social complexity of this country. Helping people is all the more difficult as the needs vary: while the government should supply these villagers with materials to build stairs, it should rather give subsidies to business owners. As a result, the development process is much more complicated.
