#53 Harvest in the Hills

www.PostcardsFromManila.com

It was a nice day to be in barrangay Samoki, a swath of fertile paradise half-a-day by car north of Manila, on the outskirts of the town of Bontoc, high up in the Mountain Province. But it was more than just a nice day in January. It was a time of great joy. It was harvest-time across the valley.

Because they farm along the tributaries of the great Chico river, they can squeeze-in two rice crops a year. Examine the photograph as I explain what is going on: 

Each family owns a plot of land delineated by earthen dikes. After they cut the "pregnant" stalks, they use foot-powered mechanical tillers to separate the grain from the chaff. The grain is sacked and then sun-dried, while the spent stalks are laid out in the field to dry. The stalks will be carabao fodder in summer when grazing fields become sparse. That carabao will help them till the land again in the next season, completing a cycle that has sustained them for generations.

Now compare this with the "all-consuming-but-not-producing" carbon footprint we city-dwellers have! Feeling guilty yet? Hahaha. Enjoy.

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