Farming is an oldies work- this is the common belief. If young male farmers are rare nowadays, ladies cannot be seen in the field. However, in the rural area of Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat , Philippines this is starting to change. Mercy Hermosura is a cashier and secretary to the farm technician in the Rice Contract… [Read more…]
June 17, 2011
Just woke up from bed, Hari drinks his favorite native coffee. Then, he packs his bag and water bottle and kicks off his bike for the farm even without breakfast. For a farmer like Hari, going to the farm very early in the morning is a habit for over 30 years in farming. As a… [Read more…]
May 6, 2011
For over thirty years 80% of rice lands in Kanipaan, Sultan Kudarat is mortgaged to only few landlords. During the 1970′s, government forces ravaged the area looking for rebels, 10 years ago a land ownership conflict escalated to an all-out war, and even now armed conflict is a reoccurring event. Due to wars, most people in… [Read more…]
February 19, 2011
We just came home from Palimbang yesterday for the monitoring. I saw how serious is PASALI’s technical center need for more farm equipments. Few farmers started the land preparation now including us who started the rice contract farming yet only two hand tractors are available. While we came first in the reservation of the tractors,… [Read more…]
December 16, 2010
Before, I see dynasty as a “B-A-D” form of government. Now, I see it’s not in the form of government that makes governance better or worse but in the person or group of people behind it. Any forms of government can be both good and destructive depending on the leader. In the same way,… [Read more…]
December 16, 2010
Early before the sun rises, a Manobo man wakes up. He Fills a kettle with water and burns some dry wood. While waiting for the water to boil, he lights up a cigarette to warm himself in the cold of the early morn. The water boils and he pours it into a cup. He puts… [Read more…]
November 13, 2010
Before, I thought that unity in writing refers only to unity of pronoun ( are you going to write in the first person, as a participant, or in the third person, as an observer?). I thought it was just about unity of tense ( are you going to use past tense, present tense, etc.) but… [Read more…]
November 13, 2010
” Few outside the Catholic church believe that the exploding population is anything but a major impediment to solving the country’s poverty woes.” -Lonely Planet ( The Culture, page 42). I have no objection to the writer who wrote about population of the Philippines but to those ” few ” who believes that the exploding… [Read more…]
November 6, 2010
In a study conducted by Synovate research firm about OFW’s, they found out that OFW ( Overseas Filipino Workers) family/beneficiaries observed several attitude or behavior changes among their OFW family members. Here is the rundown of those observations: preference for gadgets- 48 % preference for branded or signature clothes- 43% preference for foreign made shoes… [Read more…]
November 6, 2010
This is the only love story I’ve known where the first wife convinces another woman to marry his man. Long before, Biao tribal chieftain Duma Bonifacio desires for the Manobo tribe to be educated because their tribe is looked down and swindled. He himself does not know how to read and to write. The problem… [Read more…]
June 17, 2011
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