More than 2,000 years ago, resilient native farmers carved rice terraces into the harsh terrain of Ifugao province. These ladder-like structures rose to an altitude of about 1,500 meters above sea level, and if laid end to end, would encircle half the Earth.
The Ifugao Rice Terraces — dubbed as the Eighth Wonder of The World — is now deemed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites, making it a great cultural legacy to the Filipino. It is celebrated largely because of the inherent wisdom of Ifugao forefathers, who instituted a forest management system unheard of during those times.
However, amid issues of economic development in Ifugao, the rice terraces are finding themselves abandoned. The younger, more educated Ifugaos are discounting the rice terraces heritage due to the lure of the big city.
To help ensure preservation of the rice culture and conservation of the rich Philippine heritage, Ford Group Philippines is advocating a documentary and educational initiative as part of its Ford Conservation & Environmental Grants Program. Titled "The enduring harvest: How the young Ifugaos tell the story of their rice culture," the Ford-funded project will tell a contemporary terraces story.
The project is an ethno-documentation of the Ifugao rice culture from the perspective of young Ifugaos. It consists of photo-documentation of the phases of the year-long Ifugao rice cycle and audio-recording of the rice rituals as performed by the mumbaki (shaman).
The ritual will be the Ihoyag rite, performed by the Ifugao whenever harvest time nears to ask for abundant yield and to thank the god of agriculture for the blessings bestowed on the host family and on the community.
One of the outputs of the undertaking — which will be in book form — will be an educational tool on the unique custom and an educational material to facilitate the development of an ecotourism industry in the Heritage Sites.
"Ford Philippines is doing its part in this worthwhile project because of a couple or reasons, chief among which, is to encourage a wide range of people to initiate or join programs that help their local environment, heritage and natural resources. Through this Ifugao program, we not only protect the country’s environment, heritage and resources, we keep intact what is unique to Filipinos. We at Ford believe that this alone is reason enough to see this program through," Ford Group Philippines president Henry Co said.
"The enduring harvest: How the young Ifugaos tell the story of their rice culture" is in line with the thrust of the Ford Conservation and Environmental Grants program.
More information on the Ford grants can be found at www.ecoford.com and www.ford.com.ph.
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