Since January 2005, Vicky Garcia, Executive Director of the NGO RICE, Inc., has been traveling monthly to the provinces of Ifugao and Kalinga to meet with farmers, outreach workers and local government officials. From Manila, it’s a long, difficult trip; an overnight bus ride of 11 hours to Ifugao or a trip of 14 hours to Kalinga. There have been typhoons and landslides, and she has been there in the blazing hot weather during harvest and in the cold chill of the mountain rains just before planting.

Vicky has been recording her impressions and reflections through her camera and journal. She tries to record the farmers' stories and comments, to give voice to the people with whom she meets and works.

Here are some excerpts from her writings.

September 11, 2005
As I look at the faces of these people, I can’t help but say to myself …they must have said these words before, appealing to the authorities in power. But it seems no one has heard. And here we are (RICE and this project), with neither money nor power. The difference is that we are acting on our good intentions…we are listening to the farmers and working with them. Hopefully, as we advocate for them, the outside world will see what this effort is all about…the legacy we are building is beyond us...the preservation of the environment, enhancement of the culture and the promotion of economic viability through their very own resources…

Memories from the meetings…

South Cababuyan, Hingyon, Ifugao June 18, 2005

The elderly woman, Cathalina Tuguinay, gave me a bundle of Imbuucan seeds as a remembrance of the farmer meeting held here in Cababuyan. In giving me the bundle, she said, “…this is what I have been praying for. I would be happy to die knowing that my land and my people will go back to tilling our ancestral land and have something to look forward to. …You are an angel for sharing with us this project, a project that will give us a better future to work for.”

Her only son, Jun Taguinay continued, “sometimes we think that these mountains have covered us and separated us from the world. But now, with this project of selling our rice, we will link to the outside world…they will know us and see the beauty beyond the rice we produce."

Meetings in Hingyon:

I have met Delfin Otgalon, the oldest farmer in the project, on three occasions. The first area meeting was held in his house on June 3, 2005, as he was the former president of their farmers’ association. He and his family are one of the sources of the Imbuucan breeding seed that we are distributing to other farmers.

At that time, we had the opportunity to tour his granary. When I told the farmers’ association that their Imbuucan sample was chosen by Eighth Wonder as a selected variety, he was not surprised. He said, “for as long as I can remember, this seed has been genuinely identified with my family. It is my hope that my children will now continue to plant the same variety for life…”

In the same meeting, I told the group that it was not only the variety that counts in marketing the rice, but also the quality. The rice has a wonderful taste but it must also look good, even after the pounding. The group willingly took up the challenge and said, as a team, they will try to meet the standard.

The third time I met Delfin Otgalon was at the joint Hingyon/Banaue meeting at municipal office in Hingyon, August 16, 2005. He was first among all the farmers to arrive. When one of the staff asked why he had come so early, he answered, “I want to be the first to greet Vicky for this meeting because I am eager to hear what she has to share with us. I am learning much from her.” He sat in the first row of the session hall.

I arrived early for the joint meeting so I could talk informally with people. The Banaue group arrived via a jeepney at about 9am. I immediately noted that the group, headed by Mr. Albert Maggulling, president of the BPKI Farmers' Association, was dressed in their best clothes. I remarked that everyone looked so nice and wondered why. A chorus of farmers answered in unison …"we are here for a business meeting with you, aren’t we???" People came with paper and pens and they took notes.

I noticed another change from the first meetings. The women asked questions; their aura has changed. No longer are their voices low pitched and quiet. Their voices sound more confident and they are expressing their opinions. They now see themselves as valuable to the project. We talked about advocating for fair wages for the women farmers; that they should earn the same pay as their male counterpart in the harvest because they work as hard and even longer than the men. I think they can feel the power of what I am saying; that gender equality must be observed and practiced, especially since agriculture (farming) is the universal work for everybody.

Some comments that were made during the joint meeting:

…through this project, our people (the younger generation), can continue to cultivate the land because now there is a value put on our rice… …

Lolita Habiling, Vice Mayor of Hingyon, and official representative from the mayor’s office, formally welcomed the Banaue group. She commented, “ finally, something is going to happen…this initiative is different from the other projects and business proposals that have been given to us. They have included us- the farmers - in their planning. They are not just interested in our rice but also interested in helping us as a people.”

After my presentation, the Sanggunian Bayan (city council) representative recapped the meeting. “This project is challenging our capability as a people –not just because we have the variety that would sell in America- but because they are inspiring us to build that bridge to let our brothers on a distant shore remember us by providing them with our rice and through that, our culture, that they too may cherish… This is our chance to stand up and together produce a quality rice that will bring us into the international market, but also, bring our people back to their ancestral land.”

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