Evangeline, Olivia and Pinky may not be related by blood, but this did not stop them from collectively learning more about their agricultural heritage and using the knowledge to help better their and other people's lives.

Blood-related they may not be, but Evangeline Kimmayong, 56, Olivia Naboy, 44, and Pinky Buhle, 34, are inextricably tied. It’s not just because they are friends and work together at the health center in their village of Barangay Cababuyan South, Hingyon municipality in the northern Philippines' highland province of Ifugao, but more so because they share a common agricultural heritage that they collectively wanted to learn more about and tap into to better their lives.

Like many of the residents of Hingyon, the three women belong to the Tuwali Tribe, one of the indigenous peoples groups who built the famed Ifugao Rice Terraces. They’ve always known about the rice that their tribe and their municipality have traditionally grown, but it was only when they became involved in a project that promoted the conservation and use of local agrobiodiversity that the three became more familiar with the other native crops that Hingyon is known for. More importantly, they added that the project opened doors to better economic opportunities for them and their community.

The project, called “Dynamic Conservation and Sustainable Use of Agrobiodiversity in Traditional Agro-#Ecosystems of the Philippines” (ABD Project), is implemented by FAO in partnership with the Department of Agriculture - Bureau of Agricultural Research. Launched in 2017, the ABD Project is supported by the Global Environment Facility. Apart from Hingyon, the project also cover Hungduan municipality, also in Ifugao province, and Lake Sebu municipality in South Cotabato.

Aside from supporting traditional rice varieties – such as what is grown in the rice terraces – the initiative also promoted the cultivation and use of other crops that are native to Hingyon such as ginger and taro. One of the main interventions of the project was to build the capacities of beneficiary-farmers to tap these native crops to make value-added products such as ginger candy and taro chips for better incomes.

Evangeline, Olivia and Pinky say that it is rare that their village would be selected as a site for such a big initiative. This is because their village is one of the farthest and most inaccessible from the town center, mainly reachable via unpaved footpaths along rough, winding mountain trails. So when the project came to their village, they and many of their fellow community members grabbed the opportunity to join and learn.

For Olivia, taro was her entry point to the project. “𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮 [𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘰] 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘬𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨. 𝘕𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘫𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢-process [I used to plant taro before, but I only had a few. When the project came I planted more so that I will also have more to process],” she says.

Acquiring entrepreneurial skills from the #trainings provided by the project, the three friends, along with other women beneficiaries of the village, went into crop processing. This gave them extra income on top of what they were already earning as health workers.

They mainly sell their products in the schools and mini-stores located within their village, but the project also helped them reach markets outside of their community, as well as facilitated their participation in several trade fairs. In fact, with the assistance of the ABD Project, Pinky participated as an exhibitor at the International Food Exhibition in 2018.

The women also admitted discovering additional information about heirloom rice, information that they wouldn’t have known despite the fact that they come from rice farming families and the commodity being Hingyon’s primary produce.

Evangeline admits: “For example, 𝘬𝘢𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘪 𝘬𝘰 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮 𝘬𝘶𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘶-𝘢𝘯𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘬𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯. 𝘕𝘢𝘨𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘬𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘰 [For example, even I don’t know the different kinds of rice grown here. I asked our elders to learn].” To know more, she participated in one of the farmer-participatory rice characterization events organized by the ABD Project, as well as in a similar characterization activity for taro.

The farmers of Hingyon also learned about ways to enhance their traditional #farming activities, including knowing and using different kinds of organic fertilizers. The project also further enlightened them on the important roles that indigenous farmers play in preserving their native crops and traditional agricultural practices.

More importantly, the three women said that the project helped shift their mind sets, as well as their fellow beneficiaries’, enforcing the concept that farming is more than just about raw material production but more so as a profitable business enterprise. The idea inculcated in them a deeper sense of pride and respect being farmers.

As the project ended in June 2022, are they ready to move forward?

While the three women laughingly protested that they don’t want the ABD Project to end, they already have plans moving forward. One of their targets is to craft a proposal to set up a processing facility. While the ABD Project provided them with starter kits to jumpstart their crop processing activities, they are looking forward to establishing a dedicated site where they and the other members of their processing group can come together to process indigenous crops into value-added products.

They also plan on approaching various government agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry, private sector businesses, and other stakeholders to get further livelihoods training.

For one, Olivia says they want to make better the look and packaging of their products. “𝘉𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘬 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘨-𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘪 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘬𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘮𝘪 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢 [We want to improve the packaging and labelling of our products to make them more marketable]."

“𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘢 𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘸𝘢 𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘢 𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘬𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢 𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯, 𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘶𝘨𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘢𝘭𝘢 𝘴𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘬𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘢 𝘮𝘨𝘢 𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘱𝘢𝘥 𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘰 [But, basically, we just want to continue and grow what the project has already done and started in our community, to honour the project and its implementers],” she concluded with a smile.