This Kalinga municipality wants to protect its heirloom rice

The provinces of the Cordilleras are very proud of their culture. This includes Kalinga, where groups are organized around protecting different aspects of their beliefs and traditions.

- YVETTE TAN

In the Municipality of Pasil, over an hour away from the Provincial Capital of Tabuk City, local farmers have banded together under Slow Food Pasil, the local arm of the international organization Slow Food, which aims to preserve traditional ingredients and foodways around the world.

I met with Slow Food Pasil presidium spokesperson Lam-en D. Gonnay and his wife, Pasil Slow Food Community coordinator and the focal person on organic agriculture and heirloom rice production in the Municipality of Pasil Rowena B. Gonnay on a trip to Kalinga. Lam-en was kind enough to tell me about their Slow Food Presidium, the first one in the Philippines, which was created to support their local Unoy rice varieties. The Slow Food website describes presidia as “Slow Food Communities that work every day to save native livestock breeds, local fruit and vegetable varieties, bread, cheeses, cured meats, sweets, and more.”