From terrace to table

Cross-legged in a tyre on top of a jeepney van is the perfect was to enter the mountain province of Sagada, Philippines. The jeepney swings around the final traverse, revealing a mouth-watering vista of 2000 years of man and beasts’ toil. Jumping down in Banaue, it is only moments until you are being offered the harvest of the meticulous patchwork of surrounding rice terraces. A banana leaf provides a neat package for this local delicacy; a short rice, mixed with coconut milk and bound into a sticky energy hit, to lift your spirits after a long and bumpy journey. In the field, a young man is crouched down, ‘cleaning’ the thatch from his rice terrace, and on seeing me, immediately stops work, introduces himself as ‘Jeng’ and offers to guide me around the intricate patchwork. As we negotiate the network of narrow steps and paths, I study the local people labouring with their red-stained teeth, evidence of years of chewing ‘Moma’ (a mouthful of beetle nut, tobacco and lime). Their scythes and bill hooks, with traditional wooden handles, look like treasured heir-looms. The healthy looking caribou (water buffalo) pulls the plough past me, working methodically alongside the farmer. We are met with soul warming smiles as families come together in the cultivation of the rice. After the tour, Jeng advises me to visit the market where plastic tables are set in the standard Asian fashion with chopsticks, a bowl of angry looking red chillies and a handful of fresh calamansi. A typical Philippino feast is unveiled; a hearty bowl of ‘Bulalo’ a popular, rich bone marrow soup, (the quality of which is how many restaurants are rated in the Philippines), followed by chicken adobo with a generous serving of rice, the perfect compliment to the syrupy vinegar sauce that is ‘adobo’. I smile contentedly, feeling nourished physically and mentally, as I reflect on my cultural journey from terrace to table.