Chawwa, an indigenous farming system, may save the rice terraces

Chawwa, an indigenous farming system, may save the rice terraces

By ACE ALEGRE
Reposted by
BANAUE, Ifugao – Little known but locally popular agricultural sharing and indigenous self-help system called “chawwa” is being resorted to in a bid to save the endangered rice terraces of Banaue, Ifugao.
The famed but deteriorating 2,000-year old agricultural and tourism marvel by native Ifugaos had taken further blows during the last typhoon as a huge landslide marred the terraces in Battad village, one of the more popular tourist sites.

Banaue town mayor Jerry Dalipog said that an age-old practice where another farmer-owner temporarily takes care of the farm lot of another who cannot tend his, and equally dividing the produce between them, may help save the endangered rice terraces. This practice is called chawwa.

Worsening devastation of rice terraces

In 1995, the Ifugao Rice Terraces Commission (ITC) pegged the devastation at 30 percent of the more than 1,000-hectare coverage of the rice terraces.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is considering to delist the rice terraces in Banaue, saying it is an endangered heritage site because the terraces have rapidly deteriorated in the past years..... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/09/20/chawwa-an-indigenous-farming-system-may-save-the-rice-terraces/