Unseen Faces, Unheard Voices

The knowledge of running a household is something that is often taken for granted. Since it is women's work it can't be rocket science, can it? Well, it is. Women run households with such exacting details because they work with very limited resources. One of the respondents today, exemplified this quality. She could tell me exactly how much detergent is required for 1 day's laundry and where to get the best bargain for it. She also could compare prices in the co-op store in Kenram to prices in most shops in Isulan. This is a video of Erlida Octavia who describes the cost of detergent and where she purchases it.  See her video here -  Erlida's Laundry Costs

I attended a course on implementing Participatory Capability and Vulnerability Assessment (PCVA) for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climatic Change Adaptation (CCA) from 17 to 21 September 2012. It was organized by OXFAM Mindanao with a few other local NGOs.  Despite, my busy schedule I accepted this opportunity to learn and fine tune my methods for the research that I am conducting. The framework of my research is based on participatory methods informed by feminist analysis. The methods which were introduced were not very different to the ideas which I already had, however the opportunity to incorporate feminist analysis in the process was really valuable.  Barangay Lasak, Columbio This barangay (village) is one of the barangay's in Columbio district with a total land area of 2, 676 hectares of which 2, 080 (77.73%)  is agricultural. The community is largely involved in farming with corn being its substantial produce. It was also the barangay selecte...

L One of the respondents I interviewed was a 50 year old woman in a polygamous marriage. Her husband, S has 4 wives including her. She is the first wife who is registered as a legal spouse under the Shariah Law. She was married to S at the age of 15. She has 8 children by him. Her husband's second wife lives in the home lot provided him. Both wives live within a 1 metre proximity of each other. The second wife has 4 children by S. The third wife is not on amicable terms with L so she hardly spoke about this woman. All three wives' of S live in the same barangay. The fourth wife is rumoured to be in General Santos a city about 60 kms away from Mapantig. L was informed of this marriage by a close relative.  Male Privilege S earns P 6,000.00 as an assistant to a harvester. His job is to assist harvesters to lug the transfer the fresh fruit bunches to pick up points. This could mean he carries an average of 30 - 60 fresh fruit bunches. Each bunch can weigh up to 50 k...

Deep well pump in Mapantig On the surface, no one spoke about the fact that drinking water was a problem. The respondents who could afford it purchased drinking water at P 40 per 5 gallon per week. At first, I overlooked it because I thought it was a norm. Then I realized some were fanatical about purchasing drinking water when more started talking about it. The loose fruit pickers however obtain drinking water from the deep well. It was only during Doris Blanco's interview that Zenia spoke about the contamination of ground water sources. The increase of septic tanks in the barangay has resulted in the contamination of ground water. Some have electronic pumps which purified water for consumption in their homes however they are not the majority. There had been a proposal to build a water treatment plant to supply water but it fell through due to lack of finances. Out of the 24 interviewed nearly half obtained drinking water from the deep well. Some may not even b...

I have come to the tail end of the household surveys in Mapantig-Kenram. It was a physically exhausting but an extremely rewarding. Listening to women's stories, observing their courageous faces, marveling their strength and fortitude and understanding their lives really made me feel privileged. I thank the universe which made this dream possible. I attest to the strength and beauty of women in this world, without whom it would cease to exist.  I had an able and reliable friend who patiently held my hand throughout the interviews. She was patient, attentive and involved. I respect her humbleness and ability to include me effectively in the process. I would not have been able to complete this without Zen's steady hands and kind treatment. I learnt a lot from her and developed mutual respect for her local knowledge and passion to serve her community.  Zenia in orange top Benevolent dictators and tyrants  Yesterday was a particularly interesti...

I have been doing some reading on the history of Mindanao. I was very curious to understand why development for instance, was lagging in this region, but for certain cities. At the onset, I had an embarrassingly rudimentary understanding of Mindanao, both geographically and historically. I knew Malaysia was mediating the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Philippines governments' peace talks. I also know Malaysia in particular is sympathetic to the Moro struggle and that  Nur Misuari  has a huge following in Malaysia.  So armed with names of some contacts and limited understanding of the location of my research, I landed haplessly in Sultan Kudarat, Mindanao. However, the universe is kind and I found my footing and began to understand how wonderfully complex Mindanao actually is. I was struck by verdant green fields, fertile soil which nurtures any kind of vegetation and hardworking people who build the economy. It would be my version of heaven except...

An interesting practise I came across when I interviewed loose fruit pickers was the use of oil palm fruits for cooking fuel. The price of fire wood and charcoal can be quite high for low income families. Some of the women I have interviewed talked about walking 5 kilometres from the homes to gather 2 month's supply of firewood. They usually borrowed push carts to transport the wood that the collected. Generally, fire wood is left outside in the house compound. I also discover that some of them also disconnect electricity supply from their homes voluntarily because the bills can cost up to P 200 - P 900 a month. Most of the villagers share collective metres which can be problematic as there are disputes about the usage of electricity. This video is a description of how oil palm fruits are used for cooking by Francisca Benando -  Oil palm fruits are fuel for cooking .

A loose fruit picker (Kenram-Mapantig Plantation) September 2012 Loose fruit pickers I have started my household surveys which is the 1st phase of my research. I prudently decided that a basic survey was vital to ascertain the socio-economic conditions of the lives of women in plantations here. This includes women workers and members of the committees of MAPARBEMPCO. As I am still working on that post, I have decided to publish the fascinating lives of women who are at the lowest rung of the entire establishment. According to the organizational chart of MAPARBEMPCO, loose fruit pickers are at the very bottom of the structure.  MAPARBEMPCO's Organization/Operational Chart   A total of 16 women are employed to pick loose oil palm fruit. The fruits fall from the bunches which are harvested from the trees. They mostly fall on to the ground and must be picked manually. This task is mainly relegated to women in the plantation. It is considered 'light work' comp...

Meeting Mrs Panaso  We reached our final respondent for the day, Mrs Panaso at almost 1 pm. Her house was a typical traditional house. It had no rooms, some wooden shelves inside and a lot of bundles. The walls were made of kalakat which is woven oil palm fronds. The fronds are woven and painted over with shellac to make it water proof. Oil palm the fronds are dried until they turn yellow and then used for kalakat.  Mrs Panaso was a very slim woman of 60 with a shock of dyed brown hair. She is cheerful by nature and very accomodating. She was about to start her lunch of small dried fish, rice and fluffy brown dish of something I did not recognize.  Mrs Panaso's deep well Her house had an open air kitchen which was a cheerful and warm place. She used fire wood for her cooking. She also had a deep well from which she obtained her water supply. The metal pump looked unwieldy to manoeuvre and I wondered how she managed. Mrs Panaso's open stove ...