It was not until I met these Cordillera rice farmers that I understood how threatened our heirloom rice industry is. I do not even think I should call it an industry as there are very few farmers now who still practice Terrace farming in the Cordillera.

These farmers attended the Terra Madre 2012 meeting, held concurrently with Salone del Gusto in Turin, Italy. At Terra Madre, a biennial meet, producers who still farm “slow food” meet each other as a way to reinforce each other’s farming methods which are traditional, native or indigenous to each village or territory and worth preserving.


The farmer—attendees are headed by Jimmy Lingayao, president of the Rice Terraces Farmers Cooperative who have farmers from all over the Cordillera as his members. In Ifugao alone, Jimmy counts about 200 members who produce only a handful of rice per season, yet continue to do so in the hope the old heirloom varieties will not be extinct. All told his cooperative produces a mere 22 tons per year, or roughly about under 2 tons per month on the average—though we must remember that rice is harvested only once a year. They met a lady, Vicky Carlos Garcia, through the Peace Corp volunteer Mary Hensley and Vicky started to help these farmers find export markets for their rice.

In our discussion over breakfast, they asked me what could be done to increase local markets for heirloom rice. I told them about our “Save the Barako” coffee story which we launched more than 10 years ago. The heirloom rice is sadly going the way of the Barako—almost extinct. Save for what is left of the 27 varieties, and the members of Jimmy’s group, the next generations may not know Unoy,Chong-ak and Tinawon anymore, if we do not do our share.

If we just commit to eat even a kilo or two of heirloom rice each month and pay the fair price of P150 a kilo (as opposed to P70 for premium white Dinorado) we could help save the terraces! I computed that my household of three uses about 2 kilos a week or 8 kilos a month.

Yes, I would pay double what I would pay for Dinorado but I can eat less portions and it would come out the same, budget-wise.

I further computed that if a household eats 8 kilos at P150 or P1200 a month—that is roughly P40 pesos a day—much less than parking fees or what we would pay for a cup of decent coffee! Now, if I can find 200 households who would commit to doing this, I can have a “Terra Madre Slow Food Heirloom Rice Movement” almost immediately.

Unlike coffee, where some people do not drink it and prefer tea instead—rice is basic for Filipinos. Everybody eats rice, albeit, in different ways. Some like the pure white Jasmine type or the Japanese sticky type (by the way, I learned that white rice is not good. All the vitamins have been polished off and all that remains is pure carbohydrates and elevated cholesterol counts!). Now if you soak heirloom rice for three hours before cooking, you also remove the phytic acid that prevents vitamin absorption. Yes, three-hour soaks are important in the Slow Food movement.

Now, let’s lend a hand while having our vitamins and helping save a heritage. Heirloom rice comes in different colors and varieties. You may not get the same kind each time, as each producer can only harvest a few hundred kilos per farm. But rest assured each grain is as healthy as the next.

It’s quite simple to save our heritage. Way before international groups came to introduce new rice varieties or develop them in our own land, in an attempt to ensure food security, we were already secure with our own heritage rice or heirloom rice. What we lacked was information on how to cook it, where to buy it and who the farmers are. That is what Terra Madre taught me. And it had to take a trip to Italy to meet these farmers, absorb all the information I could, and soak in their honest desire to make a living while preserving a heritage.

For a quick look at what we have in store, we will be showcasing these Cordillera rice varieties throughout the year in ECHOmarket. We will also feature them in our ECHOcafe so you can taste it cooked before you buy. It’s our small way of helping Jimmy, Raymunda Mamaril and Rowena Gonnay—all Terra Madre participants and slow food members—save this heritage.

Taste the flavor of history and culture in a cup—this time, not just through coffee, but in a cup of rice. Heirloom rice.

Let’s all rise for rice!

Chit Juan is a founder and owner of ECHOStore sustainable lifestyle, ECHOmarket sustainable farms and ECHOcafe in Serendra and Podium malls. She also heads the Women’s Business Council of the Philippines and the Philippine Coffee Board Inc., two non-profits close to her heart. She often speaks to corporates, youth and NGOs on social entrepreneurship, women empowerment, and coffee. You can follow her on twitter.com/chitjuan or find her on facebook:Pacita “Chit” Juan. Email her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.