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LETTER FROM THE PHILIPPINES
A LAND RICH IN FRUIT OF THE EARTH
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COLM MEANEY CSsR
As I was planting sweet pea early last summer, I noticed that of the many sticks we had used the previous year as supports for the plants, three had actually sprouted themselves. Well, this was incredible. I mean, those sticks were almost dead twigs, used simply as short frames along which the sweet pea could lean for support, and yet, they had brought forth new life. I was reminded once again of the fecundity of nature. As the great poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, after describing how humans had become increasingly distant from nature: "and for all this nature is never spent / There lives the dearest freshness deep down things."
So I thought I'd put pen to paper regarding the richness of the Philippine soil and the great fruitfulness that the hard-working Filipino can bring from it, year after year.
In a previous column entitled 'Bayanihan' (meitheal in Irish), I described the two basic crops for domestic consumption, rice and corn. But I neglected to mention one of the fantastic natural wonders created by a tribe in the country's north.
Because rice needs constant irrigation, flat land is required. But Filipino ingenuity has converted very hilly terrain into terraces of rice fields. It is a task requiring the correct level in each of the terraces so that the water will slowly flow down from the highest to the lowest. The elevation of each terrace and the tiny adjustments in slope among the terraces have to be exact so as to ensure that the irrigation is unimpeded. These terraces were originally created 2,000 years ago by a tribe called the Ifugao in the northern island of Luzon. The result is an amazing exhibition of human creativity, a panoply combining a marvel of engineering, precision design and natural beauty. Indeed, in 1995, the terraces were declared a UNESCO world heritage site, "a living cultural landscape of unparalleled beauty."
SUGARCANE
Another widespread crop in the Philippines is sugarcane. It has a decidedly shady connotation or background. Trucks are needed to transport sugarcane to the factory, so it is almost inevitably the crop of the wealthy. And indeed, there are plantations of many hundreds of acres. Yet, it must be said that the workers' quality of life varies quite a bit, depending largely on the character of the owner and of his managers. Yes, there are some who are very caring towards their workers and seek their best interests. But there are others where the living conditions are just a step above a hovel. This is true especially of migrant workers who travel from one island to another to partake in the sugarcane harvest. They often have to endure primitive surroundings in 'dormitories' or 'bunk houses,' no better than the standards suffered by Dickens' Oliver Twist.
Sugarcane takes nine months to mature. It grows to about nine or ten feet, a long stalk
about three inches thick, with leaves along the sides. To remove the leaves and somehow increase the sugar content, plantations are often deliberately torched before harvest. Harvesting is thus easier (no leaves to impede progress) but also extremely dirty, as the stalks are covered in ash. A large truck is parked near the field, and the workers cut the cane using razor-sharp machetes. They then carry as many stalks as they can to the truck and ascend on what is for all the world like a gangplank. Another worker's job is to arrange the canes so that is no wasted space on the truck. Trucks can carry up to 22 tons.
MANGO
The variety of fruits in the Philippines is extraordinary but not unique in a tropical climate. Where does one begin to enumerate the choice, the lushness, the mesmerising tastes, even the incandescent sheen on the fruits as they are piled high for buyers to survey them? The mango is the national fruit of the country, a most delicious food. One tree can produce up to 2,000 fruits in a season. In the olden days, the early buds would be encouraged by smoke emitted by fires lit at the base of the tree. Today it's done by spraying various chemicals.
Such is the fecundity of the mango tree that parents can send their children to school solely on the income from its plentiful harvest. It comes in two varieties, sweet and sour. The flesh of the former is yellow and can be exceptionally sweet. The latter is eaten more as an appetiser, flavoured with salt and soy sauce. Either is tantalising, yet the more bitter variety is definitely an acquired taste.
COCONUTS
Possibly the Filipino plant with the most uses is the coconut tree. Every part of the tree, except the root, is used in various ways. The tree, which grows to the height of a telegraph pole, is ubiquitous on the islands and serves many purposes. The long fronds of the leafy branches are used for roofing (as we would use thatch); the wood from the trunk is used as a low-cost timber. But the fruit itself is amazingly prolific. On one coconut tree, there may be upwards of 100 coconuts grouped in bunches. Each coconut consists of an outer husk, an inner shell, and the meat/fruit inside. With a residue of coco-oil, the outer husk is used to polish native floors (mahogany, teak, acacia) to bring up the sheen. The actual labour is done by placing a foot on the husk and pacing up and down along the floorboards. The residue of oil in the husk brings a nice lustre to the floor, though it is almost a forgotten skill at this stage.
The inner shell is 'fired' and then used as a high-quality kind of charcoal, extremely popular in the Philippines. The meat or flesh inside has two possible uses. The flesh of a young coconut is soft and juicy and is scooped out to produce a tasty snack (as in the Bounty bar). The older meat (inedible) is scooped out and dried under the sun or in kilns. Then it is transported to the factory, where it is transformed into coconut oil.
Apart from all that, the sap of the coconuts is often tapped by the farmer, who shimmies up the tree to attach a container to catch the juice as it drops during the night. It will have begun to ferment during the night, and by morning will be mildly alcoholic and quite sweet. As the hours pass, the juice gets stronger and begins to lose its sweetness. This is a more satisfying drink for those who like a kick in their beverage. By the third day, it will have become vinegar, no longer potable on its own, but extremely popular as a condiment.
Such fruitfulness, such prodigality! No wonder the prophet Isaiah saw the Reign of God as a grand party, served with succulent meats and choice beverages. "On that mountain, the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines" (Isaiah 25:6). The abundance of the Philippine soil is a daily reminder both of the richness of the earth and the scandal that so few Filipinos benefit from it. The first we should rejoice in. The second we should seek to rectify.
