Posito Daom, 38, is an indigenous farmer from Tatandayan in the secluded sitio of the bioculturally rich Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape. He has honed his farming skills and basic arithmetic to cultivate and sell bountiful agricultural products produced in a biodiversity hotspot.
He and many others from the indigenous Palawan community don’t use farming tools like pickaxes and hoes. Instead, they practice traditional tugda no-till farming that doesn’t disturb the soil. This method, involving a stick to puncture a hole in the ground and plant the seeds in it, is well-suited for their upland farms, as they lack irrigation systems and water sprinklers, relying solely on rainwater, Daom explains.
Their sustainable farming practices have helped preserve the province’s rich biodiversity. They plant upland rice, root crops, banana, coconut, and corn. However, interactions between the Tatandayan community and lowlanders introduced the Indigenous group to highland vegetables less than a decade ago, thanks to the region’s relatively cool climate and productive soil.
Now, a diverse selection of highland vegetables, such as chayote, pechay (napa cabbage), radish, carrot, and broccoli, are cultivated alongside fruit and the usual cash crops, all using the no-till method. This array of produce forms a colorful agroforestry system, with crops planted along Mantalingahan’s preserved timber trees.
Engaging in diversified farming led many Pala’wans in Tatandayan to understand the importance of refraining from clearing closed forest areas and old-growth trees. They observed that this practice negatively affects soil and water stability in the protected landscape, impacting their harvests.
They also credit their farming success to their cultural beliefs. Alwang uses the peryama calendar to schedule his planting. May signals the start of the rainy season, prompting them to plant vegetables, with harvests typically occurring within one to three months, depending on the crop.