Kicking off women’s month with women’s harvest, art, and artisanship
Cordillera Women’s Education, Action Research Center, (CWEARC) Inc. launched Paglilikha Art Exhibit and Binnadang Para Isnan Kataguan Trade Fair on March 8 in celebration of International Women’s Month. The two simultaneous activities that showcase Cordillera women’s harvest, art, and artisanship lasts for a month. The events are guided by the theme “Babbai Ti Kordilyera, Sumikad Para Iti Daga, Karbengan, Pangkabiagan Ken Salun-at (Women of the Cordillera rise for land, rights, livelihood and well-being).” ‘Binnadang’ through a trade fair Binnadang Para Isnan Kataguan aims to provide a venue...
Urban Gardening: Growing Herbs and Vegetables
I started urban gardening many years ago by planting several vegetables, herbs and ornamentals using both practical and traditional knowledge and experimenting. Growing up in the province exposed me to gardening—I do not hesitate to hold and mix the soil for pots and other recyclable materials at home. With a limited space of about 100 square meters, my plants were arranged closely—vegetables and fruit-bearing trees such as lemon, orange, guyabano, coffee, guava and papaya were planted for disaster preparedness and to mitigate landslides during typhoons. The Ayyew-Ubbo Network which I...
Gardening in the time of a pandemic: Baguio’s urban vegetable lifeline
The health crisis and imposition of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) due to the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) unmasked not only the shortcomings in the Philippines’ health system but also exposed the urgency of addressing issues in food security. The ECQ’s implementation displaced most low-income families from their livelihood and have no means to buy food, even those who were able to set aside a little and have minimal income face difficulty in procuring food supply. This already difficult plight is worsened by the rising costs of vegetables and other commodities, and the...
CWEARC denounces PNP red tagging on Facebook
Cordillera Women’s Education Action Research Center, Inc. (CWEARC) denounces the red tagging and vilification of the Philippine National Police (PNP) through its Facebook pages “Pnp Rmfb Wolverines” and “Kapulisan ng Kalinga” on CWEARC’s campaign to support the frontliners in our country’s battle against the COVID-19 virus. On March 31, 2020, both pages posted a publication material that blatantly red tagged CWEARC. PNP grabbed CWEARC’s #TieARedRibbon poster and accused the campaign as a deceptive strategy of organizations affiliated with terrorist groups to ask for donations that they claim...
Annie’s Journey
“Annie” is a twenty-year-old Kankana-ey born and raised in Mankayan, Benguet. She comes from a family of seven, wherein she has her parents and her four younger siblings. Her parents are trying their best to make do with the meager wages that they earn from informal jobs. Despite their efforts, the pay they receive is not enough for their growing family. She migrated to Baguio and took a Bachelor’s Degree in Education at a university, hopeful of finding a job after her study. In her second year, Annie decided to forgo her studies and work as a call center agent. Her desire to help her family...
A call to action to the young indigenous women of the Cordillera
If you are like the vast majority, you probably haven’t heard of the ‘ball-squeezing’ and ‘breast-baring’ women who defended our ancestral lands from threats of unmerciful destruction. For that, you are not to blame because believe it or not, we have a state that is trying to revise our history of resistance. When remnants of our colonial past became a tool for those who have grown to feed off the capitalist world system, our ancestral lands became sources of profit for the few. Giant corporations partnered with the state to legitimize their plans for “development” in our ancestral lands –...
Mental Health – a Societal Concern Essential to Women’s Well-being
October has been declared as World Mental Health Awareness Month by the World Health Organization (WHO). Awareness is really a key element in addressing this societal concern most especially that Mental Health is rarely discussed and studied and there is still considerable stigma and taboos on matters surrounding mental illnesses. Reports indicate that 17 to 20 percent of Filipino adults experience mental health disorders, while 10 to 15 percent of Filipino children, within the age group of 5 to 15 suffer the same. NSO accounts mental health illnesses as the third most common forms of...