Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project
The Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project is focused on making traditional rice varieties—the crop that nearly every high-elevation farmer grows—a source of economic opportunity. In doing so, the indigenous people use their knowledge of rice production to develop a sustainable and culturally appropriate economic enterprise. The vision of the Cordillera Heirloom Rice Project includes:
- The establishment of a cooperative business that produces and sells the heirloom rice of the high elevation rice terraces;
- A renewal of social stability through the building of farmers’ cooperatives and the skills and capacity building training of the farmers;
- The implementation of a business model for a vertically integrated, shared-equity rice business, which will give farmers an opportunity to be equal partners with a meaningful stake in the success of the business;
- The building of an economic enterprise that is environmentally sustainable;
- The revitalization, maintenance and use of the high-elevation terraces and watershed areas for their historic purposes.
RICE, Inc., terrace farmers in the provinces of Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province, Eighth Wonder, Inc. (USA), and municipal, provincial and regional government agencies of the Cordillera are collaborating on the project.
May 6, 2011 at 5:12 am
Hello,
My wife and I own a small rice farm outside of Dagupan.
We are looking for heirloom, non-hybrid, seed rice for our crops.
Any information you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Salamat
Mark
May 6, 2011 at 11:36 am
Mark
Mabuhay Mark,
I suggest contacting PhilRice in Munoz, Nueva Ecija for information on heirloom varieties that are native to the area and climate of Pangasinan. The staff at PhilRice have been very helpful to us. You might also contact Masipig/Luzon (http://www.masipag.org/luzon.htm ) I know they had an organic red rice program a couple of years ago.
The heirloom varieties of rice that we are familiar with are highly adapted to the cooler climate and terrace soil of the Cordillera mountain region. Just trying to expand seed availability between nearby valleys has been difficult and the rice has not produced well. It has not transplanted well to the lowland type fields around Tabuk, Kalinga either.
Good luck in your efforts of finding a variety that will do well in your area!
Mary Hensley
April 27, 2012 at 1:35 pm
Hi! I’m so glad I stumbled upon your site. I’ve been blogging about vegan Filipino Food and I got so excited when I found out I can buy Mountain Violet Sticky Rice straight from the Banaue Rice Terraces! Even my parents were blown away! We thoroughly enjoyed the Suman I made, thanks to you guys! And oh here’s the blogpost on my Suman recipe: http://astigvegan.com/2012/04/19/suman-sa-lihiya-in-black-rice/
April 27, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Richgail, I’m so glad you found our site and loved the rice! The Mountain Violet Sticky Rice (Ominio variety) is one of the three varieties that has been designated to the Slow Food Foundation’s “Ark of Taste,” an international registry of foods that are of exceptional taste quality, grown in a sustainable manner and represent the cultural identity of the producers. Thank you for your kind words in your blog.
Salamat po,
Mary