Yesterday we took a short land trip to the other side of Samal Island, and ended in one of the coastal village called Tagbaobo. It is situated along the southern section of the island, on the eastcoast. We drove through the town district of Anonang and from there went up the rugged trails of the hills and down to the small village of Tagbaobo. With a population of less than 2,000, the village itself was not impressive. What caught my eye was the rice field along the way.
The Island Garden City of Samal has rugged terrains of limestone soil. Although there are several natural springs marked on the map, the city itself is considered not much abundant in water resources. Land, soil and abundant water - these I thought were the most important ingredients of a successful rice plantation. When I saw this field from high up on the hillside road, I was pleasantly surprised. It looks like gravity fed water flows down to the field from a lake (the locals call it a dam). This lake or dam gets its water from a nearby spring. Such a natural wonder!!
I was told that this is the only rice field on the island. I believe the total area represents barely 0.6% of the total area, and hardly enough as a major agricultural income earner for the island. Nevertheless, I am very proud to say that Filipinos are indeed not scared of hard labour. They have taken what seems to be an impossible feat, made use of the God-given nature, and converted it to productive land. I say this in comparison to several South Pacific islands we have been to, similar in terrains and soil ingredient as Samal. The locals there have not worked hard enough as the Filipinos and are still depending on rootcrops (casava, taro) as their staple. If we did not have rice stored onboard our boat, I would have gone into rice-withdrawal-shock syndrome during our passages through these islands!!.
